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Lexington 1 staff report facilities rental revenue shortfall on custodial charges; administration to recommend policy KG update
Summary
District facilities director reported 787 outside events in 2024–25, about $142,000 in rental fees collected and a mismatch between custodial fees collected and actual custodial costs; administration will bring recommended Policy KG revisions this fall.
Facilities director Clark Cooper presented the district’s first high-level annual facilities rental report to the Board of Trustees on Aug. 19, saying the district hosted 787 outside events during the 2024–25 school year and collected just over $142,000 in rental fees and about $58,000 in custodial charges, while paying out roughly $93,000 in custodial payments.
Cooper explained the gap: the board’s custodial fee set in board policy KG is $18 per hour (policy last updated in Feb. 2001), which now falls short of current wage rates, overtime, and fringe costs. He noted that many times custodial staff assigned to outside events have already worked a standard 40-hour week and must be paid overtime; fringe benefits add approximately 30 percent to the base rate. Cooper told the board the overall facility rental program operates "in the black" once all fees are considered, but the custodial component does not cover the district’s expense.
Administration said it is collecting comparable use-of-facilities rates from peer districts this fall and will return to the board with a policy revision recommendation — including revised custodial/hourly fees and possible operational changes — during the November and December meetings. Trustees discussed whether athletic renters follow the district’s practices for heat and lightning monitoring; Cooper said athletic "pack managers" for the district’s four large stadiums manage those venues separately and those events do not flow through facility rentals, while other athletic field rentals are included in the rental program.
Board members suggested moving facility rental administration away from principals and charging a dedicated staff member to manage requests, fees, and contracts. The district will evaluate that staffing suggestion as part of its fall policy review.
Cooper emphasized that the district’s additions of performing-arts centers and other new facilities since 2001 make the policy and fees out of date and that the administration plans to use peer comparisons to develop a recommended policy revision to present this fall.
