Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Finance And Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board discusses sports ticketing, student parking fees and towing authority
Summary
Members discussed a recent sporting‑event cash‑box problem, confirmed athletic directors agreed to open a cash gate at events, and asked staff and legal counsel to confirm the legal basis and use of student parking fees and towing authority under state law.
Board members raised two operations items at the informal Hernando County School Board meeting: availability of cash sales at sporting events and the district's student parking fees and towing practices.
Mr. Johnson said a recent game required online payment and charged a convenience fee; he reported athletic directors have directed that at least one gate at events will accept cash going forward. "There will be one gate open accepting cash at every sporting event for events," Mr. Johnson said, and Superintendent Pender confirmed the situation had been addressed at the school that experienced the problem.
Johnson then asked where ticket and event‑gate receipts go. Pender said revenues from student parking and other school fees are returned to the school and placed in internal accounts for facility upkeep, including parking‑lot maintenance and repainting. "So the money that comes in on parking...goes back to the schools," Pender said.
The board also asked about legal authority to charge for student parking and to tow vehicles without permits. A board member cited a Florida statute number during the meeting (1001.43) and staff said their preliminary check showed the district can charge fees that are returned to the school; the superintendent said the district attorney will confirm. "Everything I'm seeing shows that you're allowed to charge as long as the fees are going back to the school," a staff member said, but added they would seek formal confirmation from the attorney.
Trustees directed staff to ask the district attorney to confirm the district's legal authority to charge student parking fees and to tow improperly parked vehicles; staff agreed to email the board with the attorney's formal opinion. No formal vote was taken during the informal meeting.
