This petition is drafted in an effort to show community support for the construction of an appropriate performance facility for the all of the students studying fine arts in the Thomaston-Upson School System. Upson County currently has a performance venue that was designed for a small high school. The current needs of the students in the school system far exceed the capacity of the R.E. Lee Auditorium. School events that are held at this facility involving a performing group always draw crowds to where there is standing room only. Groups ranging in size from the elementary school chorus to the high school chorus are forced to borrow facilities that are larger but still not sufficient for the students performing nor the crowds that come to see them. The number of students that could benefit from this facility would exceed the 1000 students currently participating in the fine arts classes (Band, Chorus, Drama, and Art) at the middle and high schools as well as over 1500 elementary students that partake in the music and art classes at their respective schools. We the undersigned support the efforts of Thomaston-Upson School Board to propose the use of SPLOST funds for the design and construction of a Fine Arts Auditorium