Ray-Pec School District makes commitment to the arts with brand-new performance center
PECULIAR, Mo. (KCTV) - In a world where high school theater departments have seen cutbacks, the Raymore-Peculiar School District has finished building a state-of-the-art auditorium with more seating for the community.
The project cost was more than $16 million and was financed by a $72 million bond project ed by voters in 2021.
Superintendent Dr. Mike Slagle said the district is proud of Ray-Pec’s history of winning state awards in choir and performing arts.
“That fire they get, that newfound love for what they do – that’s what drives me… watching the kids take joy in this place and go to places they had never thought of before,” Slagle said. “Our Board of Education has been very ive in our bond issue projects, getting us to this point by working with our community.”
The new theater has a fly system that can hoist nine different backgrounds up and down during production to quickly change the scene. It also can raise actors off the ground.
Devin Fisher is a senior at Ray-Pec and is a member of the choir, which has been recognized at the state level. He’s looking forward to working on the production of “Noises Off” when it debuts this Winter.
“Coming to see these shows, it’s like you can escape from what’s happening in your real life,” Fisher said. “People definitely walk away, whether it’s a song stuck in their head or the message that we just conveyed to them. I think with a space like this, with us being able to perform bigger productions, it’ll just convey more to them, and they’ll want to come back more and more for our show.”
Ellie McRill works on the production side of things, and she hopes the new space helps her advance her knowledge before she ultimately pursues theater at the college level.
“It’s going to be so extremely different, but in such a positive way for everyone, from performers to technicians to the entire community, being able to see real big production shows,” McRill said.
Construction and HVAC Career Paths
The LEAD Learning Center was also part of the $72 million bond project, and this will be the first year for two programs; one specializing in heavy machinery equipment like bulldozers and cranes, and the second in HVAC.
The LEAD Center cost more than $11 million.
Both programs will allow juniors and seniors the ability to pursue a trade that will likely make them immediately employable after high school.
Lead heavy equipment operations instructor Gary King is excited to share his knowledge with students, including some from Ray-Pec High School and other districts in Cass County.
“They’re going to realize how much you can manipulate the land -- they’re going to start out with a flat, barren piece of soil, and then all of a sudden you see skyscrapers come up, bridges, roadways,” King said. “We’re going to have classroom time too... there’s going to be math involved, they may think there won’t be, but there will.”
There will be around 10 students going through the heavy machinery program and around 30 studying HVAC.
The lead instructor for the latter is Nick Gentry. He’s owned his own business and worked in the trade for around 25 years.
“If you do well at this and get good training, and know what you’re doing, you have the potential to own your own business if you want, or be a foreman for a company, or lots of options,” Gentry said. “We even have contractors and other businesses come in and we set up an interview day for them, and they get an opportunity right then and there.”
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