Policy KG: Use Of School Facilities

BOARD POLICY
Descriptive Code: KG

USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES
Date: December 15, 2009

The function of school buildings shall be to accommodate school programs for boys and girls to assist in meeting the educational, cultural, civic, social and recreational needs of communities. Buildings shall be available to student organizations for extracurricular activities when approved by the principal.

The meeting of community needs shall be considered a secondary function; therefore, use of school buildings to meet community needs shall not interfere with school programs for boys and girls.

Unacceptable Uses and Activities

School facilities shall not be used to conduct any profit-making activity by private for profit organizations, private individuals, or individual employees.

The use of tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, profane language, or gambling in any form is not permitted on school campuses or in school buildings.

No food or drinks are allowed in high school auditoriums.

Pyrotechnics is strictly prohibited.

Any other activity in violation of the state or local fire safety laws and ordinances is not permitted.

Application and Contract

Any organization desiring to use school facilities must complete an Application for Use of Facilities.

Principals have the authority to approve applications for acceptable use of facilities for up to three days' use during the calendar year. If the application is for more than three days' use during the calendar year, the application must have approval by the Superintendent from a majority vote authorization from the Board of Education.

Once the application is approved, the school principal shall issue a non-transferable Contract for Use of Facilities prior to use of the facility. The principal shall forward a copy of the application and a copy of the contract to the Deputy Superintendent for Operations along with any applicable fees.

Services Requiring Additional Costs

When use will require services to be performed by a school system employee working after regular working hours, the system employee must be employed by the lessee for those services for the amount agreed upon by the employee and the lessee.

Below are services that may be required and that may incur additional costs to the lessee.

1. Before the application is approved, a school system employee must be willing to open and secure the building, supervise the non-school use of the building during the entire time the building is in use, and perform custodial duties as needed to leave the building at the same level of cleanliness prior to its use.

2. The use of cafeterias for full meal food service shall require at a minimum the presence of a school food service employee who will be responsible for equipment, etc. If meals served in school cafeterias are commercially catered, a school cafeteria staff member must be present to supervise use and cleaning of the kitchen and dining room.

3. The use of the auditoriums of the high schools of the Newton County Schools shall require the presence of an employee who is trained to operate the sound and lighting equipment.

4. The use of gymnasiums for athletic events shall require the supervision of a regular school employee unless there is an agreement between the Board and a governmental agency or civic group for an exchange of services. In such case, non-school employees performing supervision duties must be approved by the Superintendent.

5. When deemed advisable by the Newton County Board of Education, police protection shall be specified as a part of the rental contract. In such cases, the lessee shall be responsible for furnishing the police protection and paying for this service directly to each policeman employed.

Payment of Fees and Other Monies

Fees and other monies shall be paid in accordance with the following:

1. Rent and utilities shall be paid to the Newton County Board of Education prior to use of facilities. Payment for continuous use of facilities shall be paid monthly. Proposals outlining a cancellation of rental and utility fees from the Lessor, in exchange for capital improvements provided by the Lessee will be reviewed by the Superintendent on an individual basis. The capital needs of the district shall serve as the primary factor when reviewing such proposals. All proposals of this type are subject to NCSS architectural firm approval and NCSS purchasing procedures. Approval of such proposals shall be made by the Board upon recommendation from the Superintendent.

2. Employee services required for supervision, custodial, technical support, or food service shall be paid by the lessee directly to the employee or employees providing these services as agreed upon by the employee and the lessee.

3. Equipment or other charges shall be paid to the school where the equipment is used prior to its use.

Cancellations

The Newton County Board of Education reserves the right to cancel a contract for use of facilities when such action is deemed necessary for the best interests of the public schools.
In case an activity for which a rental fee has been paid is canceled, the fees shall be returned to the organization executing the contract.

School System Equipment

Heavy equipment or pianos are not to be moved except as specified in the contract. When it is required that such equipment be moved, an amount to cover this cost shall be added to the rental agreement.

Waiver of Fees

Utility and rental fees shall not be charged to organizations with which the District has a special agreement, including the Covington/Newton County Recreation Commission, the Porter Foundation Concert Association, parent/teacher organizations, local governmental entities, booster clubs, school clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, professional education associations, staff development programs arranged by Newton County School System, and for voter registration.

Other school-related organizations, such as Partners in Education and civic clubs, shall be exempt from payment of rental fees unless such is requesting continuous use as a meeting location. Other fees shall apply when the facility is used after regular school hours.

Continuous and Extended Use

The maximum time the Board shall grant continuous use of facilities as a meeting location at the original fee schedule is one year. Applicants requesting extended time in excess of one year must resubmit an application for Board approval. After the first year's use, the rental fee will double annually. Other fees will be in accordance with the fee schedule at the time of the requested extension.

Fee Schedule

The following detail of fees is in effect for use of facilities.

Requested Use	Daily Rent for Use	Hourly Rate for Utilities
Classrooms	$30.00	$10.00
Cafeteria	$50.00	$15.00
Cafeteria with Kitchen	$55.00	$20.00
Gymnasium (Elementary)	$50.00	$15.00
Gymnasium (Middle)	$75.00	$25.00
Gymnasium (High)	$100.00	$30.00
Auditorium (High)	$200.00	$35.00
Equipment
Concert Grand Piano (If tuning is requested prior to use, Lessee shall pay for tuning by a technician specified by Lessor.)	$100.00

 

ADOPTED: 8/16/88
REVISED: 2/16/99
REVISED: 5/20/03