Sarasota school Board discusses safety funds, rental policies

The Sarasota County School board held its first workshop meeting of the new year Tuesday, where it discussed, but took no binding action, on several school safety improvements as well as a new rental policy.

In the 2018-19 school year, the Sarasota County School Board dedicated $23 million to safety changes across the district.

The money went toward creating single points of entry at each school campus. Now, after the initiative has been completed, there is about $2 million left over.

Chief Operations Officer Jody Dumas said the district would like to complete a second round of safety initiatives that would vary by school, such as the addition of automatic doors and the use of key cards to get into the facilities.

Additionally, Dumas said he’d like to begin the process of creating single-entry buildings at other district campuses, such as the Osprey complex, which houses the transportation and food services and purchasing offices, and the Landings complex, which houses the administrative offices.

Several board members were in agreement with the use of the $2 million, though Board Member Eric Robinson said he’d like to see the money used at schools that received a lower grade in 2019.

“I want to make sure staff is protected, but I also want to make sure the schools are getting the capital they need to see higher educational benefits,” he said.

Board members also discussed changing the rates for rental of school facilities, so schools could keep more of the profits.

Dumas said the current rates allow schools to keep about $10 an hour for for-profit rentals and $0 for nonprofit rentals.

By lowering the price in utility rates and capitalizing on the use of equipment, such as tables, chairs and microphone set ups, Dumas said the district would be able to reimburse the school sites better.

Additionally, he suggested that the board consider charging a flat rate per ticket sales for larger events held at the school. For example, if an organization were to sell 600 tickets for a carnival held on school property, the school could charge a $1-per-ticket flat rate, which would leave that school with a $600 profit.

The board agreed that changes need to be made, though Board Member Shirley Brown said the district should continue to not charge schools for use of other schools’ facilities.

District staff will now look into possible changes and present the board with an updated policy at a future board meeting.