By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The School Committee unanimously approved an updated school facility rental fee policy during a recent meeting.
A previous incarnation of the School Committee approved Policy KF in March 2023 in order to raise additional revenue for the School Department. Superintendent Tom Geary said the previous version of Policy KF’s included three different classes for prospective renters of school facilities.
“The first class is student, school and town department groups,” said Geary. “The second class is nonprofit organizations and the third is considered everyone else. The changes we would like to make are relatively minor.”
Geary said the proposed change for Class 1 entails adding Scouts, which were previously included in Class 2. After Lynnfield Girl Scouts aired concerns about each troop member being required to pay a $30 fee in order to use classrooms in the schools last fall, the School Committee approved exempting all Lynnfield youth, non-athletic, nonprofit civic organizations from paying the fee. That will continue moving forward.
Additionally, Geary proposed changing Class 3 by making it applicable to resident groups who have 15 or fewer people.
“Class 3 on weekdays will have one rate that is reduced in half from where it was,” said Geary. “Class 3 on weekends will remain the same because we have to cover custodial coverage on weekends.”
Geary said the newly created Class 4 pertains to “all other renters that do not meet the requirements for Classes 1, 2 or 3.”
School Committee member Jamie Hayman asked whether auditorium rentals should be moved from Class 3 to Class 4.
“We have a limit for groups over 15,” said Hayman. “I think that is low for an auditorium rental. For the auditorium, I think we should have a different number there or having a minimum amount of time people can rent it. What I don’t want is us renting out the auditorium for parties and stuff like that.”
Geary said school officials will have discretion over renting school facilities.
“We will still have discretion over who we would rent to and the reasons we would rent,” said Geary. “Food and drinks are not allowed in the auditorium.”
School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio agreed.
“There will be overall discretion about those things,” said DePrizio. “If we find out that someone wants to use the space that is unsuitable, we won’t rent to them. I can actually see smaller groups renting the auditorium for an hour or two to rehearse something or do something in that space. I can see benefits for certain groups who need extra time to practice whether they are inside of the district or outside of the district.”
Hayman was pleased that school officials will have discretion over prospective renters.
