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Derby board tables new facility-use fee policy after music teachers and coaches raise concerns
Summary
Board discussion centered on a proposed policy charging staff to use district facilities for paid private lessons and on a uniform fee schedule. Band directors and board members asked for an expanded committee review and an academic exemption; the board agreed to table the policy for further work.
The Derby Board of Education on Aug. 18 tabled a proposed facilities-use policy that would impose fees for staff who use school classrooms and other district facilities to teach compensated lessons or run camps outside the contract day.
"The suggested fee that I have seen is $20 per hour for the use of a classroom," said Adam DeVault, a high school band director and Derby resident. "That's close to 50% of what we make for teaching the lessons. We will either need to pass the expense on to our students and their families, lose half of our earnings, or quit teaching the lessons altogether, removing the opportunity for many of our students to study privately." DeVault told the board the in-school lessons are cheaper and more convenient for families and support high-performing students who participate in honor groups and festivals.
Burke Jones, director of operations, told the board a committee of principals, coaches, operations staff and board members had developed a consistent fee structure intended to avoid many exceptions. Jones said the committee considered camps and other outside-user events as different from academic tutoring or district-run programs.
Board members expressed concerns about unintended consequences for music instruction, tutoring and academic access. "If we're requiring or inviting and encouraging students to do [private lessons], then we need to make it easier on our students to be able to do that in our facilities," a board member said during discussion. Several board members urged the administration to review janitorial invoicing practices and to examine whether an academic exception should apply to staff-run lessons tied to student coursework or district programs.
By consensus the board directed staff to return the policy to the committee for additional review and to expand the committee27s membership to include music teachers and other affected instructional staff. Board members suggested the committee consider an explicit exemption for coursework or credit-bearing classes, clearer communication around custodial charges, limits on how late privately run events can occupy buildings, and use of a master calendar to prevent scheduling conflicts.
The board did not adopt the proposed policy at the Aug. 18 meeting; the item was tabled for further committee work and additional board direction. No formal roll-call vote on final adoption occurred during the session.
Clarifying details and committee direction: the policy as discussed included a proposed classroom fee of about $20 per hour for compensated instruction; the committee that drafted the policy included two principals, the athletic director, coaches, three board members and operations staff; board members asked the administration to examine academic exceptions, janitorial billing history, master scheduling and whether fees would be passed to families.
Speakers who raised substantive points during the discussion included Adam DeVault (band director), Burke Jones (director of operations) and multiple board members (identified in the record as Kathy, Tanya, Melanie, Mike and others). The board asked that the committee reconvene with expanded representation and return with revised recommendations for board action.
