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Board delays vote on steep new facility-use fees after public and member objections
Summary
After administration proposed a revised facility-use fee schedule with sharply higher rates for auditorium/theater spaces, board members and community speakers pushed back; the board voted to postpone the item to the October meeting to allow refinements and possible local discounts or phased increases.
The Big Walnut Local School Board voted on Sept. 16 to postpone action on a proposed update to the district's facility-use fee schedule after members and a public commenter raised concerns about abrupt, large increases.
Administration presented a fee schedule intended to reflect new facilities and actual custodial/utility costs. For the high-school auditorium the updated draft showed a substantially higher hourly rate (examples cited by members included a proposed top-line number of $1,000/hour for some high-end uses), and the middle-school auditorium also carried higher proposed rates. Administration said rates were informed by a market survey of neighboring districts and noted custodial overtime and equipment (lighting, audio) add to costs.
Board members and a community representative said the proposed increases, if applied immediately, would be financially burdensome for local arts and community groups and risk discouraging longstanding users; members proposed discounts for in-district or non-profit local groups and a phased implementation. One board member recommended postponement to collect more comparative data and consider resident discounts; the motion to postpone until the October meeting passed by roll call.
Superintendent McClain and staff said that, if the schedule is postponed, current 2016 fees remain in effect and the district will use the extra time to refine categories and consider grandfathering and phased implementation. The board directed staff to return with a revised proposal that clarifies group categories (school-sponsored, community, nonprofit, for-profit), possible discounts for local groups, and the custodial/utility assumptions underlying the higher rates.
The board did not adopt the new fee schedule on Sept. 16 and will revisit the item at its Oct. 21 meeting.
