Subcommittee supports recommending higher facility rental rates and limits on nonlocal use
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Summary
Staff proposed updated facility rental rates that increase fees for high-demand spaces and clarify personnel, utility and kitchen-use rules; the subcommittee agreed to forward the recommendation to the board and asked staff to include it in the superintendent report for the study session.
District staff presented a proposed revision to facility-use fees at the March 31 athletic subcommittee meeting, recommending higher rental rates for high-demand spaces (stadium, main gym, auditorium, varsity fields), more consistent hourly/daily pricing, higher personnel/technical-support charges and clarified rules on kitchen access and priority scheduling.
Mr. Anderson explained the intent: staff aims to standardize rates and recover more of the operational costs created by outside users and nonlocal groups. "We're still significantly lower," Dr. Perry said of current rates compared with neighboring districts, adding that the plan seeks modest increases "without shocking our community." The proposal introduced tiered classifications (class 1–4) with higher fees and more limited access for outside/nonlocal groups to protect varsity assets and reduce weekend/overnight operational burdens on staff.
Committee members probed details such as whether kitchen use would be limited because of sanitary/inspection concerns and whether auxiliary gyms and varsity gyms would be restricted to resident groups. Staff clarified that kitchens would not be opened to unsupervised outside users and that varsity facilities would be prioritized for school teams, while elementary gyms would remain available for community use. Questions about how prep, materials and labor (for example, field painting) are charged led staff to explain that materials are billed and some oversight costs are included in custodial/security fees; in-kind contributions would be handled case-by-case.
The subcommittee generally supported forwarding the proposal to the full board with a recommendation and asked staff (Sharon) to present it at the next board meeting and for Dr. Perry to include it in his superintendent report for the study session. No formal board vote occurred at the subcommittee level.
Next steps: staff will present a clearer fee schedule and the subcommittee’s recommendation to the board for approval and will continue to review the fees on the proposed biennial schedule.
