Board of Education approves changes to facility use agreement

HAMLET — The Richmond County Schools Board of Education approved a new use agreement for organizations seeking to use school facilities and fields.

Use of the high school gym or athletic fields will be a flat fee of $200, different from a previously posed fee of a $100 hourly rate at the August Board meeting. There is also a $100 maintenance fee for all outdoor facilities.

There is a $100 flat rate for middle school facilities, down from a previously proposed $75 hourly rate.

Superintendent Dr. Joe Ferrell outlined why they decided to revisit and change the existing policy after consulting with their finance department.

“What we realized was that $60 was not covering what we actually had to pay to these custodians and SROS and others,” Ferrell said. “We were having to cover a lot of the costs.”

At their August meeting, overwhelming feedback from the board members regarding the initial policy indicated that a flat fee was more appropriate than an hourly fee. Ferrell said their initial policy may have priced out some organizations and “none of the board members” wanted to do that.

“These programs are rec ball programs, or AAU programs, that our catering to our kids in this county,” said board member Daryl Mason. “We don’t have a Boys and Girls Club. We don’t have a YMCA…this is for our kids. The harder we make it for these programs to use our facilities, it’s hurting the kids of Richmond County. I really don’t care about the dollar amount, because it’s for the kids. Waive the $200 fee, because….these are our kids…The little money they do make goes to equipment and travel.”

Mason said he’s seen many local youth athletic coaches who pay out of their own pocket for kids in the community.

“They’re doing a service for our county to keep our kids off the street and keep them active in a positive environment, at the same time to help build our athletic programs,” Mason said. “Me personally, I don’t really care for a flat fee or any fee charged to any organization that is working with our youth. If these programs are getting more and more kids involved, let’s cater to the kids. It ain’t going to kill us for a $200 fee, especially if we’re talking about $500,000 for a [potential acquisition of the James Building from Richmond Community College to RCS]. We can waive a $200 fee for the kids.”

A source of consternation among the board was whether Raider Stadium should be used by organizations outside the school system. Dr. Tesha Isler, Executive Director of School Administration & Policy for RCS, conducted research into surrounding counties, and out of 12 districts, seven allowed rental use of their football stadiums while five did not.

“I’ve been a coach in this county for a long time. Richmond County Schools kids look forward to playing on that high school field. I’m not talking about coaches, I’m talking about the kids,” Mason said. “They thrive, they are motivated more, when they get to play [at Raider Stadium]. I don’t see why all of a sudden now that we want to make a change when no damage has been done.”

Chairman Wiley Mabe countered that there other fields, at the Ninth Grade Academy, and in Rockingham, Hamlet and Cordova, that are underutilized already. He stated that teams can still use Raider Stadium for championship games and important match-ups, but that it should be reserved for major events.

“Why would we not allow kids to use the stadium if programs are feeding into our programs in the school system?” asked board member Ronald Tillman. “I don’t think the parking situation at the smaller schools can handle all the people that come out to support the different teams. That parking lot at RSHS is almost full when they have teams come out there and play.”

Mabe responded that he’s seen the parking lot not entirely full at a few Saturday events at the Stadium, and that having some of the junior teams have their championship games at the Stadium was a great idea, but if surrounding counties have a different policy, they need to think about what is in the best interest of the field.

“The average kid that plays ball, their dream is to play on that field,” Tillman continued. “This is taxpayer money that goes into our schools system facilities and now we’re going to deny taxpayers from utilizing the high school field?”

Specific language regarding Raider Stadium was omitted from this version of the agreement, although it was technically included under the guidelines for high school athletic fields. Ferrell said they could make a policy that would allow or deny teams from using the field, or would allow it in special circumstances.

“I do think its a community thing,” offered board member Cory Satterfield. “Those kids do need the opportunity to play out there,” adding that especially with added playoff football games to the schedule, there can be a lot of damage and wear and tear to the field.

Mason added that organizations currently renting out Raider Stadium do a great job of cleaning and maintaining school property, in addition to the work of hired custodial staff. Isler added that the maintenance fee helps go to grounds maintenance.

Board member Scotty Baldwin said he was happy to see the rate changed from hourly to flat.

“If you don’t have some sort of fee or fee structure, your field is going to get abused. Everybody is going to want to use that facility,” Baldwin said, adding that he agreed with everything else said by Mason.

Added language to the agreement states that all payment must be received at least five days before a scheduled event, and that the school system must be reimbursed for any employees who are required to work overtime due to facility use.

Any failure to reimburse may result in an organization not being allowed to rent in the future. The new agreement also states that the Board reserves the right to deny use of a building if proper custodial or supervisory positions are not available.

The Board agreed that Raider Stadium needs to still be available for community groups to use, and voted 6-1 to approve the facility use agreement. Mason was the only dissenting vote.