Concord High School’s auditorium will remain closed for the next four to five months while district contractors repair cracks and other damage in the room’s ceiling, director of facilities and planning Matt Cashman said Wednesday.
The damage was discovered after a five-inch piece of plaster fell from the ceiling last month. Cashman said at the time that he suspected the rest of the ceiling was unaffected, but that assessment changed when workers demolished the section that had fallen, allowing them to view the other parts.
“What we saw in the remaining ceiling gives us reason to say we’ve got to go a little bit further,” Cashman said at a Board of Education meeting this week. “We’ve got to take care of this.”
The repairs will mean that performing arts classes and groups will be without their typical performance space until at least the start of 2026 and potentially into the spring.
Kristen Gallo, the interim principal of the high school, said that those groups are temporarily using classrooms instead. District leaders are also considering offsite- alternatives for certain events, including the Capitol Center for the Arts and the City Auditorium.
“This isn’t the first time unfortunately, due to problems with our auditorium, we’ve had to move the show on the road,” said Tim Herbert, interim Superintendent and former high school principal. “We don’t like to because we enjoy hosting these things at home, but it does appear that our fall shows — senior one acts and things — will have to consider an alternative location.”
Cashman said he was waiting on an engineering report set to be completed on Monday before he has a price estimate. The initial scaffolding and demolition already completed will cost the district $124,000, he said.
The ceiling is sagging and cracked in certain places. Cashman said he believes the damage is caused by standard wear and tear alone, rather than by other factors, such as water or heating issues.
The building was built in 1926, he said.
“It’s not horrible construction by any stretch,” Cashman said. “We think it’s age.”
