Class B non-profit organizations may not have to pay rental fees at Warsaw Community Schools through the end of the 2012-13 school year. Tuesday afternoon during the public work session, Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz presented the recommendation to the Warsaw School Board. The board will consider it at its regular board meeting Monday at 7 p.m. At the Sept. 17 and Oct. 22 board meetings, representatives of Boy Scout Pack 3729 asked the board to reduce or waive the fees it pays to use Leesburg Elementary School’s gym. The Pack pays $18 a week to use the gym for an hour and a half, and reducing or waiving the fees could help the Pack with its budget. Based on community comments from previous board meetings and work sessions, Hintz said, “We looked at ways to reduce or waive fees” for certain organizations. The last rate update was in April 2009, he said. The reason given for the unchanged rates was that the recession caused utility rates and wages to remain virtually flat since the last rate adoption. Hintz requested the board review and consider the following options: 1) Waive the current fee schedule for Class B non-profit organizations that serve Warsaw youth in the community. This could include a one-time application fee of $25. Use of facilities would need to be contingent on having custodial staff present. 2) Adopt a lower fee schedule for Class B non-profits. 3) Keep the current fee schedule for Class B organizations. Examples of Class B non-profits include Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, Boys and Girls Club, AAU and Sacred Heart School. “Class B, I think, really pertains to youth,” Hintz said. Over the last three years, Class B organizations generated a total of less than $22,000 in facilities fees for WCS, Hintz said. Dan Metzger, board secretary, asked if the facilities waiver fees would be just for gyms. Board President Jennifer Tandy said it would include classrooms and gyms. If a Class B organization wants to have an event or tournament over a weekend, and WCS has to have staff there, Hintz said that would be a different situation because there would be costs to cover overtime pay of school employees like custodians. The waiver or reduction would cover all schools in the system, Hintz said. School staff would still have to be present during the rental time. Tandy said the board needs to consider if the revenue generated is really something the school system wants to give up. “I would like to take a look at the Class B group,” Delores Hearn, board member, said. Tandy said there was a lot of information to review. Part of that could include how WCS defines all organizations. Lonnie Fisher, representing Pack 3729, said the Scouts always leave something better than they found it. They don’t have weekend events, but they may at some point. He said the Pack meets during the school year, at least for the Cub Scouts, and are usually done by 8:15 p.m. at the latest. Tandy said the board will take everything into consideration when making its decision. “Not one of us think the Boy Scouts aren’t a great organization,” said Metzger. “But we have to take a look at what kind of doors this is opening.”
