JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – From new lighting, seats to a boys and girls dressing room, Forest Hill High School’s new auditorium is turning heads.

The project took at least three years from start to finish.

Principal Torrey Hampton said crews worked around the clock to get this long-anticipated project ready for the 2023 school year.

“The past few years, our assemblies have been in the cafeteria. The parent meetings and everything like that,” said Hampton. “It was a good setting, but not the ideal setting for our scholars.”

Some of the new renovations include decked-out digital, audio and visual equipment, a 24-foot projection screen, acoustic wall panels, new flooring and a better way to communicate electronically throughout the auditorium.

Kyra Williams, a Senior at Forest Hill High, said she is grateful for the new facility.

“My 9th grade year, when we came here, it was very dull. It didn’t have as many amenities as it does now. It wasn’t very attention grabbing. Now that the lighting is different and the ceiling has changed, it actually has a meaning in our school,” she said.

Another Senior, Briana Wallace added, “It lets us know that the school cares about us. They care to have us in a good scenery.”

The new facility provides a space for Forest Hill High School’s performing arts, along with a meeting space, helping to set the stage for excellence at this South Jackson school.

“I’m glad they finished before I leave the school. It will help us finish out the year strong,” said Rodriguez Spicer, who is wrapping up his final year at Forest Hill High.

Jackson Public Schools (JPS) officials said the project costs more than $2 million, funded through a 2018 bond that was passed.