Welcome to Noozhawk Asks, a new feature in which you ask the questions, you help decide what Noozhawk investigates, and you work with us to find the answers.
This week’s question: Do all after-school sports organizations have equal access to local public fields and facilities?
— d’Alary Dalton, Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara Unified School District has a policy to give school-related activities priority to use school grounds and facilities, but does allow community groups to use them on a first-come, first-served basis.
Community groups are welcome to use the facilities for purposes provided for in the state Civic Center Act, as long as the use does not interfere with school activities and the use doesn’t cost the school district money.
The school district charges nonschool groups that use fields and other facilities, Lauren Bianchi Klemann, a district spokeswoman, told Noozhawk.
Bianchi Klemann said groups are charged fair rental value when using school facilities for entertainment or meetings when admission is charged, when contributions are solicited, or when net receipts are not to be used for charitable purposes or the welfare of the district’s students.
The current cost for renting a grass field is posted at $43 per hour, said d’Alary Dalton, the Sol Soccer Club CEO and founder who asked this question.
That fee does not include additional custodial fees, which are determined by the school’s principal or athletic director, and are not shared among groups using the fields at the same time, Dalton added.
— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.