Should Rising Costs Lead to Facility Fee Updates?
With rampant inflation and cost of living increases across the country, many states and school districts have passed or budgeted new pay raises for teachers and support staff. These increases, which normally take effect at the beginning of a new fiscal year, may represent the first compensation change for many districts in years.
The Hidden Costs of Pay Raises
While pay raises bring smiles to hard-working personnel, often overlooked is the impact on costs relating to facility use. Along with increased energy costs for lights and HVAC, increased costs for custodial, security, and other support services directly impact and widen the gap between operating costs and recovery revenue when outside organizations rent school facilities.
Reviewing Service Fees with New Salary Increases
When new salary increases take effect at the beginning of a fiscal year, it’s important to review your rental program’s service fees in order to cover all employee costs associated with facility use outside of the regular school day. Unlike facility rental fees, employee time and utility costs incurred as a result of events held on campus have an immediate and direct cost to the district. The good news is that making adjustments to direct costs such as these usually don’t require board approval.
In addition to service fee adjustments relating to salary increases, it’s also appropriate to consider whether cost increases for utilities or custodial supplies (including restroom supplies) merit any other fee updates.
How Can Facilitron Help?
If you’re a Facilitron partner, you can contact your account manager to help you adjust your fee schedules. You can provide new hourly rates for each service, or provide the overall percentage increase. Services subject to increases may include: custodial, campus security, site supervisors, theater managers, AV technicians and child nutrition service workers.
Conclusion
Rising operational costs, including salary increases, utilities, and custodial supplies, can significantly impact a school district's facility use program. Regularly reviewing and adjusting service fees ensures that school districts can offset these costs and continue providing high-quality facilities for community events. By proactively managing fee schedules and minimizing the impact of rising costs, districts can maintain financial sustainability while covering the real-time costs of facility operations. Facilitron is here to support your organization in making these necessary adjustments, ensuring that your facility use program remains equitable, efficient, and cost-effective.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why should facility fees be adjusted when salaries increase?
- When salaries increase, so do the costs for essential services like custodial work, security, and site supervision during facility use. Adjusting facility fees ensures that districts can recover these costs and continue providing services without financial strain.
- How do salary increases affect facility use costs?
- Salary increases directly impact the costs of providing support services (custodial, security, etc.) during facility rentals. If fees are not updated to reflect these changes, the gap between operating costs and recovery revenue widens.
- Do fee adjustments for service costs require board approval?
- No, service fee adjustments related to salary increases or other direct costs usually do not require board approval, allowing districts to make quick changes to cover additional expenses.
- What other costs should be considered when updating facility fees?
- In addition to salary increases, districts should consider rising costs for utilities, custodial supplies, and any other operational expenses that are essential to maintaining facility use.