Facility use fees

Question: What was the fee assessed for the use of Broadalbin-Perth facilities for the Home Show last weekend? Aren't we in a contingency budget and charging all users fees to use the school facilities? I have heard that other users have been charged. Also, how much does the Broadalbin Youth Commission pay to use school facilities? The district should publish all of these fees so that it is transparent for all.

Answer: The Broadalbin Youth Commission paid $1,137 to the school district to cover custodial costs for the Home Show. Yes, we are operating under a contingency budget and, under contingency rules, we cannot absorb any costs associated with the use of our buildings by community groups or outside organizations.

In general, we assess facility use fees (click here to view the fee schedule, which is posted on our district website) PLUS custodial costs whenever organizations from outside our community use our facilities, or when for-profit organizations from inside or outside our community use our facilities. We see this as an opportunity to generate revenue.

However, when a non-profit community group, such as the Broadalbin Youth Commission or PTO, want to use our facilities, we only charge them what we have to under the law, which is usually just costs associated with our custodial staff (overtime). After all, Broadalbin-Perth is the community's school -- we're not going to try to make money off of non-profit community groups.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, Superintendent of Schools