Sayville board discusses new advisory committees and possible facility‑rental revenue

At its meeting, the Sayville Union Free School District board received updates on two new advisory committees and discussed possible revenue opportunities from facility rentals and summer programming.

Speaker 8 reported that the newly formed Budget Advisory Committee met for the first time and will meet monthly to review how budgets are put together, provide feedback to staff and help communicate budget information to the public. The committee’s work, the speaker said, is intended to increase transparency around budget development.

A Policy Advisory Committee, described by Speaker 6, will serve in an advisory capacity: it will research and compare existing policies against regulatory or legal changes, prepare draft wording and present recommendations to the board after review by district counsel.

On potential revenue, district staff described conversations with a dance‑studio group interested in renting district spaces (gym, foyer, cafeteria) for weekend competitions, and outreach to Future Stars, a summer‑camp operator that runs sports and classroom programs and is interested in the middle‑school location. Staff said proposals will be solicited and considered with an eye to protecting booster‑run programs that currently generate revenue for teams and activities.

‘‘We want to be flexible ... we have to protect our boosters because they support our schools,’’ a speaker said, noting proposed revenue‑sharing or scheduling solutions would try to avoid harming existing programs.

No formal contracts or budget votes were approved at the meeting; the board asked staff to continue developing proposals and will consider the specific terms, scheduling and any revenue‑sharing arrangements in future meetings.

Next steps: staff will solicit written proposals from interested vendors and return recommendations to the board for consideration.