By Dane Anderson, Staff Writer

The Eanes school board and Superintendent Nola Wellman discussed a proposed fee structure Monday for the rental of district facilities. 

Wellman, who said attention to facilities rental fees stemmed from complaints about field usage, said the new fee model was based on cost recovery and not revenue generation.

“We have not upgraded our (rental) process or increased facilities rates since the implementation of a per-participant fee five years ago,” she said. “We feel it is important to move to a time-usage model at this point.”

Hourly rates under the proposed plan vary according to the particular facility or field and the type of user and are assessed each season. General users are divided as school groups, nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations. Youth groups serving people under the age of 21 are charged separate discounted fees based on their nonprofit or for-profit status. Club sports organizations such as high school lacrosse and rugby are still charged a participation or field-use fee. 

Additional hourly fees are now in effect for support services like custodial, sound technicians and security guards, and there is a fee in place for trash and recycling services.

A cap was put in place for nonprofit organizations, limiting fee increases to 50 percent the first year of the new schedule. That cap does not extend to club sport fee increases or increased fees for gym usage.

School groups using facility space are not charged under the rate schedule but must come up with payment for support services. Under the proposed schedule, nonprofit groups not serving youth are charged fees ranging from $15 per hour for elementary playfields to $350 per hour for the WHS concert hall. For-profit groups not youth-based are charged rates ranging from $25 per hour to $350 per hour for the same facilities. 

Youth group rates range from $10 an hour to $70 an hour for field, stadium and gym usage under the new rate structure.

Club sports groups serving WHS students are still charged a per-participant fee of $50 per player per season. That prompted some criticism from district parents whose students play non-UIL sports like lacrosse and rugby, said Jay Jackson, president of the Westlake Boys Lacrosse team. 

“Parents are wondering why, as a club of the school made up of high school students, they are being charged a participation fee when they already pay taxes,” he said. 

At the suggestion of District Athletic Director  Darren Allman, the district may consider changing the name of the charge club sports organizations to a “field use” fee, which parents may find more palatable. 

The new rate structure would result in some groups experiencing rate increases and some groups enjoying rate decreases. According to district records, y”outh boys lacrosse would jump from $6,750 to $10,125 per season, while the Westlake Youth Soccer Association would decrease from $50,150 to $34,385 a season.

“I don’t know if we will receive more revenue under this new cost structure, but I imagine an organization will be more careful when reserving an hour of field time,” Wellman said.