Csd facilities-letter-Maryfrances

From Fix PA

Contents 1 Letter 2 Notes 2.1 1. Fox Chapel (4500 students) 2.2 2. Hopewell (2272 students) 2.3 3. N. Allegheny (8000 students) 2.4 4. S. Fayette (2200 students; Carlynton Sister School as defined by the State) 3 Links and Sources 4 Press Coverage

[edit] Letter

From: Francesmary Modugno

Date: June 5, 2008

Subject: Information for the District Directors

To: michael.panza@carlynton.k12.pa.us

Cc: michale.herrmann@carlynton.k12.pa.us

June 5, 2008

Dr. Panza

At the public meeting, held on May 27, 2008, regarding the district facilities policies, there was discussion about the policies and practices of other school districts and the swim clubs that use their facilities. The Fox Chapel, N. Allegheny, Hopewell and S. Fayette school districts were held as specific examples of having policies that require payment of fees from organizations with less than 100% district members or having clubs that did not accept members from outside of their district boundaries. I have contacted these school districts and aqua clubs directly to understand their policies and practices. Based on the facilities policies and information that I obtained from those sources, there appears to be some confusion and I would like to clarify a few points for the directors.

All four school district policies allow a percentage non-residents to be members of an organization without charging the organization a facility usage fee. With the exception of N. Allegheny, all swim clubs take non-district residents. N. Allegheny swim club does not take non-residents because even with limiting membership to residents, they must conduct tryouts and turn away 50-60 resident swimmers a year. The Fox Chapel Killer Whales swim club, which can take up to 50% non-residents, and the Hopewell Area Aqua Club, which has no restriction on non-resident percentage, both charge a $25 non-resident fee. S. Fayette, our state-assigned sister school, will take up to 50% non-residents and does not charge a non-resident fee. This information is summarized in the attached document.

I would appreciate your providing a copy of the information in this e-mail and attachment to each of the District Directors.

Thank you,

Francesmary Modugno

[edit] Notes

[edit] 1. Fox Chapel (4500 students)

a. FCASD Facility Usage Guidelines:

i. No charge for facility usage for “A student resident group” defined as “an organization having 50% FCASD students in participation, but the event is NOT sponsored by the FCASD (ie, AAU teams, Killer Whales (swim club), and Club sports).”

b. Killer Whales (swim club)

i. Does not pay for use of the pool

ii. Accepts non-district members (up to 50%)

iii. $25 non-FCASD resident fee per season.

iv. Membership ranges from pre-school to adult

[edit] 2. Hopewell (2272 students)

a. Hopewell Area Aqua Club (HAAC). According to HAAC President 2007-2008 John Golletti and Aquatics Director Maria Parfitt, HAAC:

i. Does not pay for the use of the pool

ii. Accepts non-district members with no percent restriction

iii. $25 non-Hopewell resident fee

[edit] 3. N. Allegheny (8000 students)

a. Facility Policy #7110 Guidelines

i. 75% district membership – no usage fee

ii. 25-75% district membership – 50% facility fee charge

b. Allegheny North Swim Club. According to Registrar Jill Grater, swimclub has 140 members and

i. Does not pay for use of pool

ii. 100% district membership because of the large number of residents wanting to be in the club. Even with limiting membership to district members only, they have to have annual tryouts and turn away 50-60 resident swimmers every year. This is a club (not district) policy.

iii. Exception to district residency applies when a district swim club member moves out of district; they can still remain a part of the club.

[edit] 4. S. Fayette (2200 students; Carlynton Sister School as defined by the State)

a. According to Bridget Amato, Aquatics Director for S. Fayette School District, aqua programs are:

i. Exempt from facility policy

ii. Do not pay for use of pool

iii. No limit on out of district members in swim club

iv. No out-of-district fees for club membership

[edit] Links and Sources

• The new Carlynton facilities policy along with video of the meeting at which it was passed

• A brief introduction to the history behind this issue

• A detailed accounting of the history behind this issue

• http://Carlynton.blogspot.com is an open forum for discussion of this issue.

• Video clips of some directors expressing their viewpoints about this issue at previous meetings. Entire meeting discussions are also here.

• Comments to the Carlynton school board on April 17, 2008 and May 1, 2008 urging the school board to adopt a more open policy and to seek input from the community prior to adopting any new policies.

• Proposed modifications to the existing policy that would address the concerns raised about the current policy while at the same time ensure that resident groups can create the best possible environment for citizens, especially youth.

• The 7 original proposals put forth by the Carlynton school board. These clearly show an intent to heavily penalize any group that has non-resident members. Some even penalize youth sports teams for hosting home meets against non-resident teams.

[edit] Press Coverage

All press coverage on this topic if located under Carlynton Facilities - Press Coverage.