Csd facilities-letter-Maryfrances

==Letter==
From: Francesmary Modugno
Date: June 5, 2008
Subject: Information for the District Directors
To: michael.panza@carlynton.k12.pa.us
Cc: michale.herrmann@carlynton.k12.pa.us
June 5, 2008
Dr. Panza
At the public meeting, held on May 27, 2008, regarding the district
facilities policies, there was discussion about the policies and
practices of other school districts and the swim clubs that use their
facilities. The Fox Chapel, N. Allegheny, Hopewell and S. Fayette
school districts were held as specific examples of having policies
that require payment of fees from organizations with less than 100%
district members or having clubs that did not accept members from
outside of their district boundaries. I have contacted these school
districts and aqua clubs directly to understand their policies and
practices. Based on the facilities policies and information that I
obtained from those sources, there appears to be some confusion and I
would like to clarify a few points for the directors.
All four school district policies allow a percentage non-residents to
be members of an organization without charging the organization a
facility usage fee. With the exception of N. Allegheny, all swim
clubs take non-district residents. N. Allegheny swim club does not
take non-residents because even with limiting membership to residents,
they must conduct tryouts and turn away 50-60 resident swimmers a
year. The Fox Chapel Killer Whales swim club, which can take up to
50% non-residents, and the Hopewell Area Aqua Club, which has no
restriction on non-resident percentage, both charge a $25 non-resident
fee. S. Fayette, our state-assigned sister school, will take up to 50%
non-residents and does not charge a non-resident fee. This
information is summarized in the attached document.
I would appreciate your providing a copy of the information in this
e-mail and attachment to each of the District Directors.
Thank you,
Francesmary Modugno
==Notes==
===1. Fox Chapel (4500 students)===
a. FCASD Facility Usage Guidelines: 
:i. No charge for facility usage for “A student resident group” defined as “an organization having 50% FCASD students in participation, but the event is NOT sponsored by the FCASD (ie, AAU teams, Killer Whales (swim club), and Club sports).” 
b. Killer Whales (swim club) 
:i. Does not pay for use of the pool 
:ii. Accepts non-district members (up to 50%) 
:iii. $25 non-FCASD resident fee per season.
:iv. Membership ranges from pre-school to adult 
===2. Hopewell (2272 students)===
a. Hopewell Area Aqua Club (HAAC). 
According to HAAC President 2007-2008 John Golletti and Aquatics Director Maria Parfitt, HAAC: 
:i. Does not pay for the use of the pool 
:ii. Accepts non-district members with no percent restriction 
:iii. $25 non-Hopewell resident fee 
===3. N. Allegheny (8000 students)===
a. Facility Policy #7110 Guidelines 
:i. 75% district membership – no usage fee 
: ii. 25-75% district membership – 50% facility fee charge 
b. Allegheny North Swim Club. According to Registrar Jill Grater, swimclub has 140 members and 
:i. Does not pay for use of pool 
:ii. 100% district membership because of the large number of residents wanting to be in the club. Even with limiting membership to district members only, they have to have annual tryouts and turn away 50-60 resident swimmers every year. This is a club (not district) policy. 
:iii. Exception to district residency applies when a district swim club member moves out of district; they can still remain a part of the club. 
=== 4. S. Fayette (2200 students; Carlynton Sister School as defined by the State)===
a. According to Bridget Amato, Aquatics Director for S. Fayette School District, aqua programs are: 
: i. Exempt from facility policy 
: ii. Do not pay for use of pool 
: iii. No limit on out of district members in swim club 
: iv. No out-of-district fees for club membership 
== Links and Sources ==
* The new Carlynton facilities policy along with video of the meeting at which it was passed 
* A brief introduction to the history behind this issue
* A detailed accounting of the history behind this issue
* http://Carlynton.blogspot.com is an open forum for discussion of this issue. 
* Video clips of some directors expressing their viewpoints about this issue at previous meetings. Entire meeting discussions are also here.
* Comments to the Carlynton school board on April 17, 2008 and May 1, 2008 urging the school board to adopt a more open policy and to seek input from the community prior to adopting any new policies. 
* Proposed modifications to the existing policy that would address the concerns raised about the current policy while at the same time ensure that resident groups can create the best possible environment for citizens, especially youth. 
* The 7 original proposals put forth by the Carlynton school board. These clearly show an intent to heavily penalize any group that has non-resident members. Some even penalize youth sports teams for hosting home meets against non-resident teams.
==Press Coverage==
All press coverage on this topic if located under Carlynton Facilities - Press Coverage.