SB 1404: California’s Civic Center Act Presented by: Jon Cornelison | Civic Permits
KEY FACTS-WHY Civic Center Act ◦ CA Education Code section 38130 ◦ Spirit of the law is to ensure that school facilities and fields are available to the public for acceptable use pursuant to LEA board policies and procedures. ◦ Allows for school districts to reclaim reasonable costs associated with public use of school facilities.
KEY FACTS-WHAT Direct cost groups were previously limited to the “share of the costs of supplies, utilities, janitorial services, services of school district employees, and salaries paid to school district employees.” In other words, direct costs paid for supplies, utilities, and people--not for building maintenance.
KEY FACTS-WHAT SB1404 amends section 38134 of the Civic Center Act, expanding direct costs to include: ◦ “the share of the costs for maintenance, repair, restoration, and refurbishment, proportional to the use of the school facilities or grounds ” Previously only “Fair Rental” users could be charged these costs.
KEY FACTS-WHAT Applies to non-classroom space and school grounds (athletic grounds and school facilities) Requires a special fund to be designated for funds collected for maintenance, repair, restoration, and refurbishment under the revised direct-cost fee structure. State Superintendent and Board of Education to develop regulations for determining direct costs.
HOW/WHEN-IMPLEMENTATION Currently, not a lot is known about the pending state regulations for determining direct costs under the Civic Center Act. SB 1404 establishes deadline of December 31, 2013 for regulations. Districts should proceed with streamlining Civic Center Act facility permitting process, fee schedule management, and administrative regulations in preparation of the forthcoming regulations including setting up a special fund in accordance with SB 1404.
HOW: FACILITY PERMITTING PROCESS Review current permitting process, practices, materials ◦ Paper: Collect and discard old facility permit forms, update existing paper forms (most likely annually, given annual increases to facilities cost maintenance). ◦ Risks: Having old forms with old fees floating around in the community (including online — groups like the Girl/Boy Scouts often scan and post these on their websites)
HOW: FACILITY PERMITTING PROCESS Consider adopting an on-line process: ◦ Online Calendaring: Several online calendaring systems exist to organize facilities scheduling. ◦ Online Facility Permitting, Invoicing, Cost Recovery: Allows for flexibility in adjusting fees, since operating costs can and will increase each year. Adjusting fees for increases in operating costs requires a more flexible format — prevents risk of old forms with old fees floating around.
IT IS THE INTENT OF THE LEGISLATURE: “to encourage all school districts to maximize opportunities to make available and accessible public school facilities and grounds to their communities…” “to amend the Civic Center Act to authorize a school district to charge an organization using school facilities or grounds an amount proportional to the organization’s use of the school facilities or grounds to maintain, repair, restore, and refurbish the school facilities or grounds…”
COMMUNICATING YOUR DISTRICT’S NEW FEES Timing Matters: ◦ Facility users are already collecting their own fees for their programs…based on last year’s fees (unless your district already notified them of the new fees earlier this year). Relationships Matter: ◦ Your district’s community has and will continue to be comprised of the people who your district relies upon to approve facilities bonds and parcel taxes!
COMMUNICATING YOUR DISTRICT’S NEW FEES Educating Matters: ◦ Provide information about SB 1404, including an estimate of the amount of money your district has spent annually on funding the repairs from community use, and how the new fees can legally be used. ◦ Communicating early and often, and including stakeholders in the process, will help in retaining and maintaining these critical relationships with your district’s community partners!
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