Springfield Township SD reviews facility-use policy after late cancellation of Aquatic Club event

At a Dec. 17 meeting of the Springfield Township School District property committee, district administrators reviewed Policy 707, the district’s rules for community use of school facilities, after recent late cancellations including a Dec. 7 Springfield Aquatic Club event.

Superintendent’s staff member Dr. Yannickone opened the discussion with a description of Policy 707 and the district’s application and approval process for rental requests. "We have a policy 707 use of facilities that we follow," Dr. Yannickone said, and noted the policy was last updated Aug. 20. He added the board recognizes "the primary purpose of the school buildings, facilities and property is to provide students with an appropriate learning environment," but that the board "may make school facilities available to individuals and community groups without discrimination and in accordance with our policy, provided the use doesn't interfere with the educational program of the schools."

Operations staff member Mr. Ferrero, who represents the district operations and athletics approvals process, described how requests are routed and why short-notice cancellations sometimes occur. "At the high school any application for a high school athletic facility ... are first reviewed by the high school athletic department, and then ultimately ...…