With a nearly decade-old jumbotron that has been prone to break down in recent years, school officials plan to replace it with a more modern and reliable one – though the cost has not been determined.

“The way someone described this situation to me was like the jumbotron is an iPhone 8, and now the newest one is on 16,” Associated Student Body [ASB] adviser David Fenstermaker said, referring to the need for an upgraded big screen. “Right now, that one works, but we’re just worried like you would with your phone as sometimes it doesn’t take an update, which means you don’t have access to new stuff.”

Fenstermaker said he has been working with a couple of companies that he declined to identify to receive an estimate from each for an updated version of the 20-foot-by-10-foot board, which when originally installed in February 2017 was referred to as “Lancer Visions” by then-principal Allen Whitten.

“I know it sounds crazy, but we can’t do anything until we get that invoice [from each company],” he said. “We’re trying to figure out if we can afford a new one, if the district can help us [finance it] or how we can utilize some money to buy a new one.”

Once school officials have the chance to review the cost from each firm, principal Craig Weinreich would then submit that invoice to the district to process the payment for purchase, Fenstermaker said.

As of the first week of February, no specific timelines have been provided for when any of the procedures would be completed by.

School officials have been considering a replacement for the large electronic marquee for the past few years when it experienced various power and panel breakdowns. 

In February 2024 – the wettest month of the year – school officials powered down the jumbotron to prevent any short-circuiting; then last May, it fell victim to a senior prank as rotten egg stains were found on parts of its panels. 

A new jumbotron was discussed in a Thursday, Sept. 26, meeting after the old one in the quad, installed in 2017, began to break down.

School officials have since met with the business, which Fenstermaker declined to name, that originally sold them the jumbotron. During this meeting, company representatives visited Sunny Hills to check on the current board’s location before setting up a demo of a newer model in the parking lot.

While Fenstermaker said the demonstration board impressed him, it wasn’t the latest technology, and its price was significantly higher than what the school was willing to pay.

Most students said they have grown accustomed to the jumbotron working and have used it to help them determine the date and time and other promotional information such as dates and times of sporting events and school spirit week. They also agreed with Fenstermaker that it’s time for an upgrade.

“I think it will be a great purchase as students of Sunny Hills tend to use the jumbotron as a way to catch up on school news such as spirit week or student scholarships,” sophomore Benjamin Martinez said. “Upgrading the quality of our facilities is definitely worth it in the long run as we will probably use it for years to come.”

Senior Sarah Kienast said she supports purchasing the new jumbotron, even though it will likely be installed after she graduates.

“Beginning of the year, I noticed the jumbotron was offline at certain points when I walked past the quad,” Kienast said. “I was a bit disappointed when we didn’t see a movie at Senior Sunrise, but hopefully, once the new screen is purchased, stuff like this won’t happen anymore.”

Students and faculty first noticed the malfunction at the beginning of the school year, and by the end of November, the school resolved the $250 repair and replaced the three broken displays with new panels, just before school-issued movie nights began around Thanksgiving.

“The jumbotron is like a Lego set of pieces, and what we currently have is 36 panels,” Associated Student Body adviser David Fenstermaker said. “Since three of the panels were out, it affected eight other panels which meant we had to find three new panels.”

The extended restoration of the jumbotron was because of faulty communications with Optec Displays, the manufacturer of the panels. Afterward, the school contacted potential distribution companies to secure the best price.

“The problem was the company that had built the panels was not doing a good job of getting back to us to sell us the panels,” Fenstermaker said. “They finally did so our district people installed them.”

Junior Julia Rezko expressed her support for the purchase of the new jumbotron.

“I think it’s great that the school is investing in something that is visible for everyone on campus,” Rezko said. “I notice the sign every day, and it’s nice to see that we are making updates, but I just hope we’re also fixing other needs as well.”