KF: COMMUNITY USE OF SCHOOL FACILITIES
Definition:
1. “School facilities” are buildings and grounds, parking lots, playing fields, and fixed equipment.
2. Non-school sponsored student groups are student initiated organizations or groups of K-12 students, including home schooled students, which are not meeting as part of an official school-sponsored function.
3. Non-instructional time is the time during a scheduled school day before actual classroom instruction or homeroom periods begin and after actual classroom instruction or homeroom periods end.
Intent:
It is the policy of the Kittery School Department to make school facilities available during non-instructional time for educational, recreational, social, civic, and philanthropic and like purposes as it deems to be in the best interest of the community.
Requests for permission for use of the facilities will be considered only when such uses will not interfere with the educational or co-curricular programs of the public school students.
Priority Order of Use of School Buildings/Facilities:
1. Town Emergencies
2. Kittery School Department Activities
3. Municipal Activities (including Rec. Department youth activities, during building hours)
4. Non-School sponsored student groups
5. Kittery Non-Profit Organizations
6. Other Organizations/Groups
Organizations ranked 1-4 will not be charged rent or service charge. Organizations ranked 5-6 may be assessed a service charge and/or an hourly rate should the activity generate the need for additional hours of custodial services. The Superintendent/designee will determine if a service charge will be assessed.
Reservations:
The completed Facility Use Request (KF-E1) and Facilities Rules (KF-R) forms must be submitted through the Superintendent’s Office at least 10 business days prior to the event. These reservations are subject to change in the event of town and/or school emergency. Completed applications, applicable fees and proof of insurance must be received and approved by the Superintendent/designee. The responsible party must be at least 21 years of age and assume responsibility for appropriateness of activity, clean up, supervision and adherence to all Kittery
School Department policies. The Superintendent/designee shall authorize all equipment usage and reserves the right to refuse and/or cancel any equipment or facility request. Activities and spaces used are limited to those requests cited on the application form.
The Superintendent/designee must notify the applying group of the decision regarding their application at least 5 days before the date of the proposed use. If approved, the notification will include the designation of the room, field or place to be used and the approved hours of use.
Requests for reservations of recurring blocks of time will be approved on a case-by-case basis. These requests will only be approved if they do not interfere with educational and extracurricular activities of the Kittery School Department.
Organizations that do not follow the procedures outlined or violate the School Committee’s rules for facilities use will be subject to review by the Superintendent before further use of facilities, and the Superintendent may deny future requests (subject to appeal to the Kittery School Committee).
Use of school facilities will not be denied to any group on the basis of religion, politics or philosophy nor on the basis of the content of the speech at the proposed meeting, provided only that the meeting is held for lawful purposes.
Guidelines for Kitchen Use:
1. All organizations using kitchen facilities for preparing food shall have a Kitchen Food Service employee in the respective kitchen during occupancy. The organization shall compensate the School Department for kitchen staff at the current contract rate. Kitchen employees shall be guaranteed a minimum of 2 (two) hours pay and shall not work more than 8 (eight) consecutive hours.
2. The Superintendent will establish fees for the use of equipment.
3. The Superintendent shall decide when advance deposit is required for the use of school facilities.
4. Payment for kitchen personnel and/or custodians shall be made at the Central Office in the form of a check made out to the Kittery School Department. Estimated payment for kitchen use shall be rendered no less than 5 (five) business days prior to the use of the facility.
Service Charge Schedule:
· High/Middle School Gymnasium $200.00
· Grade School All-Purpose Room $150.00
· School Cafeteria $100.00
· Any Classroom $ 50.00
Rent Schedule:
· High School Gymnasium $50.00/hour
· Middle School Gymnasium $50.00/hour
· Grade School All-Purpose Room $40.00/hour
· School Cafeteria $40.00/hour
· Any Classroom $20.00/hour
Rent payment shall be made at the Central Office in the form of a check made out to the Kittery School Department. Payment shall be rendered no less than 5 (five) workdays prior to the use of the facility. Any adjustment to the charges will be settled within ten (10) business days.
Damage Occurring During Facility Use:
Any group using school facilities shall be financially responsible for damages to facilities occurring during its use of the facilities at the cost of actually restoring the facility to its normal educational use.
The Kittery School Department reserves the right to enter into other rental agreements when the Superintendent deems it to be in the best interest of the Kittery School Department. The Superintendent will notify the School Committee of such agreements in a timely manner.
Adopted: 7/22/97
Revised: November 13, 1998, May 2, 2000; November 19, 2013; April 21, 2015