The Great Falls Public Schools Board of Trustees approved naming the Great Falls High School auditorium "The Davidson Family Auditorium at Great Falls High School" after Ian and Nancy Davidson announced they would donate up to $1.8 million to the auditorium’s renovation.
During Monday’s meeting, the Board unanimously voted to accept the donation and thanked Ian and Nancy Davidson for their contribution.
The naming request was facilitated by the Great Falls Public Schools Foundation, which had been seeking private funds to finance the architectural and engineering design, equipment purchases, and construction costs.
"This is an amazingly generous donation," Trustee Jason Brantley said. "It’s going to have a profound and lasting impact."
Both Ian and Nancy Davidson are graduates of Great Falls High School as well as their three children and some grandchildren. Nancy Davidson also served as chair of the School Board.
She explained that the gift stems from a belief in the importance of education.
"It became a wonderful way for us to say thank you to the community and provide them with something that we know the community as well as the school district is going to benefit from," she said.
The possible upgrades to the auditorium include seating, acoustical treatments, stage rigging, lighting system, sound system, electrical supply, plaster and paint, control room booth, projector/screen, and a curtain among other amenities.
"Your family has guaranteed that Great Falls High is going to have the best auditorium in the state of Montana," Chairman Jan Cahill told the Davidsons.
Nancy Davidson said that the community showed its support for education when it passed the $99 million bond levy in 2016.
"This community I think does value education to a very large degree and we grew up in that and certainly want to make sure it continues," she said.
According to Dave Crum, the executive director of the Great Falls Public Schools Foundation, the Foundation has also handled other donations to places such as the soccer field at Memorial Stadium and Giant Springs Elementary School Media Center.
The Board approved a signage request for the C.M. Russell High School STEM building last week after D.A. Davidson Companies announced they would donate $150,000 for equipment and signage.
A sign on the outside of the building will read “STEM Center Supported by D.A. Davidson Companies.”
There is not an official start date for construction on the GFHS auditorium, however, school officials will begin working with an architect on upgrade designs in the coming month.
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