Noting that it has been five years since the district has raised rates, the Gilbert Public Schools Governing Board studied a proposal Sept. 13 for an increase on community education tuition and facility rental fees.
If approved at the board’s Sept. 27 meeting, the rates would go into effect for the 2023-24 school year.
Superintendent Shane McCord and some board members expressed reluctance about having to raise fees but said the act was necessary to keep community education a self-sustaining entity within the district.
“I cringe when we have to bring these types of things to you to look at, just because it is difficult,” McCord told the board. “These fees do get passed on. If it doesn’t get passed on to the individual directly, it gets passed on indirectly. If a club team is renting a field, they are paying monthly to be a member of that club. If rates get increased, they are going to get increased somewhere down the line, and so it is, sadly, the cost of doing business.”
If the board approves, tuition rates for the district’s four pre-Kindergarten programs would rise 10-20% depending on the program, according to the district presentation. However, the rates remain the same as or below private competitors in the market.
The district’s Very Important Kids before- and after-school care programs also would rise from 10-20%, depending on the service offered.
Holiday camps would rise between 15-25% while summer camps would go up 15%.
Facility rentals for stadiums, gymnasiums, baseball/softball fields and auditoriums all will go up by various amounts, most dramatically for stadiums, which go from $53 an hour to $100 per hour.
Rates for staffing with supervisors, custodians or security personnel also would go up as would hourly utility rates. The district plans to put for the first time different utility rates for spring/summer than for fall/winter use of indoor facilities like gymnasiums.
The district studied competing rental rates from nearby districts and municipalities, and the rates charged both for the facilities and for staffing or utilities would fall between the highest and lowest rates offered.
Jared Ryan, the district’s community education director, attributed the rising costs to four factors: the rising rate of pay needed to attract and retain employees; curriculum costs; food supplies; and the need to meet Arizona Department of Health Services requirements. He also said the district looks to maintain competitiveness with surrounding programs when they consider rates.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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