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902 Policy: Use of School Facilities

  • 900: School / Community Relations
902 Policy: Use of School Facilities
Adopted Review Frequency
Policy Adopted: 6-28-1971
Amended: 5-8-79
Reviewed: 5-8-85
Amended: 9-22-94
Reviewed: 6-24-99
Amended: 9-11-03
Renumbered: 3-11-21		 Three Year

It is the policy of I.S.D. 834 that the I.S.D. 834 Board of Education encourages the public use of school facilities and grounds. District functions have initial scheduling priority. Authorization given for use of school facilities shall not be considered an endorsement or approval of the activity, group or organization nor the purposes they may represent. General procedures and regulations regarding the community use of school facilities shall be developed and administered by the Community Education Department.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND REGULATIONS

The following regulations are in effect year-round to govern the use of both indoor and outdoor school district facilities.

  1. Priorities for Facility Usage
    To achieve maximum extended day and weekend usage of school facilities with minimum conflict, it is necessary to schedule groups on a priority basis as follows:

Priority #1. All directly related Stillwater Area School District activities such as musical events, school productions, athletic events, school meetings, parent group events, community education sponsored activities etc. No facility use fee assessed.

Priority #2. Cities, townships, political subdivisions, federal, state, and municipal agencies conducting meetings of local interest. No facility use fee assessed.

Priority #3. District youth groups such as scouts, traveling teams, church athletic or social groups. Facility use fee assessed from Fee Schedule A or B depending on nature of activity.

Priority #4. Non-profit or social service groups such as barbershop singers, Rotary, Lions, League of Women Voters, political party conventions and similar meetings. Facility use fee assessed from Fee Schedule B.

Priority #5. Business/Commercial groups such as piano and dance studios, etc., which are located in the school district. Facility use fee assessed from Schedule B.

Priority #6. District church groups shall be permitted to rent facilities for religious services and instruction for a period of one year. Facility use fee assessed from Schedule B.

Priority # 7. All entities who are not from District 834. Facility use fees are assessed from Schedule C.

 

  1. Procedures for Scheduling Activities 
    Use of facilities shall be granted for programs or activities which are of an educational, cultural, civic or recreational nature and are suited to the requested facility. Persons or organizations requesting to use facilities to teach classes must work through the school district to establish a sponsoring relationship. 
     
  1. School District Sponsored Activities
    School district sponsored after-school; evening and weekend activities are scheduled with the Community Education Office in the spring prior to and during the first two weeks of the school year. School activities must be scheduled before space allocations can be made for community use. Community group applications received prior to the opening of school may be kept pending until the school activities have been scheduled.
     
  2. Application for Use
    All applicants must make arrangements to use facilities through the Community Education Office. Requests must be made at least seven (7) days prior to the date of use. An application form will be provided to indicate the facilities, equipment and personnel required. All applications received in the Community Education Office are dated and processed according to priority and handled as promptly as possible. When an application is approved by the Director of Community Education or designee, a Facility Use Permit is issued to the applicant and distributed to the appropriate school personnel.

    Principals schedule all daytime school activities for which permits are not necessary.

    Permits are required for after-school and evening use of elementary school space and evening use of secondary school space. Permits are required for all weekend use.
     
  3. Facility Use Permits
  1. Permits will be issued to organizations upon compliance with the rules for application.

(1) A permit is official when the applicant has signed one of the copies and returned it to the Community Education Office.

(2) Permits are not transferable and are restricted to the stated dates and hours.

(3) Changes, additions, or cancellations must be scheduled through the Community Education Office.
Amended permits will be sent to the applicant and district personnel involved.

  1. Permits are issued for a specific area and include access to the nearest drinking fountain and lavatories.
     
  2. Only equipment specified on the permit will be made available to the user.
     
  3. Organizations using their own equipment must get prior approval and remove the equipment immediately after the use. The district will not assume liability in connection with the use, loss or damage to the organization’s equipment.
     
  4. The distribution of copies of each permit will be as follows: - the group supervisor (responsible adult whose signature appears on the application) - the facility custodial staff - the school office - file copy kept in the Community Education Office - optional copies may be sent to: auditorium supervisor, Adventure Club, Food Service, media center, classroom teacher, field service staff
  1. Cancellation
  1. When Stillwater Area Schools are closed due to inclement weather or building emergencies, all facility use permits are cancelled. 
     
  2. Facility use permits for scheduled community events may be cancelled to accommodate unforeseen events or emergency changes of school functions. If such a conflict occurs, every effort will be made to relocate activities and keep cancellations at a minimum. 
  1. Supervision 
  1. All activities must be under competent and responsible adult supervision, with the organization using the facilities assuming full responsibility for any damage.
     
  2. School personnel on duty (custodian or building supervisor) will supervise the operation of facilities, but are not required to supervise the group or its activities.
     
  3. A district auditorium supervisor is required for all auditorium facility use.
     
  4. A district Red Cross certified lifeguard is required for every twenty-five (25) swimmers for pool use.
     
  5. Organizations using kitchen facilities must have a district food service employee on duty to supervise food preparation in conformance with recognized health department standards.
     
  6. Outdoor activities may require a district field service staff to be in attendance.
  1. Liability
  1. Users of school facilities shall agree to indemnify the school district for any damage to the school or other property by any person or persons attending the activity.
     
  2. Applicants agree to assume full responsibility for injury or death of activity participants and damages to property that may occur in the facility they are using. The Director of Community Education and Community Relations or designee is responsible for obtaining a signed application form on which the user accepts responsibility for such liability.
     
  3. An insurance policy may be required by the district based on group size or activity.
     
  4. If a group brings in its own equipment, the district assumes no liability in connection with the use, loss or damage of that equipment.
  1. Rules for Use of School Facilities
    The following rules must be observed by all user groups. Failure to do so may be grounds for cancellation of the Use Permit and denying future facility use.
  1. All school buildings and grounds are tobacco free. Any use or possession of tobacco on school property is prohibited by law.
     
  2. Alcohol and illegal chemicals cannot be available or consumed on school district property as prohibited by law.
     
  3. Weapons and firearms in any form are not allowed on school district property except for authorized instructional programs and/or law enforcement personnel.
     
  4. Meetings/activities must be confined to areas reserved in advance.
     
  5. Disorderly conduct of any kind is prohibited and may result in ejection from school facilities.
     
  6. If deemed necessary by district administration, law enforcement supervision may be required and charged to the user.
     
  7. Damage to facilities or equipment must be reported immediately to authorized school personnel and the Community Education Office.
     
  8. No one shall operate mini-bikes, motorized go-carts, snowmobiles, or any other motorized recreational vehicles on school property except as part of a class authorized by the school district.
     
  9. Flammable substances may not be used within school buildings unless they meet state fire marshal regulations.
     
  10. Areas used must be left in an orderly condition. If extra effort is required for clean-up following the use of facilities, an additional charge for personnel costs shall be added to the facility use fee.
  1. Facility Use Fees
    Facility use fees are established to cover maintenance, operations and staffing of facilities.
  1. It is the responsibility of the Community Education Director or designee to administer a facility use fee schedule.
     
  2. Facility use fees are to be paid to the Community Education Office prior to the date of use.
     
  3. Fees will be reviewed annually by the Director of Community Education in conjunction with the district Business Manager.

Facility use fees are divided by group type

The Group A Fee Schedule is for:

  • community groups;
  • neighborhood groups;
  • traveling athletic teams;
  • non-profit organizations;
  • governmental organizations, etc.

The Group B Fee Schedule includes:

  • groups which charge admission;
  • groups which are raising funds;
  • non-profit organizations;
  • church groups;
  • business and commercial groups, etc.

The Group C Fee Schedule includes:

  • all entities located outside District 834.

A facility use fee is not charged for cities, townships, federal and state governmental entities conducting meetings of local interest. If the meeting is planned for when the building would normally be closed, i.e., Sundays, holidays, summer evenings, etc., a special access fee or a supervision fee may be charged.