Greensburg Salem considers revised fees for use of school, athletic facilities

Some fees will be going up, at least one will be going down. All are meant to be more consistent, as the Greensburg Salem School Board considers a revamped, simplified schedule of charges for using district facilities.

The board is expected to vote Wednesday on the single-page fee breakdown that covers use of any of the district’s five school campuses and its athletic facilities, including Greensburg’s Offutt Field. Different rates will apply for commercial or private groups versus nonprofit or community-related groups.

Previous fees were “all over the place,” according to district Superintendent Ken Bissell. “We tried to make it easier and cleaner and a lot more simple to communicate to the community what the prices and agreements are when somebody comes in to use a facility.”

He said the new range of fees at Greensburg Salem was proposed after reviewing those charged at several neighboring districts.

Local dance groups have rented the high school auditorium to present recitals, Bissell said. Such events now will require payment of a usage fee of $2,000, up from $800. That fee includes use of the auditorium’s sound and lighting system.

“Comparing that with all of our surrounding districts, we were way under what they were charging,” Bissell said. Now, he said, “We’re not at the high end of it, we’re not at the low end of it, but we’re kind of right in the middle.”

The fee for commercial or private use of the high school gym is increasing from $400 to $600 while the charge for such use of the middle school gym will remain $400. Bissell noted those flat fees include use of the scoreboard and sound system, items that previously were assigned separate, additional charges.

The fee for private use of the large group room at the middle school is dropping from $125 to $100.

At most Greensburg Salem facilities, nonprofit or community-related groups that want to hold an event will be charged half the rate that applies for commercial or private use.

Exceptions include use of the high school or middle school cafeteria and kitchen, where the district will charge $250 for a nonprofit or community event and $450 for private or commercial purposes.

At Offutt Field, the district had charged a user fee of $250 for community groups, $650 if the stadium lights were required; and respective fees of $800 and $1,200 for all other groups.

Under the revised schedule, the fees at Offutt will be: $2,000 for commercial or private use, $2,500 with lights; $1,000 for a nonprofit or community event, $1,500 with lights. Those fees include use of related amenities, such as the scoreboard, press box, locker rooms and bathrooms.

The cited fees allow access to the respective district space for up to eight hours. The fee will be halved if the use is limited to four hours or less.

Supplemental charges may include custodial or security fees and also may apply if additional district personnel or special equipment are needed.

Bissell explained Greensburg Salem will not charge for use of facilities by district-related groups or for activities that are not competitive events open to spectators and are held by nonprofit or community groups that serve district students.

“If it’s a recreation league or someone connected with Greensburg or Salem Township recreation, and they’re coming in to use facilities for practices and noncompetitive modes, our thought is, we want to provide that time for our kids to have a safe place with safe mentors and we want them working with us — so long as it fits our schedule, without bumping practices and other things,” he said.

The process for booking use of a district space also will change.

In the past, Bissell said, groups seeking to use a facility could determine the category that would apply to their organization or event, and most claimed nonprofit status, attempting to take advantage of a waived fee.

Now, he said, the district will determine a group’s category “based on a phone call and a conversation and talking to them. For most of our rentals, we already know what groups they fit in.”

Bissell suggested the district revisit the fee schedule every few years to consider potential updates.