BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer
“At this point, my hope is that we can find a different place for our ceremony and that everything will work out for us.” – Barbara Duncan Schools Superintendent HOLMDEL – When Holmdel High School seniors go through graduation exercises, they’ll be doing it at a new location for the first time in many years.
Schools Superintendent Barbara Duncan said her district will not be using the nearby PNC Bank Arts Center, due to the fees nearly quadrupling from last year.
In the past, the center has taken on the costs of graduation, with the district only having to pay $4,500 for a graduation rehearsal. Arts Center General Manager John Panero said that, economically, there’s no way his facility can allow the school district to not pay for usage.
“From a business perspective we can’t do this anymore,” Panero said. “We’ve had a wonderful relationship with the district and we hope to continue it at some point. But we can’t continue to cover the costs that are a part of the graduation ceremonies.”
Panero said that in past years, the district has only paid a $4,500 fee for using the facility to have a rehearsal on a day prior to the actual graduation. All costs related to the day of the event had been covered by the center.
Duncan said she was told that the center is “restructuring its finances.”
“PNC is a great place. It’s weatherproof and there’s plenty of parking. But with what they want us to pay now, we did not budget for that at all,” Duncan said. “They’re not looking to negotiate and it’s obvious they don’t want our business. It’s bad relations all around. The new price was very shocking to us.”
According to Panero and Duncan, PNC Bank Arts Center is now looking for $17,000, nearly quadruple the previous amount. Panero said that just to rent the facility will cost $6,500. Without getting into specifics, Panero explained that with security, catering, medical personnel, stagehands and more, the cost adds up to the final total, which has Duncan and Interim Holmdel High School Principal Art Albrizio scrambling to find a different location.
“Brookdale is booked on the week that we’d like to have our graduation but it is available for the following week, so maybe that’d work out,” Albrizio said. “Count Basie Theatre is close by but it only has 1,500 seats, it would cost us $7,500, and the parking situation is not good.”
One option that Duncan does not to think about is using Roggy Field on campus. The new turf field was designed strictly for athletic use.
“That’s my last resort because there are too many variables. That field was not meant for high heels. It’d be a problem wearing stilettos and that won’t work. But if we have to, then people just won’t be allowed to wear heels,” Duncan said. “At this point, my hope is that we can find a different place for our ceremony and that everything will work out for us.”
For now, Duncan said that the district is focused on finding a suitable location.
“We need to look at other places before they get booked up and then we’d be shut out. I just want this issue resolved.”
Panero also shot down the theory that the facility doesn’t want to do business because of current litigation between itself and the township concerning the venue’s longtime tax-exempt status.
“That’s a big misconception right now,” Panero said. “It has nothing to do with litigation. This is merely about finances at this point.”