Though created in a spirit of putting New Canaan’s youth and community first, a proposal that the district is weighing now—essentially, a change in how groups that use the schools’ gyms and auditoriums are categorized and, by extension, how much they’ll be charged—requires more discussion because it may have unintended consequences, officials say.
For example, Board of Education members said Monday night, businesses such as The Walter Schalk School of Dance—that not only serve the community through their offerings but also support New Canaan by giving back—would be hit hard enough by a proposed rate hike that they conceivably could leave the town altogether.
“It’s almost like we are saying, ‘We don’t want you,’ with these kinds of rates,” school board Secretary Dionna Carlson said during the group’s meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School.
“I don’t think any of us realized when we were doing this, what we might be doing to some of these groups,” she said.
Rentals of school spaces that include gyms, auditoriums, cafeterias and classrooms last academic year ran at a loss of more than $11,000, the district reported.
Prior to proposing new rates, the board developed a new policy on use of school facilities. Under the policy, New Canaan-based local, youth-serving and nonprofit organizations see lower rates than for-profit businesses and out-of-town groups. In many cases, no fees are assessed at all, under the policy—for example, for school-related groups (PTC/PFAs), town groups (board and commissions), New Canaan Library and youth organizations (Girl Scouts, youth sports organizations) for “standard use.” Exceptions would be for major fundraisers or those involving profit-making organizations.
Yet in New Canaan, many businesses are so supportive of the community through giving that though they don’t qualify as “not-for-profit” in the sense of having an IRS 501(c)(3) designation, they operate as nonprofits in spirit, Carlson and other board members said.
Under a proposed fee schedule made available to local media outlets—though it should be underscored, again, that the proposed rates are initial recommendations and in draft form—operations such as Walter Schalk would see a 112 percent increase in the 3-hour rate, from $330 to $700.
Board member Jennifer Richardson said she agreed that for-profit businesses need to pay, “but this number, [Walter Schalk] probably would leave and then if they did leave our school system, how does that impact the dollars that come in? They represent the largest income that we get from the facilities.”
The 50-year-old dance school (whose very first classes are said to have been held in Ponus Ridge Chapel) uses the schools about 46 times per year.
Board member Sangeeta Appel cautioned that Walter Schalk should not get special consideration relative to other businesses.
They “have to pay a rent like The Studio does or Performing Arts [Conservatory] does, or all of these other groups” and the board shouldn’t “give them an unfair advantage,” Appel said.
A new fee schedule doesn’t have to be in place until July 2015, officials said.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi advised the board to take the time needed to work out how to realize the spirit of its recently adopted policy.
“There is time to table and go back to more discussion around how the philosophy and vision that is in the policy can be realized or reinforced by the rate structure,” he said.
What follows are tables showing the current rate schedule, and the proposed schedule to which the school board referred during Monday’s meeting—the article continues below.
Existing New Canaan Public Schools Facilities Usage Rates*
| Local Nonprofit | Local Commercial | Nonlocal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auditorium (NCHS) | $240 | $330 | $420 |
| Gymnasium (NCHS) | $225 | $300 | $375 |
| Cafeteria (NCHS) | $225 | $300 | $375 |
| Wagner Room (NCHS) | $195 | $240 | $285 |
| Classroom (NCHS) | $165 | $180 | $195 |
| Auditorium (Saxe) | $225 | $300 | $375 |
| Gymnasium (Saxe) | $210 | $270 | $330 |
| Cafeteria (Saxe) | $195 | $240 | $285 |
| Classroom (Saxe) | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Gymnasium (Elementary) | $210 | $270 | $330 |
| 'Cafetorium' (Elementary) | $195 | $240 | $285 |
| Classroom (Elementary) | $165 | $180 | $195 |
*Note: The rates listed here are for 3-hour use of facilities. School-related, town and youth-serving New Canaan groups pay no fee for standard use of any facility.
The district’s interim director of finance and operations, Nancy Harris, said officials landed on the following proposed rates by studying what comparable nearby towns charged.
PROPOSED New Canaan Public Schools Facilities Usage Rates*
| New Canaan Community Groups | New Canaan Nonprofits | Non-New Canaan Nonprofits | New Canaan For-Profit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditorium (NCHS) | $175 | $350 | $450 | $700 |
| Gymnasium (NCHS) | $150 | $300 | $375 | $600 |
| Cafeteria (NCHS) | $150 | $300 | $375 | $600 |
| Wagner Room (NCHS) | $150 | $300 | $375 | $600 |
| Classroom (NCHS) | $25 | $50 | $65 | $100 |
| Auditorium (Saxe) | $150 | $300 | $375 | $600 |
| Gymnasium (Saxe) | $125 | $250 | $325 | $500 |
| Cafeteria (Saxe) | $100 | $200 | $250 | $400 |
| Classroom (Saxe) | $25 | $50 | $65 | $100 |
| Gymnasium (Elementary) | $125 | $250 | $325 | $500 |
| 'Cafetorium' (Elementary) | $100 | $200 | $250 | $400 |
| Classroom (Elementary) | $25 | $50 | $65 | $100 |
*Notes: The rates listed are for three hours of use. No proposed fee schedule would take hold until July 2015, and the rates posted here are INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS ONLY, not final. School-related, town and youth-serving New Canaan groups pay no fee for standard use of any facility.
Ultimately, the board voted unanimously to postpone a decision on the specific rate structure proposed until it could take a second, wider look at what effects the fees may have.
Carlson said some of the fees were far higher than Fairfield County towns such as Darien, Easton and Westport.
She said that many local organizations might be unintentionally mis-categorized under the new policy, since the only reason they’re not registered as “nonprofits” with the IRS is because they cannot afford the associated administrative costs.
It’s great that so many of New Canaan’s youth sports organizations “had the foresight to create 501(c)(3)s, to become tax-exempt because they have the parent volunteer base to do that,” Carlson said. “They are able to fall into this nontaxable category, but if you look at all the arts programs that are supporting our children, the’re going to be shifted, because they are not technically 501(c)(3)s, and I’m not sure that’s the message to convey in our community, that we value one group over another in our rental structure.”
Particularly when many of those organizations give back to the community on their own. Carlson cited Walter Schalk as an example. About 350 to 400 kids attend Walter Schalk each year, and in its 50 years in New Canaan, the company has awarded about $800,000 in college scholarships, she said, including $29,000 last year—about half of which directly benefitted New Canaan kids.
“They do that independently,” Carlson said. “It’s not a not-for-profit, but in any sense of the word they are giving back to the community much more than others categorized differently.”
Board members said they may need to look specifically at the high end of the proposed rate structure or may need to open up a more general conversation about their purpose in renting out the school spaces. Board member Gene Goodman said the group may need to look at whether it’s trying to cover its costs across-the-board or only in certain cases.