MAKIKI — When City Councilman Rod Tam attended Roosevelt High School in 1969, some of the wooden seats in the musty auditorium were broken.

The school's iconic tower, which is part of the auditorium, was already closed because it was deemed unsafe.

Over the next 40 years, the condition of the auditorium, a focal point for the school, only worsened.

Those same wooden seats became so termite-eaten that sections of them were closed to students.

The stage deteriorated to the point that, for the past 20 years, the school's band hasn't been able to perform on it, resorting to holding its annual concerts at other schools.

"It's been in disrepair for that long," said Tam, a 1972 graduate of Roosevelt who, 10 years ago as an area senator, had pushed for money for a major renovation to the auditorium. "Basically, it wasn't considered part of the basic need of education, so it was put on the back burner."

Like public schools across the state, Roosevelt has waited a long time — at least a decade — for much-needed repairs and upgrades around its campus.

But finally, Roosevelt's time has come.

By the end of this year, an overhauled auditorium will open after an $11 million, two-year renovation.

And that's just one of several major upgrades the 75-year-old school is getting in the next two years.

In October, work will begin on a $5 million project that will replace the grass on the school's football field with synthetic turf and install an all-weather track — the school's first — and a new scoreboard.

Next year, the school's swimming pool will be repaired and upgraded at a cost of $350,000.

'PART OF THE IDENTITY'

School officials are eager to unveil the upgrades to its campus, hoping the renovated facilities — particularly the auditorium — will boost pride among students and within the community.

"This was needed," said vice principal Ron Nomura. "It's part of the identity of the school. I think for our students to have an auditorium, it's all part of the high school experience."

While these projects weren't considered high priorities by the state Department of Education at first, they eventually became such for various reasons.

The auditorium, with its decaying stage and sections of termite-eaten seats, had become unsafe. The dirt track surrounding the football field was often riddled with potholes, especially after heavy rain. And the swimming pool's drainage system needed to be upgraded to meet federal regulations.

"If the request is for something fairly low in priority, the wait can be long, sometimes years, just because the funding will never be enough to cover all the requests," said Sanford Beppu, a capital improvements planner with the Department of Education. "On the other hand, if it's a request that's truly something that needs to be done now, like health and safety projects, we'll do it now."

But it has taken more than just state money to improve the school.

Alumni pitched in more than $500,000 two years ago to help with costs to upgrade the football stadium. They also have donated $20,000 for equipment, chairs and music stands for the school band. And the class of 1957 raised $25,000 to buy concrete picnic tables for the school's courtyard and $5,000 more for the band.

Nomura called these donations by alumni "significant" in aiding the school with the cost of these renovations and upgrades.

"It's a tangible thing where the students can feel and use it," Nomura said. "Instead of a scholarship, which goes to a (single) student, these are things the entire student body can benefit from."

FIRST BIG RENOVATION

The school's auditorium, named Carter Auditorium, had never undergone a major renovation since it opened in 1932.

In the 1960s, it served as a theater for surf movies.

Since then, not much had changed, at least not for the better.

The sound system was outdated. There's no air conditioning. And the wooden stage and seats had succumbed to termites.

The condition of the stage is so bad, the school band hasn't performed on it in about two decades. Students have had to hold their annual concert at schools such as Pearl City and Castle.

"The stage was so termite-eaten, it was dangerous for us to use it," said Gregg Abe, who's been the school's band director for 20 years. "It could have collapsed at any time."

The renovations will include stadium-style seating, upgraded sound and lighting systems, expanded stage and orchestra pits, the addition of classrooms and office space, a new lobby area and air conditioning.

Abe said he's excited about finally being able to use the auditorium for concerts and other performances. The wait, he said, will be worthwhile.

"For the band students, it's a really big deal," Abe said. "Basically, they had no venue and would have to travel from school to school every year, looking for a place to play. Now they'll have a place to call their own."

The renovations to the auditorium got a push from area lawmakers, including Sen. Brian Taniguchi, D-10th (Manoa, McCully), an alumnus of the school.

After meeting with school officials a few years ago, he realized how important the auditorium was to the school and to the greater community.

"We felt it was an underutilized resource for the community," said Taniguchi, whose children also attended Roosevelt High. "And it was a safety hazard ... It was in pretty bad shape."

The hope is that once the auditorium renovations are completed, the school will be able to rent out the facility to the community, from churches to performing arts groups.

"We're trying to work with the community on ways to build that partnership," Nomura said.

But the priority, of course, goes to the students.

Nomura hopes the improvements will boost the school's band and performing arts programs.

"It's a win-win all over," Nomura said.

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.