Use of District Premises

In order to request the use of district facilities, please complete and submit a Use of District Premises Application.

REQUEST FOR USE OF FACILITIES INSTRUCTIONS & GUIDELINES

LCS USE OF DISTRICT FACILITIES

The Board of Education believes school facilities of the District should be made available for community use, provided such use does not infringe on the original and necessary purpose of the property or interfere with the educational program of the schools.

The Board may permit the use of school facilities and equipment when such permission has been requested in writing by a responsible organization or individual and has been approved by the Superintendent or his/her designee. No facilities or equipment may be used until all forms have been completed and approved.

In weighing competing interests for use of the facilities, the Board will give priority in the following order:

Category 1– London City School District Activities or Organizations (includes maintenance/cleaning schedules)

Category 2– School Affiliated Organizations: Board-approved District Support Organizations or other groups specifically organized to support the District.

Category 3 – London and/or Madison County Civic groups, in-district nonprofit 501 (c) organizations, or individuals/groups comprised of at least 75% district residents

Category 4 – Out-of-District non-profit organizations, for-profit groups, or individuals/groups comprised of less than 75% district residents.

All requests for use of school facilities shall be made in writing directly to the Director of Maintenance, via the District Website online Facility Use Application form.

Indoor equipment will not be rented for outdoor use. A custodian employed by the district, and assigned by the Director of Maintenance may be directed to open and close any school building used or rented by a group, and at the discretion of the Director of Maintenance may be required to be on duty for the entire time the building is in use.

The State law provides for the use of public schools as polling places. Rent shall not be charged for the use of such rooms, but the Board of Elections may pay such reasonable expenses which the public authorities having charge of the rooms may incur (i.e. custodial services, gas & electric) made by the use of such rooms.

Following such regulations, the Board charges only for custodial services over those hours necessary beyond the regular operation of the facilities.

Any non-profit organization or individual using public school facilities (and/or equipment) must agree to restore to the original condition any damaged property. Any equipment lost must be replaced with like equipment and approved by the Director of Maintenance. All facilities and equipment are expected to receive proper treatment and be left in good condition. An additional charge will be charged if facilities and equipment are mistreated or require additional cleaning.

Liability Insurance

All groups or individuals will be required to furnish proof of liability insurance (minimum of $1,000,000). The original Certificate of Insurance must be attached to the Facility Use Application form with the district named as loss payee.

Application Process

Application forms are available online at the District’s Website. The application for a permit to use a school district facility shall be filed with the Director of Maintenance or his/her designee at a minimum of thirty (30) days before the date of the proposed use online. If no other facility conflicts exist, and documentation is accurate, the Director of Maintenance will sign the application, give pre-approval, and forward it to the district Treasurer. The district Treasurer will review the application to ensure there are no clarification(s) required, if none exist, the Treasurer will determine the financial charges, sign the application, and forward the application to the Superintendent for final approval/disapproval at a minimum of fourteen (14) calendar days in advance of anticipated use. After final approval/disapproval of the request has been provided by the Superintendent, the application will be forwarded to the Director of Maintenance, or his/her designee will schedule the event and notify the requester of the outcome of the application process.

Category of Groups Eligible to Use Facilities

Persons applying to use District Facilities will be classified into one (1) of four (4) categories:

Category 1 Category 2

Category 3

Category 4

London City School District Activities or Organizations

School Affiliated Organizations: Board-approved District Support Organizations or other groups specifically organized to support the District.

London and/or Madison County Civic groups, in-district non-profit 501 (c) organizations, or individuals/groups comprised of at least 75% district residents.

Out-of-District non-profit organizations, for-profit groups, or individuals/groups comprised of less than 75% of district residents.

Non-School Groups

The following groups may use school facilities without charge (except for personnel costs, if incurred):

  1. Local police, fire, and rescue departments when conducting staff training.

  2. Township or London City meetings of general importance when no fee is charged

  3. Madison County Board of Election, using buildings as polling places

  4. District employee organizations

  5. District officially recognized partners

Custodial Service

At the discretion of the Director of Maintenance or his/her designee, a custodian may be assigned to be on duty to open and close school facilities. A custodian or regular school employee may also be required to be on duty for the entire time of the event. Custodial overtime (minimum of two (2) hours at $40/hr per employee) shall be charged if the event keeps the custodian from accomplishing his/her normal scheduled duties if additional custodians are brought in or if the event is during hours the facility is normally closed (to be determined by the Director of Maintenance or his/her designee). Custodians will be on-site no less than 30 minutes before the event depending on setup time and no less than 30 minutes after the event depending on clean-up time. This time will be a chargeable expense as well.

Use of Stadium and Athletic Fields

Due to the high cost of field maintenance and league expectations the Director of Maintenance, Treasurer, Athletic Director, or Superintendent reserves the right to cancel any activity scheduled on an athletic field/stadium due to inclement weather. When at all possible, Sunday will be used as a first option (rain date) for events canceled on Saturday. The second option would be to move any activity scheduled at the stadium to a practice field. Field maintenance fees would then be waived.

Use of Track Facilities

The rules and fees for usage of the track facilities are the same as those for using the athletic stadium

District Rules

The following district rules are to be applied when using any of the district facilities:

  1. The person authorized to use the facility shall assume all liability for damages, which may occur in or about the facility while the person has use of the building. Unauthorized use of areas within the facility, doors propped open, and failure to reimburse the Board for damage to the property will result in loss of facility use and possible prosecution.

  2. The person authorized to use the facility agrees to indemnify and HOLD HARMLESS the London City School District Board of Education and their agents and employees from liability, claims, demands, damages, or costs, for, or arising out of injury or alleged injury to all members of the group whether it be caused by the negligence of indemnitor or London City School District Board of Education or either party’s agents or employees or otherwise. In addition (and not in place of the foregoing), groups or individuals desiring to use the London City School District facilities are required to show evidence they are adequately insured against claims for personal injuries and/or property damage, which may arise as a result of their activities on the district premises and are required to attach a certificate of insurance to the Use of Facilities Application form.

  3. An employee of the Board may be required to be on duty whenever a facility is used by an organization or group at no cost to the District.

  4. Only the Board may pay Board employees for the services in connection with the use of school facilities. Under no circumstance is the person granted authorization to use a facility permitted to contact Board employees who are not scheduled to work the event to gain access to areas within the district.

  5. All charges for lease, supervision, custodians, and other personnel will be billed by the Treasurer and are payable within fourteen (14) days. No group liable for charges will be permitted use of a facility if payment has not been made. Failure to make payment will result in the group being denied future consideration.

  6. Permission to use district facilities is not transferable from one location to another or to a different date.

  7. If an admission tax is collected or if fees are to be paid to any agency or group, the organization/person renting the facility must assume all responsibilities and must meet all obligations.

  8. District authorities reserve the right to revoke authorization of facility use at any time.

  9. School district activities will be given preference in scheduling facilities. Priority in facility scheduling will then be groups from Category 2 through Category 5, respectively.

  10. There shall be proper supervision for the accommodation and control of patrons attending any activity. Activities must be orderly and lawful. Reasonable security arrangements appropriate for the use must be made.

  11. Additional fees may be charged for special equipment, video projectors, public address systems, lighting systems, music risers, etc., and for the salary of personnel assigned to operate such equipment.

  12. The Board or its administrative representatives shall have free access to all facilities at all times.

  13. Fire and safety regulations of the Board, the local fire department, and the State of Ohio must be followed at all times.

  14. No fireworks, explosives, or flammables of any nature shall be permitted in or about district facilities. Flammable decorative materials are prohibited.

  15. The practice of transferring, loaning, or copying district Keys or Fobs is prohibited. Violators of this rule will result in immediate termination of building use and will not be permitted to use the facilities in the future.

  16. There shall be no tobacco use permitted in school buildings or grounds throughout the district. Enforcement is the responsibility of the person authorized to use the facility – violators of this rule will not be permitted to use the facilities in the future.

  17. There shall be no alcoholic beverages or intoxicating drugs brought into or consumed on school grounds or in the buildings. Persons under the influence of alcohol or an intoxicating drug shall not be permitted on the premises and shall be subject to arrest if they do enter the premises.

  18. No political advertising material of any nature shall be distributed on school district grounds or in any facility. Flyers, booklets, or other printed or audio-visual materials may not be distributed unless they relate directly to the activity for which the school facility is being used and have prior approval from the district.

  19. No modification may be made to the facilities (wiring, emergency lighting, HVAC, etc).

  20. The person authorized to use the facility must vacate the premises by 10:00 PM, unless exception unless an exception is noted and approved on the application form.

  21. The person authorized to use the facility must be twenty-one (21) years of age.

  22. Scheduled activities will be canceled when the school district is closed due to inclement weather.

    Cancellations will be made with as much notice as possible.

a. Weather closings on Fridays may cause weekend cancellations. Scheduled users must contact the Director of Maintenance or his/her designee via email on Friday between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM to verify weekend facility use activity. If no contact is made the user shall assume the activity is canceled.

  1. The Superintendent/Treasurer reserves the right to deny access to facilities or waive or adjust fees.

  2. A person authorized to use district facilities must notify the Director of Maintenance or designee in writing (email) twenty-four (24) hours in advance if the event is canceled. Failure to notify the Director of Maintenance or designee to cancel custodian or other personnel from assisting in the use of the building will result in the authorized person being charged a minimum of two (2) hours of custodial overtime.

  3. The Board shall not deny equal access or a fair opportunity to, or discriminate against any students who wish to conduct a meeting within a limited open forum based on the religious, political, or philosophical content of such meetings. Such meetings, if requested, shall be held during non-instructional time and shall have the same opportunity to share facilities as other non-curriculum-related groups.

26. Beyond the above provisions, the use of school facilities will be guided by R.C. 3313.75 et seq.

The use of the facility does not indicate the Board approves or advocates the matters which are discussed at the meeting. Nothing in this policy shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board or its employees to maintain order and discipline on district premises, to protect the well-being of students, faculty, and staff, and to ensure the attendance of students at meetings is voluntary.

School buildings and facilities shall not be used for promoting racial or religious prejudices or for any other purpose inimical to our democratic way of life (requests by organizations of a controversial nature may be referred to the Board for decision).

The Board encourages the public to use school facilities. Fees charged are to cover utilities and services. Following is the rental fee schedule for the use of school facilities by outside persons/groups. A deposit is required to be paid fourteen (14) days in advance of the use of the facilities, as described, and the balance is to be paid upon receipt of the statement from the Treasurer of the Board.

This policy authorizes the Treasurer to pay personnel on the first authorized payday following the activity. All fees are to be paid directly to the Treasurer of the Board.

The following fee schedule is for each event up to approximately four (4) hours. Rehearsals will be billed at half the appropriate fee.

The use of all district facilities must be scheduled through the Director of Maintenance or designee via the use of the online application form located on the district’s website. A contract will be issued specifying the facilities to be used and the approximate cost. A deposit will be due fourteen (14) days before the use of the facilities to cover custodial services.

All sponsoring non-profit services or organizations are responsible for ensuring all school policies regarding the use of the district facilities are adhered to, and will be responsible for furnishing supervisory personnel, including crowd and traffic control when necessary. Any damage to district property resulting from activities must be paid for by the responsible person authorized to use the facility.

Liability insurance is required. The authorized person is responsible for furnishing insurance by the Board's instructions.

No fee adjustment or waiver may be granted without written authorization from the Board or the Superintendent.

Non-Discriminatory Community Use of School Facilities

It is the intention of the Board of Education that the facilities of the London City Schools be available for community functions as freely and fully as possible without interference with their basic function. It is, however, the responsibility of the Board of Education to ensure that those facilities are not used for illegal purposes or in any manner inconsistent with the general principles of non-discrimination or first come-first served priorities.

All citizens of the London City School District have equal entitlement to use all facilities without qualification or reservation. If the using group will charge any fee related to the usage of school facilities, the fee may not discriminate among residents of the District based upon their place of residency.

  1. Nothing in this document shall be construed as altering the traditional requirement for segregation of the sexes in the use of sanitary or dressing facilities.

  2. Classroom segregation based on levels of knowledge or skill is expected provided that all levels are available to all applicants on an equal basis.

  3. Approval or exceptions to policies stated are reserved solely for the Board of Education or its designee.

Last reviewed January 2024