Stephen-I totally respect what you are trying to do, but I think you are asking alot. To expect a "flying bed" for a student production that costs $5k is a bit much. Most student productions thrive on what they can beg, borrow, and steal. Hell, most professional theatres I know do the same thing.
You're coming off a little entitled to say you need this "flying bed" for the show to make sense. I'm a novice playwright and as my professor would say, "if your show hinges on an expensive prop, set, or special effect, go back to the drawing board because no one will produce it. They songs and the dialogue need to tell the story if you have no budget."
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello