Having spent millions recently on facilities and field upgrades, including new turf playing fields at both high schools, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education finds itself in possession of some desirable venues, leaving it to figure out how to make those facilities available to whom and for how much.##M:[more]##
Now, with the board’s newly revised school facility use policy, WW-P has set priorities for the many outside organizations that want to use school facilities and, at the same time, gain additional revenue for the district.
“We find that we had to either create priority lists or limit certain groups from using it, or at least make sure that the groups that are using it are paying their fair share,” said Stan Katz, a board member who sits on the board’s finance committee. “Over time, we know that we were undercharging.”
According to Katz, the district always had a policy, but the board realized over time, as more groups wanted to use the facilities, that those policies were fairly vague.
The new policy includes rates that are slightly higher than previous rates, but they are still not up to the level of what nearby districts charge, Mr. Katz said.
The new rates are a balance of two philosophies school board members have grappled with for the past couple of years. The first philosophy is that the school district should make its facilities available to as many people as possible with the lowest rates possible (just barely covering costs to allow them to use the facilities). The second was to charge a little more for facility use by outside organizations in order to raise revenue to offset taxes.
While board members never really came to a solid conclusion, the new rates are still not as high as those in surrounding communities, and only cover slightly more than the cost of operation, Katz said.
The new policy more clearly defines the categories in which various types of organizations are placed, which, in turn, determines what type of priority they are given in using the school facilities.
There are five groups that determine priority. The first group consists of organizations directly affiliated with the school district, which are not charged any fee to use the school facilities and are given the highest priority.
Beginning with the second group, which consists of township recreation organizations that are open to all school-age residents, and going all the way up to the fifth group, which consists of organizations not located in West Windsor or Plainsboro, the priority becomes progressively lower, and the rates become higher. The rates also become higher for each group depending on the type of school (primary, elementary and middle, or high school) and facility at that school that the organization wants to use.
For example, an organization falling into the Group Two category would have to pay $5 per hour to use the gym, dining room, or commons area at the primary school level, while an organization falling into the Group Five category, for the same exact use, would have to pay $100 an hour. For using the gym, dining room or commons room at the high school level, a Group Two organization would still pay $5, while a Group Five organization would have to pay $400 per hour.
When it comes to weekend uses, all groups, except the first group, will be charged at a four-hour minimum charge, which means they would be paying for four hours of use, even if they use the facility for less than four hours. The weekend rates also include paying one custodian to be on duty during that time.
So a Group Two organization that pays $5 an hour to use the gym, dining room or commons area on a Saturday would pay a minimum of $20 (for the four hours of use) plus $180 for a custodian to be on duty (at $45 an hour). On Sunday, that custodian fee is $55, meaning the same group would have to pay $240.
“You need to charge certain minimums to make sure your costs are covered,” Katz said. “For the groups that use it for a very short period of time, you’re still going to have someone there.”
Again, those rates are higher depending on the group. However, the policy states that there will be no charge for any group to use outdoor sports fields, other than the synthetic turf, unless the bathrooms, locker rooms, or other building use is required.
The new regulations also set specific deadlines for requests — 30 days in advance of the date requested. For repeated use or seasonal use of certain “high demand” facilities, the deadline for requests is much earlier — October 1, for example, for booking a facility in the busy period of March 16 to June 15.
Next meeting: The board will meet Tuesday, October 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Grover Middle School.
