Business Operations

Section 1. Philosophy: The Board of Education recognizes the obligation to make our facilities available to others when the use does not interfere with the school program. It is not the intent of USD 253 to use facility usage fees as a revenue source, but annual revenue from facility use should cover operational costs associated with outside group use.  Additionally, district facilities shall be used to the fullest extent possible by community groups and agencies.  However, school activities directly related to meeting the educational needs of students shall have priority when scheduling district facilities. The board, through the superintendent, shall reserve the right to approve or reject any request for use or policy relating to district facilities.

  Section 2. Written Guidelines: Guidelines for facility usage will be located on the District website at https://www.usd253.org/departments/business-operations.  

Section 3. Procedure for Obtaining Approval for Use: All requests for facility use will be submitted on district forms and received at the building level by the designated due date for optimal prioritization. Requestors place a 1st, 2nd or 3rd choice in order to best fit all requests in the schedule. All requests received after the due date will be forwarded to the requested building for building administrator review. Those approved at the building level will be returned to the District office for final approval and billing. These requests must be received for processing at least ten days prior to the date of use. All requests received after the block due date will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis for that date range.  Confirmation of building use will be given once the due date has passed.

In the event an activity requires more time to prepare than the block schedule provides, special approval may be requested. In no case will facilities be approved for groups more than six (6) months prior to the event.

Section 4. Assumption of Responsibility: School facilities will only be available to organized groups in which one individual or organization agrees to assume responsibility for the facilities being used. All users will be required to provide a certificate of liability insurance in the amount of evidence of coverage for $1M per occurrence with a $2M aggregate policy with Emporia School District USD 253 cited as “additional insured” before the use of the facility is approved. It is further agreed that proper supervision shall be provided by the responsible persons/group in charge and that any damages to school property beyond ordinary wear and tear will be paid by the organization/group using the facilities. Any damage done to the facility or its contents, or any contents removed from the facility by a member or members of a group using a district facility, shall be paid for by the group that reserved the space. School officials shall determine charges based on actual replacement costs.  If an unforeseen emergency or conflict arises, all USD 253 activities will take precedence, and this agreement will be voided. In periods of inclement weather, if school or school activities are canceled, building use by outside groups or organizations will also be canceled. Parking lot snow removal will be completed by the school district and/or its contractors only in preparation for school use.  Custodians will clear the main entrance sidewalks only.

Note: Liability Insurance does not apply to USD 253, curricular, extracurricular, and co-curricular student groups or staff in-service functions. PTO’s/PTA's are not required to provide liability insurance unless the event is not a School District-sponsored activity. However, in the event the School District is exposed to any liability as a result of a PTO/PTA event on School District premises, the School District reserves the right to require liability insurance for future use of School District facilities.

Section 5. Classification of Groups: The superintendent’s designee will be responsible for assigning classification of groups for the purposes of scheduling priority and billing rates. A group’s classification will be noted on each approved facility request, which will be returned to the applicant within ten working days of the request.

Category A: School District and Governmental Groups:

• Concept: Curricular, extra-curricular, and co-curricular student groups, district administrative, faculty, and staff in-service functions, and governmental election agencies. No use fees or personnel charges should be assessed as these groups are direct extensions of the school district.
  • Example(s):
    • Groups comprised solely of USD 253 students and/or faculty and staff and participating or competing school groups taking part in curricular, co-curricular, or extra-curricular events, practices, rehearsals, performances, or other school-related activities.
    • Summer School Programs
    • School-affiliated organizations whose purpose is not fundraising. (Booster Clubs, PTO, ENEA, District Committees, etc.)
    • National, state, and local government elections and meetings.
    • District-Sanctioned in-service meetings.
    • Other determined by the administration 
• Percent of Fee Charged: 0%

Category B: Quasi-School Groups:

• Concept: Educational youth groups and groups sanctioned by USD 253 that primarily serve USD 253 students. No or minimal use fees should be charged to these groups. Additional personnel charges should be assessed to these groups to recover custodial and/or supervisory costs incurred by USD 253, depending on the date, nature, size, and times of events.
  • Example(s):
    • Non-athletic, non-sectarian youth groups comprised primarily of district students who provide for continued education and social development of USD 253 students. (4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, etc.)
    • High School and Middle School team athletic programming (camps, lessons, workouts, conditioning, etc.) when operated by a district-employed coach under KSHSAA rules. See Appendix D for guidelines on employee usage.
    • USD 253 school and/or community-wide fundraising events where funds directly benefit educational programs
    • USD 253 Alumni groups and scholarship committees
• Percent of Fee Charged: 0%

Category C: Community Youth and Educational Groups:

• Concept: Youth activity groups serving students in grades pre-kindergarten through twelve, whose enrollment consists of at least 75% USD 253 patrons or students. Minimal rental fees and personnel charges will be assessed to these groups to recover operational, custodial, and/or supervisory costs incurred by USD 253.
  • Example(s):
    • Individual youth athletic teams and leagues
    • Youth club awards assemblies
    • Community youth group fundraising events
• Percent of Fee Charged: 0%

Category D: Community Adult Groups and Fund-raising Events:

• Concept: Adult activities and classes operated by individuals or organizations that have the ability to charge participants to participate in organized educational activities, athletic activities, and community events. Profit-bearing rates should be assessed to these groups to help recover the costs for the above categories.
  • Example(s):
    • Individual adult athletic and activity groups
    • Adult classes or seminars not sponsored by USD 253
    • Adult group meetings (homeowners associations, political caucuses, neighborhood watch groups)
    • Local benevolent and philanthropic organizations, when not a fund-raising event (Lions Club, Rotary International, Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, etc.)
• Percent of Fee Charged: 50%

Category E Commercial:

• Concept: Commercial for-profit and not-for-profit groups that profit financially from or avoid commercial rental fees through the use of USD 253 facilities. Profit-bearing rates reflecting the local commercial economy should be assessed to these groups who profit directly or indirectly from district facility use.
  • Criteria
    • Commercial Organizations or Individuals (training, testing, interviewing, etc.)
    • Fund-raising events by not-for-profit groups
    • Churches, including youth group meetings
    • Individual youth athletic teams and leagues with less than 75% of USD 253 students.
• Percent of Fee Charged: 100%

Section 6. Prioritization: School curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular groups will always have priority in scheduling facility use. Outside groups who have received approval may be subsequently rescheduled if the need arises because of rescheduled school-related events. All requests received by their Block due date will be prioritized by their group category, availability of space, and history of positive rental usage, beginning with Group A requests.  

Section 7. Facility Usage Hours & Days: USD 253 facilities are available for outside groups throughout the year. For all activities, group participants are expected to have cleaned up their areas and exited the facilities by 9:30 pm.  Exceptions may be made by communicating and gaining approval from the administration beforehand. 

Section 8. Opening and Closing of Buildings: Whenever any facility is used during non-school hours, the building shall be opened and closed by the group requesting to use the facility.  

Section 9. Large Group Use: Unless otherwise directed by district administration, whenever a facility is being used by a large group, a school custodian shall be present during its use to protect school property.

Section 10. Non-interference: Use of school facilities by outside groups should not interfere with the clean-up of facilities preparatory to school use.

Section 11. Auditorium Use: All sound, lighting, and staging equipment must be operated by an authorized USD 253 employee at the expense of the requesting party.

Section 12. Indoor Facilities not available for Outdoor Sports: The District indoor facilities are designed for indoor sports. They are not designed to protect the building and/or equipment from typical outdoor activities. For that reason, no indoor facilities (excluding the EHS Jones Building) will be made available to outdoor sport activity practices, for example: baseball, softball, soccer, etc.

Section 13. Kitchen Facilities: Whenever any group uses the kitchen facilities, a kitchen employee shall be on duty, and the organization shall be billed overtime kitchen personnel charges in addition to the custodial charge and facility rental fee.

Section 14. ENEA: The Emporia National Education Association is considered to be a school group under Category A.

Section 15. Responsibility of School District: The school district will assume no responsibility for accidents, loss, or injury incurred during events scheduled by outside groups.

Section 16. Rates: The Facility Usage rates shall be reviewed annually and brought back before the Board of Education for any recommended modifications. Rates will be set at a level determined necessary to recover operational, custodial and supervisory costs incurred by USD 253. Any rate changes will become effective at the beginning of the USD 253 fiscal year (July 1).

Section 17. Additional Rates: If the established rates do not cover the operational and custodial costs of the facility, the superintendent or his designee may adjust the fees to cover actual expenses.

Section 18. Decorations: All decorations within a facility must be in accordance with all city fire and safety regulations. No flame-producing devices, such as candles or fuel-burning lamps, are to be used in district facilities.  Decorations should be removed from the premises immediately following the event.

Section 19. Alcohol, Tobacco, Weapons: The manufacture, dispensing, possession, use, consumption, or distribution of illicit drugs, alcohol, and/or tobacco on school property or at school activities is prohibited. Weapons of any kind are not allowed on school property.

Section 20. School Closings: If school is closed due to inclement weather, facility use by outside groups for all activities will be cancelled for the rest of the day.

Section 21. First Year of New Facility: During the first year of the opening of a new District facility, no facility usage/rental will be authorized.

Section 22. Restricted Use of Special Use Space and Equipment: Some classrooms/spaces and equipment are not available for rental usage. These rooms include but are not limited to: science rooms, music and choir rooms, weight rooms, administration offices, vocational education shops, FACs, computer labs, etc. Equipment not available for use includes but is not limited to: industrial technology, sewing machines, computer labs, etc.

Section 23.  Equitable and Efficient Use of District Facilities:  To ensure equitable and efficient use of district facilities, the following procedure applies to all facility reservations:  

• If a group or individual fails to utilize a reserved facility on two separate occasions without prior notice or cancellation, their remaining reservations will be subject to cancellation, and future access to facility reservations may be temporarily suspended or denied at the discretion of the district.  
• Cancellations must be made in advance to avoid being marked as a no-show.  This section is intended to promote responsible use of district facilities and allow access for other users.
• Misuse of the facility may lead to loss of use and will follow a 3-step process.
  1. Verbal or written warning of infraction, and that future misuse may lead to the loss of facility usage.
  2. Short-term loss of usage privilege for one to three weeks.
  3. Long-term loss of usage privilege for four weeks to six months.

Emporia Recreation Commission – Terms of Understanding

The existing partnership between USD 253 and ERC supports the financial and educational interests of the school population. 

Communication between USD 253 and ERC staff shall meet the following guidelines:

1. All enrollment and collection of fees is processed through the ERC office for activities.

2. Insurance for ERC activities is applicable, provided for the ERC.

3. An ERC facility supervisor will be present for all activities that utilize gymnasium space. Their responsibility and purpose is to fulfill the duties of this position as follows:

a. Ensure all participants stay within the appropriate space.

b. Ensure all guests with the participants stay within the appropriate space.

c. Ensure all the spaces and restrooms are picked up of trash and/or participants' possessions before leaving.

d. A checklist (attached) for assigned tasks will be completed for each usage period.

4. No entrance keys for exterior doors will be issued. School District custodial staff will open facilities for use; and close and secure facilities after ERC use.

Employee Usage – Terms of Understanding

In recognition of employees of the District and the special services they provide, certain benefits related to facility usage will be afforded for certain types of usage. However, because of operational costs associated with the use of District facilities, it is not possible to simply allow free access to facilities and services upon request.

Types of employee facility usage fall under one of the following categories. In each case, a description of the usage along with the expectations is identified. Failure to comply with all employee Facility Usage Guidelines & Expectations can lead to loss of facility use privileges.

1. Employee would like to use the facility space at their home school (the school in which they are assigned).

1. The request is for a singular activity that is non-recurring in nature.
2. No equipment or materials will be used that would not normally be out for public access.
3. If students are involved, they will not be charged for their participation.
4. The employee making the request is volunteering their time and acting as the leader/coach/sponsor of the group. Spouses, relatives, or friends of the employee are not applicable.
5. The size of the group for this activity is limited to 10.
6. All trash from the activity will be cleaned up, leaving the space ready for educational activities.
7. No special keys will be checked out for access.
8. Employees' cost to use the facility is with a 50 percent discount, except for the use of personnel to manage usage. 
9. Insurance is still required.

	Category
Room/Facility (per hour)	A, B & C	D	E
Rate Percents	0%	50%	100%
Auditorium	$0.00	$17.50	$35.00
Classroom	$0.00	$7.50	$15.00
Commons Area	$0.00	$12.50	$25.00
Concession Space	$0.00	$17.50	$35.00
Football/Soccer Field	$0.00	$25.00	$50.00
Gymnasium (Main)	$0.00	$17.50	$35.00
Gymnasium (North)	$0.00	$15.00	$30.00
Jones Building	$0.00	$15.00	$30.00
Kitchen	$0.00	$20.00	$40.00
Learning Stairs	$0.00	$5.00	$10.00
Library	$0.00	$12.50	$25.00
Locker Room	$0.00	$7.50	$15.00
Tennis Courts	$0.00	$7.50	$15.00
Personnel Charges (per hour)
Custodial	$25.00	$25.00	$25.00
Kitchen Supervision	$25.00	$25.00	$25.00
Auditorium Lighting	$25.00	$25.00	$25.00
Auditorium Sound	$25.00	$25.00	$25.00
Security	$25.00	$25.00	$25.00
Other	$25.00	$25.00	$25.00

 

Emporia Public Schools welcomes community members to use district facilities for events and activities. To request use of a school facility, please complete the form using the provided link. This permit authorizes use of the facilities as listed, and the individual named on the permit agrees to accept responsibility for all provisions outlined in Board Policy Section KG. A copy of liability insurance must also be submitted, as described in the Facility Usage Guidelines & Procedures (Section 4). We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to supporting your event!

Facility Use Form