Fairfax County schools weigh raising community-use fees

Fairfax County public schools recently sent a survey to church groups that use the system's facilities to find out how they would react to increases in school-use fees.

"The school system is looking at all sources for revenues," said Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer of schools. Although the system might introduce or increase fees on such things as Advanced Placement exams, student parking and sports participation, some potential revenue sources don't involve students, officials said.

One of those is community-use fees, which would affect the 1,195 groups that use the county's 196 schools during weeknights and weekends.

"Our buildings are in use more hours each week for community use than instructional purposes," Tistadt said.

During fiscal 2009, the school system generated about $4.8 million in fees to use its buildings, according to the facilities and transportation services department. But it spent about $9.14 million in maintenance, utilities and cleanup on community uses.

Tistadt said the school system is looking to close that $4.3 million gap by about $200,000.

Some organizations have mixed feelings about the proposal.

Centreville Community Bible Church, which has a nondenominational congregation of about 100, has met in the Deer Park Elementary School cafeteria since 2001, Pastor Gary Maines said. With collections down because of the economy, the church does not plan to buy a facility soon, limiting its options, Maines said.

"It's not cheap for us, by any means, to pay the rental fees," he said. "We did get a survey not too long ago about how we would feel about them raising the fees by 10 percent or 20 percent. If they raised it much more than that, we'd have to find someplace else."

About 130 churches, more than 400 homeowner associations and condo groups, about 90 tutors and some 130 sports groups are among the 1,195 organizations that use school facilities to meet.

Bonnie Wilbur of Fairfax County is a member of Centreville Quilters Unlimited, which meets once a month at Colin Powell Elementary School in Centreville. The group has used the school to hold monthly guild meetings for six years, Wilbur said.

"We might be up a creek," she said of possible increased user fees. "Finding a place to meet here is difficult. . . . Libraries book two months in advance. Churches, you have to be a member. It's very hard to find a place that accommodates 70 people."

If schools raise their fees, Wilbur said, "I think we'll have to pay. There's no question that the fees they apply to us now are very moderate. We couldn't afford to rent a hall in a hotel.

Tistadt said the school system has evaluated the responses to its survey.

"If fees were raised more than 5 or 10 percent, groups would leave," he said.

Schools Superintendent Jack D. Dale will present his proposed budget for the 2010-11 academic year to the School Board on Jan. 7.