2019 commencement will be in auditorium

Andalusia High School’s graduating class learned for sure and for certain their commencement exercises will be in the newly renovated auditorium after the facility passed state inspection Tuesday.

“We still have a punch list to complete, but we are cleared to move around in the auditorium, the field and the stadium without wearing a hard hat,” Superintendent Ted Watson said. “Today was a big day.”

Watson said the curtains were being hung on the stage Tuesday, and carpet was going down in the auditorium.

“IT’s looking really good,” Watson said.

When work began on the $12 million renovations to the auditorium and stadium at AHS last spring, the 2018 commencement exercises were moved to the Kiwanis building. Two weeks ago, Watson told the city council that he believed the auditorium would pass inspection in time for graduation, but the school had several back-up plans in place, with Plan B moving the ceremony to First Baptist Church, and Plan C taking students back to the Kiwanis Community Center.

AHS will hold awards day at First Baptist Church, Watson said.

“The auditorium is probably going to have the largest ‘wow’ factor of anything, because people haven’t seen it yet,” Watson said.

Brian Ray, who oversaw the projects for Wyatt Sasser Construction, said the auditorium, field and field house have been cleared by the state inspectors, but the pressbox is not completed.

“We have three or four more weeks until we’ll be done,” Ray said. “We saved the pressbox for last because we wanted to get the auditorium done for graduation.”

AHS will hold commencement exercises on the evening of May 24.