$54 per sheet for material, delivery, hang, tape, and texture/finish seems cheap to me.

Rather than replacing the carpet with hardwood and painting the ceiling panels to make it look more rustic, I could just paint the walls a textured white / grey and add artwork of the Smokey Mountains themed for the winter time: I could then stain the hardwood in the halls white much like this: 

It has a wood grain texture that hides any little dents or scratches. 

After in depth studying, outreach to others in the industry, and calculation on how I will make this slight pivot, I did like Uncle G says and made the decision.My Defensive Line Coach for the New York Jets Karl Dunbar always used to tell me in film study, “Son, Make a decision and live with it.”

Make sure you get all that work done first before you even start thinking about paint colors and ceiling textures.

So much build up in the jets.

The matching of the drywall texture can sometimes be a hard task to do depending on the person doing the mud and texture. 

There is an ariel pattern jetting out from the landing strips that are in a crash zone that have restrictions. 

Concrete, no stamp pattern, and textured paint for grip.

@Jack B. if you have not already you might consider confirming with the painter that the price includes (or excludes ceilings), and if it also includes patching/texture of any settling cracks/holes in the wall.