By: Matt Chiappardi
HIGHTSTOWN The cash-strapped East Windsor Regional School District plans to establish a policy on user fees for district facilities to increase revenue for the 2007-2008 school year.
The school board on Monday agreed to create a committee consisting of Vice President Bob Laverty and board members Suzann Fallon and James Hauck that, according to them, hopes to bring a draft building-use policy to the full board by August.
Mr. Laverty and Ms. Fallon said it is too soon to say whether the new policy would require fees from entities that are not charged now. The committee over the next few weeks is expected to contact each organization that uses the district’s facilities, they said.
"…We need to discuss the implications of the new policy and/or fees with the users before we make a final decision," said Mr. Laverty, "We need to evaluate the times when facility usage actually costs us something and when it doesn’t. Maybe there are alternatives to fees, such as service-sharing agreements, that we can discuss."
However, Mr. Hauck said, "I imagine most people would be charged."
Mr. Laverty also said the committee "will not do anything that will impact organizations over (this) summer."
Superintendent Ron Bolandi has explained that organizations are currently charged a fee to use district facilities if they are not affiliated with the township or borough and if they use the facilities when they otherwise would be closed. However, Mr. Bolandi also has acknowledged that that practice has been "inconsistently applied" over the past few years.
At present, the district generally charges community groups $14 an hour but the fee can range from $7 to $25, depending on where and when the activity takes place, according to documents supplied by the district.
If the district were to charge for all facilities use, Business Administrator Kurt Stumbaugh has estimated that the district could increase revenue by more than $170,000.
Mr. Hauck indicated Monday that he might be interested in seeking commercial organizations that could use district facilities and charging them at a higher rate than those applied to community groups. Mr. Stumbaugh replied that the district could increase revenue further by renting the Hightstown High School auditorium since, according to him, "the only other venue of that size is a movie theater and they charge $1,500 (for rental)."
Board President Alice Weisman asked about the wisdom of the $14 per-hour rate, to which Mr. Stumbaugh answered that he feels that rate is "conservative."
The district is trying to find ways to increase revenue after its recent loss of $2.5 million as a result of a new state law that capped tax revenues rather than expenditures. The fee idea, originally broached at the board’s May 29 meeting, was met soon after with some opposition from groups that already use the facilities for free.
The Community Action Service Center’s executive director, Lydia Santoni-Williams, said the center’s summer camp would be "devastated," and several of the Boys and Girls Scout troops would find other places to hold their meetings and events, according to their leaders. East Windsor Township’s Recreation Department is the most frequent user of the district’s facilities by far, and Mayor Janice Mironov called any potential fee an "unfortunate policy departure."
At least one committee member expressed sympathy Monday for those groups’ concerns.
"Some organizations, like the Girl Scouts, don’t have the mechanism to pay the fee," said Ms. Fallon. "We need to give them enough advance notice."

