High schools across the county are gearing up for their annual spring musicals. But at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, the stage will remain dark.Seneca Valley High School is one of several MCPS schools where student funds were improperly managed by the administration, according to MCPS internal audit reports obtained by the Parents' Coalition. The audit released in January 2009 revealed that expenditures for staff appreciation items were recorded incorrectly, and that nearly the entire year's funding allocation for staff meeting refreshments had been spent by the end of September.
Seneca Valley's show was cancelled in late February due to expensive productions combined with low revenue and ticket sales over the past two school years. The drama department will focus on rebuilding the program through fundraising and garnering support from businesses and the community, director Maurice Johnson said.
Since the time of the last audit, SVHS has seen a change of principals. A new audit is due to be released shortly and will be published here when it becomes available.
High school productions almost never get any kind of crowd. Students are the last people who you can expect to attend. The are bored out of their minds by seeing real people act, sing, and dance on a stage. They have been raised in the television/video game age and real people are a strange concept to them.
ReplyDeleteThe only people who actually attend these things are parents, grandparents, and siblings.
What they should do is contact nursing homes, assisted living facilities, etc, and sell tickets for two dollars and they would fill the place.
@ Anonymous
ReplyDeleteThat may depend on the school and the production. A number of MCPS high schools fill their auditoriums when musicals are put on. Families, friends, students and community members show up.
MCPS Schools that participate in the Cappies regional program attract audience members from the DC metro area.
Come see a show at Walter Johnson HS. Their musicals pack the house!
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