ALBANY -- Over $30-million and two years later, Albany Area Schools have finally finished their referendum efforts.

A ceremonial ribbon cutting was held Friday in their brand new arts theatre. That event celebrated the entire referendum and construction effort. Tim Wege is the Principal of Albany Area Schools. He says it's great seeing the result of all their work.

"It's awesome. We've gone through a lot of inconveniences these past two years. But to be standing in this facility right now waiting for our grand opening concert tonight is a great feeling."

The referendum passed with 81% of the vote. Wege says he just can't find people who voted no.

"I haven't run into anyone who voted no. It was a great feeling because it seemed like any meeting we went to [during the referendum], to talk with people, we made sure if they had a question, we could give an answer."

To help the referendum, local businesses donated around $6.2-million to the effort.

Along with the new theatre, the district added secure entries, expanded classrooms, renovated and expanded the cafeteria, added a student commons and created new community space. They ended up coming in $1.2-million under budget.

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