Community Center committee asks Stafford ISD for full-time manager and marketing funds

Cindy Shelton, chair of the Community Center Operating Committee, told the Stafford Municipal School District Board of Trustees that the district‑run community center has been open since Oct. 5, 2024, and that the volunteer committee needs a full‑time employee and marketing funds to reach financial sustainability.

Shelton said the center has generated $10,679 in revenue through April 2025, has 15 paying members and more than 100 hours of room rentals since opening. “We are making a request for 1 full time employee plus an amount not to exceed $3,036,000 dollars for marketing supplies and equipment to be added to our budget so that we could make the community center successful,” Shelton said.

The request follows about six months of volunteer operations. Shelton told trustees the committee has secured some donations and a $1,500 grant to buy two desktop computers and a color printer, but that the center now covers only about half of operating costs. She said the district currently provides two part‑time employees and one part‑time manager, Charice Roberts, who is unable to run the center full time.

Why it matters: Trustees and the superintendent framed the center as a multiyear start‑up that the district and volunteers expect will take several years to reach self‑sufficiency. Board members said a dedicated employee and modest marketing would increase rentals and memberships and protect the bond investment that converted the old administration building into the center.

At the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Bostic said he planned to recommend moving forward with a single full‑time equivalent (FTE) position “not to exceed a teacher’s salary” and to recommend a marketing allocation; he described the likely marketing amount as substantially smaller than the figure Shelton read (he referenced a figure “up to but not above $36,000”). He asked district staff to work with the committee on job description, hiring and maintenance items such as AEDs and locker rekeying.

Shelton listed other near‑term needs for the facility: at least one automated external defibrillator (AED; she cited an approximate retail price of $2,500 each), first‑aid kits, privacy coverings for locker‑room windows, rekeying of lockers, minor settlement/crack repairs, and ongoing cleaning/air‑freshening supplies. She also described a preliminary plan for room sponsorships and said two local businesses had expressed interest in sponsoring meeting rooms.

Trustees praised the volunteer committee and encouraged the CCOC to continue pursuing sponsorships and student involvement in marketing and operations. Several trustees recommended regular accountability checkpoints and at least annual reports back to the board.

The board did not take a formal funding vote that evening; Dr. Bostic said he would include recommendations in upcoming budget discussions and work with the committee and CFO on exact amounts and staffing details. Trustees directed staff to follow up on maintenance and AED procurement and to involve human resources in drafting the job posting.

Shelton and the committee emphasized the volunteer hours invested and reminded the board that voters approved the 2017 bond that funded the conversion of the building into a community center.