you are right on

I was surprised no one mentioned how expensive it was to put on the productions--until this post of yours. There is all the piano tuning, etc. Add into the fact that sometimes they will bring in famous singers and instrumentalists for masterclasses, guest directors and conductors, the bills for the electricity, the professional backstage crews, and maintaining the recital halls and theatres if the school has them. Also tack on set rental for opera and maintaining a costume shop. The assistants still have to be paid for costume design and creation as well as maintaining that shop--buying the fabrics, notions, cleaning the costumes.

In my field all they needed was classrooms and secretaries. They don't even have to pay for books for the profs, since most get desk copies.

edited for typos