They’ve got a $250 million bond issue under their collective belts.

They’re renovating in earnest at Lincoln Southeast High School.

And now, Lincoln Public Schools officials have an old issue filtering down from the theater fly space in the two newest high schools.

Equity.

The issue: Some Southeast supporters and at least one board member believe that same space  — located above the stage at Lincoln’s two newest high schools — should be added to Southeast’s soon-to-be renovated auditorium.

“I’m arguing that it’s really expensive but we have to pony up to be equitable,” said  Lincoln Board of Education member Doug Evans, who has raised the issue twice at recent board meetings. “This seems to be a small thing but it’s not, it’s a huge thing.”

Fly space is the space above the stage, unseen by the audience, which is used primarily to “fly” sets above the stage when they’re not in use. Lighting also is stored there.

While the older high schools, have “modified” fly spaces to store lights and some equipment, they don’t have full fly spaces.

Theater buffs say that limits what students can do, particularly the sorts of sets they can use.

 Carol Svoboda, director of performing arts for Southeast’s program, said her school’s stage has a related problem: a low proscenium, or stage opening.

“It’s hard for me to do anything with a second story,” she said. “Anything that calls for an upstairs, I can do it, but I have to cheat a lot.”

Current renovation plans will raise the proscenium about 3 feet, and that will solve a lot of problems, but not all of them, said teacher Tommy Bender.

“I love tall sets an I haven’t been able to build any since I’ve been here,” he said.

Last week, three citizens appealed to the board of education to find out how much it would cost to include fly space as part of the renovations  of Southeast’s theater.

Bob Evnen, a state board of educ ation member appearing before the LPS board as a Southeast graduate and parent, said it made sense to find out how much it would cost.

“If it turns out to be a $4 million expense you won’t do it. If it’s $4,000 you will. If it’s somewhere in between, at least you’ll know what you’re talking about.”

Evnen didn’t mention the other high schools, but some other board members said if they were going to estimate the cost of adding fly space to the Southeast auditorium, they should do the same for the other three high schools undergoing renovation. The LPS staff is in the process of finding out how much it would cost to develop such estimates.

Having school buildings with equal facilities —from gymnasiums to field turf to vocational education rooms — has been a recurring issue over the years, one that came up again when the district was planning for North Star and Southwest.

It centered mostly around the   the gymnasium and swimming pools, said Evans, one of the school board members on a committee reviewing high school designs.

Some committee members, including Evans, argued that efforts to make everything equal should stop. Instead, the argument went, the district should build a neutral, joint athletic facility, a concept eventually rejected.

At the time, Van Horn said, he did a preliminary cost estimate of adding an orchestra pit and fly space to the existing high school theaters, but didn’t look at any construction issues involved.

Several years later, with renovation of the older high schools finally a reality, Evans believes that to some people, equity means fly space.

He said he worries that students interested in theater are leaving Southeast for the newer high schools.

Dennis Van Horn, LPS associate superintendent for business affairs, said there have been no plans or discussions about adding a fly space to Southeast’s auditorium, primarily because of the construction difficulties involved.

At Southeast, he said, footings under the stage would have to be fortified to hold the additional space, which would be very expensive. And it would be a particular problem at Lincoln High, because the media center sits directly below the auditorium.

Also, changing plans could be complicated because the high school renovations are only a part of the district-wide renovations being paid for with the bond issue.

The bond issue made it possible for the district to renovate the theaters in the four older high schools, something that originally wasn’t going to happen.

Current renovations at Southeast include making the stage deeper, replacing the wooden seating with apolstered seating, making it roomier and adding a balcony and lighting area behind the stage; replacing stage riggings, lighting, sound systems and curtains.

The renovations will also include a new entrance, which will carry a new name: the Jennifer Dorsey Howley theater, after a Southeast graduate killed in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack.

The Dorsey family raised about $300,000 toward the renovation,most of which will be used to buy computerized rigging.

Matt Dorsey, Jennifer’s brother, said the issue of fly space didn’t come up during discussions with the architects. He said the concept sounds good, but needs to do more research on it.

“It would be neat to do, but I haven’t seen the figures,” he said.

Southeast Principal Pat Hunter Pirtle said he’s excited about existing renovations planned for the new theater. He understands the equity argument, he said, but chooses to expend his energy elsewhere.

“I’m probably the biggest advocate for Southeast in this city,” he said. “It’s impossible to say everything is equitable. It’s comparable but not equitable.”

Only Lincoln High has field turf on its football field because it’s a secondary varsity field. Southeast will have computer rigging in its theaters. It’s got a great pool. The newer high schools will always have better parking and fly spaces.

The improvements to Southeast’s theater will make a dramatic difference, he said.

“Is it equitable with the two new high schools? No. But it will be a beautiful auditorium.”

Traditionally, the district and school boards have strived for equity in program opportunities, not absolutely equal buildings, Van Horn said.

“The real draw to such programs he said, are the teachers,” he said.

Back at Southeast, though, when teachers and students thought renovation, they thought fly space. The other renovations will be wonderful, Svoboda said, but having fly space would open up other opportunities.

“That was the one thing we wanted,” Svoboda said. 

When district officials said the footings weren’t strong enough and the cost would be prohibitive, the discussions ended.

Svoboda said she’s glad to see people asking questions now, when Southeast could blaze the trail for the other high schools.

“I thought we had no chance,” she said. “I’ve been talking about it from the very beginning. I’ve been fighting for it from the very beginning.”

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com