Paying for space

The Rockville Centre Board of Education is considering raising the fees that for-profit organizations and non-residents would pay to use district facilities, doubling them in some cases.

Fees for non-profit groups and residents are remaining flat. Neither will have to pay for use of school district facilities. But the prices that for-profit groups and non-residents would pay are increasing, generally by $50 or more.

“The concern from the board that we were not recouping as much money as we were expending on the services,” said Robert Bartels, the assistant superintendent for business.

Instead of $80 to $200, the prices for facilities now range from $120 to $300, with the middle school and high school being more expensive than the elementary schools.

There was some concern among members of the board that raising rates might drive away people who were otherwise interested in using the district’s facilities. But Bartels said it was unclear what effect the increased rates would have on usage.

But Bartels said that the district was not making much money from facility usage to begin with, and that the costs are there to mainly cover the district’s expenses for keeping the buildings open after hours.

“We don’t make a tremendous amount of money from these groups,” Bartels said. “It’s mostly to offset the cost of staffing the building at times the building would normally be closed and other general expenses within the building: utilities and so forth.”

With the increase in fees, the district would make a little more money — Bartels estimated a few thousand dollars more per year — but not enough to cover much of the district’s expenses. And there are some for-profit groups that are exempt from paying: the basketball league, the Guild for the Arts and the Girl Scouts.

“I just think it’s fair to ask an organization that’s for-profit for more money,” said Trustee John O’Shea. “Our non-profits, there’s no charge. We’re looking just to charge for-profit entities.”