BOE adopts new fee schedule for facility use

PINE PLAINS — The Pine Plains Board of Education (BOE) voted to adopt a modified fee schedule during its meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19.The new fee schedule only affects those who fall under Schedule 2, which is defined as “community groups, certified not-for-profit groups, driver’s ed, PTA events other than meetings [and] faculty/staff events other than meetings.”The new fee schedule halves the costs of the previous schedule.The creation of the new fee schedule was initiated when the Town of Pine Plains Recreation Department asked for a reduced price on the usage of school facilities for the town recreation programs. Those programs include flag football and peewee basketball.The Pine Plains Central School District is currently operating on a contingency budget. The law mandates that districts operating on a contingency budget must charge for the use of school facilities if the use will cost the district money due to basic operating costs, such as electricity and custodial services.The previous fee schedule was originally created and adopted for the 2008-09 school year, the last time the district was on a contingency budget. It was drafted by Michael Goldbeck, the assistant superintendent for business and finance, after examining the fee schedules of nearby districts and was designed to have the lowest fees in the region at the time.Even though the fees have been reduced, use of the Pine Plains school facilities will still be a large cost to the recreation department.Recreation Director Catherine Prentice said that all programs are scheduled to go forward as planned, but depending on the sponsorship that the programs receive from local businesses, Pine Plains residents might have to pay to participate in the programs. Previously, only non-residents were required to pay.“I would have liked to see it less, but I understand where [the BOE is] coming from,” Prentice said.