BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1404
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 1404 (Hancock) - As Amended: June 19, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 36-2
SUBJECT : School property: Civic Center Act
SUMMARY : Authorizes a governing board of a school district to,
until January 1, 2020, charge an entity for using school
facilities or grounds, an amount for maintenance, repair,
restoration, and refurbishment, proportional to the use of the
school facilities or grounds. Specifically, this bill :
1)Strikes the provision specifying that a governing board of a
school district shall authorize the use of school facilities
or grounds only when an alternative location is not available.
2)Adds YMCA to the list of organizations promoting youth and
school activities that may use school facilities or grounds.
3)Revises the definition of "direct costs" to mean the
following:
a) The share of costs of supplies, utilities, janitorial
services, services of school district employees directly
associated with the administration of the Civic Center Act,
and salaries paid to school district employees to operate
and maintain school facilities or grounds; and,
b) The share of the costs for maintenance, repair,
restoration, and refurbishment, proportional to the use of
the school facilities or grounds by the entity using the
school facilities or grounds as follows:
i) "School facilities" shall be limited to only
nonclassroom space and "school grounds" shall include,
but not be limited to, playing fields, athletic fields,
track and field venues, tennis courts, and outdoor
basketball courts;
ii) The share of the cost for maintenance, repair,
restoration and refurbishment shall not apply to:
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(1) Classroom-based after school programs,
including, but not limited to, tutoring programs or
child care programs; and,
(2) Organizations serving pupil populations during
the core school day.
iii) Funds collected shall be deposited into a special
fund that shall only be used for purposes specified in
this bill.
4)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to, by
December 31, 2013, develop, and the State Board of Education
(SBE), to adopt, regulations to be used by a school district
in determining the proportionate share and the specific
allowable costs that a school district may include as direct
costs for the use of its school facilities or grounds.
5)Sunsets on January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed,
unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January
1, 2020 deletes or extends that date.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Civic Center Act at each public school
facility and grounds where school-based organizations and
councils, parent teacher associations, external and community
organizations may engage in supervised recreational activities
and hold meetings. Authorizes the governing board of a school
district to grant the use of school facilities or grounds upon
the terms and conditions the governing board deems proper for
various purposes. (Education Code (EC) Section 38131)
2)Requires the governing board of a school district to authorize
the use of any school facilities or grounds under its control,
when an alternative location is not available, to nonprofit
organizations, and clubs or associations organized to promote
youth and school activities, including, but limited to: 1)
Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire, Inc.; 2) parent-teachers'
associations; and 3) school-community advisory council.
Authorizes the governing board to charge an amount not to
exceed its direct costs for use of its school facilities based
on an adopted policy specifying which activities shall be
charged a fee. (EC Section 38134)
3)Requires the governing board to charge an amount at least
equal to the district's direct costs for use of school
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facilities or grounds by a church or religious denomination
and fair rental value for entertainments or meetings where
admission fees are charged or contributions are solicited and
the net receipts are not expended for the welfare of the
pupils of the district or for charitable purposes. (EC
Section 38134)
4)Defines "direct costs" as those costs of supplies, utilities,
janitorial services, services of any other district employees,
and salaries paid school district employees necessitated by
the organization's use of the school facilities and grounds of
the district. (EC Section 38134)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, $25,000 - $50,000 General Fund costs to the
California Department of Education to develop regulations and
potentially significant revenue to local schools, to the extent
they are able to charge higher fees for the use of their
facilities.
COMMENTS : The Civic Center Act requires school districts to
authorize use of school facilities or grounds to school-related
and community organizations for various purposes. Existing law
also authorizes a school district to charge a fee for the use of
facilities or ground. Governing boards are required to adopt a
policy specifying the type of activities that require a fee;
however, existing law also specify parameters, including: 1) a
governing board may charge an organization using the facilities
or grounds for youth sports league activities an amount not to
exceed the district's direct costs; 2) a governing board must
charge a religious organization or church an amount at least
equal to the district's direct costs for use of facilities or
grounds for religious service; and 3) a governing board must
charge fair rental value in the case of entertainments or
meetings where admission fees are charged or contributions are
solicited and the net receipts are not expended for the welfare
of the pupils or for charitable purposes.
"Direct costs" is defined as the costs of supplies, utilities,
janitorial services, and salaries of district employees required
to facilitate an organization's use of the facilities or
grounds. This bill, until January 1, 2020, authorizes a school
district to charge a proportional amount for the maintenance,
repair, restoration and refurbishment for the use of
non-classroom space and school grounds, defined as playing
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fields, athletic fields, track and field venues, tennis courts,
and outdoor basketball courts. This bill exempts
classroom-based after school programs, including, but not
limited to, tutoring programs or child care programs, and
organizations serving pupil populations during the core school
day from the maintenance fee.
According to the author, current law defines "direct costs" as
"incremental costs to the District caused by the community
organization's use, but does not include any of the District's
costs to maintain the facilities in condition for use by the
public or to replace equipment, including artificial turf, trace
surfaces, or gym floors, that is worn out over time. SB 1404
would expand the definition of "direct costs" to include each
user's proportionate share of the total costs to operate and
maintain the school district facilities being used, the
proportionate share of the total costs to repair and replace
those facilities, and costs caused by the user's use of the
facilities that would otherwise not be incurred. School
districts' need for users to pay their fair share of these costs
is particularly acute with respect to artificial turf fields,
which are heavily used throughout the year (unlike grass
fields), but which must be replaced periodically."
How will the fee be calculated ? According to the sponsor, the
Los Angeles Unified School District, a possible methodology for
calculating a fee is to determine an hourly cost. The bill
requires the SPI to, by December 31, 2013, develop and the SBE
to adopt regulations to provide guidelines on how a
proportionate share is calculated and allowable costs.
Exemptions . The bill exempts classroom-based "after school
programs" and references examples such as tutoring or child care
programs. The term "after school programs" is commonly used
when referencing the After School Education and Safety Program,
which includes tutoring components but not child care. Staff
recommends striking "after school programs" and inserting
"programs that operate after school hours, including, but not
limited to, after school programs, child care programs and
tutoring programs." According to the sponsor, "organizations
serving pupil populations during the core school day" are
exempted to clarify that organizations that may be maintained by
the school or school district to provide instruction shall not
be charged a fee to provide instruction or direct a program on
school facilities or grounds. Staff recommends revising this
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provision to "organizations retained by the school or school
district to provide instruction or instructional activities to
pupils during school hours."
Need for the bill . Maintenance costs for facilities and grounds
are generally covered under a district's general fund budget.
Supporters argue that state budget cuts have resulted in many
districts being unable to set aside funds to maintain or repair
facilities and grounds. In 2009, the the Legislature and
Governor, through the Budget Act, gave districts the flexibility
to use 39 categorical program funds for any general fund purpose
until 2014-15, including deferred maintenance funds, generally
used for major repair or replacement of plumbing, heating, air
conditioning, electrical, roofing, and floor systems, painting,
and other items. A survey conducted by the Legislative
Analyst's Office shows that in 2010-11, over 70% of the
districts that responded to the survey diverted deferred
maintenance funds to other programs. The challenge of
maintaining facilities and grounds are further exacerbated by
the use of facilities and grounds by non-profit organizations,
sports leagues, and community organizations. This bill will
enable school districts to continue offering school facilities
and grounds for community use while being able to maintain the
facilities or grounds.
Sunset date . The sunset date of January 1, 2020 was added to
the bill at the recommendation of the Senate Education
Committee, arguing that the fee should only be allowed
temporarily, during bad budget times.
Arguments in support . The Piedmont Unified School District
(PUSD) states, "In Piedmont and many other communities, school
athletic facilities are used by a wide variety of community
groups. Non-school organizations use PUSD's athletic facilities
over 4000 hours per year, roughly the same amount as PUSD
athletic programs. These facilities are heavily used and
expensive to maintain, restore, and refurbish. For example,
PUSD's athletic complex includes a full-size running track and
artificial turf field. PUSD expects to have to restore and
refurbish both surfaces at some point after 2015 at an estimated
cost of approximately $800,000. State funding cuts have forced
PUSD to cut employee compensation, lay off teachers and other
employees, increase class sizes, and shorten the school year
with furloughs. In this budget climate, PUSD has not been able
to set aside adequate funds to repair or refurbish its athletic
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facilities. Although not a complete solution, California
legislators can help school districts by loosening restrictions
in the Civic Center Act."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Los Angeles Unified School District (sponsor)
Piedmont Unified School District
Riverside County School Superintendents' Association
San Diego Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087