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Committee reauthorizes school facility maintenance fee authority under Civic Center Act
Summary
AB 503 would reinstate authority for school districts to charge nominal maintenance fees to community organizations using school facilities; the Education Committee advanced the bill with bipartisan support.
The Senate Education Committee voted to advance AB 503, a bill by Assemblymember Mark Gonzales that would reinstate authority for school districts to charge organizations a maintenance fee for use of school grounds and facilities under the Civic Center Act. The authority had lapsed on Jan. 1, 2025, and AB 503 restores the districts’ ability to collect limited fees to offset direct operation and maintenance costs.
Assemblymember Gonzales described the bill as “an easy bill” that returns authority that existed for decades, noting school facilities often serve as community centers for sports, scouts, parent‑teacher organizations and other nonprofit groups. Colin Brose, director of maintenance and operations for San Juan Unified School District, testified that his district manages millions of square feet and hundreds of user groups, and that modest fees help preserve aging facilities. He said San Juan’s master plan identified over $3.5 billion in facility needs.
Nancy Chaitis Espinosa of the Coalition for Adequate School Housing and other school business and facilities groups supported the renewal, saying districts have used nominal fees responsibly, and some districts choose not to charge. Support came from the Association of California School Administrators, the California Association of School Business Officials, small‑district associations and county offices.
Sen. Choi questioned whether the state reauthorization was necessary if local boards could already adopt local policies. The author and other senators responded that the prior authorization had lapsed and the bill restores the statutory language and the limited fee authority while preserving local board discretion. Sen. Cabaldon said he supported reauthorization but wanted continued attention to balancing district costs and community access.
The committee recorded the motion to pass; the transcript records a final disposition showing the bill reported out of committee (committee tally indicated 6‑0 in the hearing record). Supporters said school boards would retain discretion on whether to charge fees and could craft policies to avoid access problems.
