Board adopts revised field house and facility fee schedule, approves new pricing tiers

The Stow-Munroe Falls Board of Education on Jan. 28 approved a revised district facility fee schedule that formalizes five user categories and sets new per-hour pricing, including a $30-per-court hourly rate for outside nonprofit groups in Category 3.

Director of Operations Mark Trim presented the research and rationale behind the update, saying the district consolidated previous, inconsistent fee lists and aligned field house rates with gymnasium pricing. "What we have done is we've taken the two existing fee schedules and we put it into one table," Trim told the board, adding the board's intent was to "lower the prices, get people in the door, and then slowly work with them as we develop long-term relationships." He explained the district will prioritize school-related users (Category 1), PTA/booster-type groups (Category 2), outside nonprofits (Category 3), private groups (Category 4) and commercial users (Category 5), with escalating fees down the list.

Supporters and opponents in the audience asked how the changes would affect long-standing community partners. Resident and commenter Jason Whitaker told the board the new structure could shift many local groups — including booster clubs and PTAs — into fee categories that would expose them to hourly charges or mandatory donation billing. "If the board had intended to change facility structures anywhere but the field house, it really should have noticed that in its agenda, explained that to the community, and had a discussion on that," Whitaker said during public comment.

Trim said the district intends to continue prioritizing students and school teams for scheduling; he described a six-week slotting approach for preseason/offseason athletic ramps and said athletics had been consulted. He also explained that Brightly (facility scheduling software) will centralize requests and reduce scheduling conflicts.

After brief board discussion thanking Trim for the analysis, the board moved to approve the revised schedule and voted unanimously to adopt it.

The new schedule assigns the field house and other spaces to the unified table in the packet and formalizes the categories and rates. Trim said the district will review fees annually and adjust market alignment as needed.

Board members and several public commenters asked the administration to clarify how specific local groups (PTAs, booster clubs, after-school tutors and music instructors) will be categorized and to confirm that student-centered, school-affiliated activities retain priority access and favorable or complimentary rates.

The board approved the schedule after discussion; administrators said they will provide further clarifications to clarify which activities fall into each category and how donation billing will be used.

Votes at the meeting that relate to the fee schedule are recorded below.