Moraga Town and School District Disagree Over Fields' Operating Costs
By Sophie Braccini
At its meeting on October 13th, the members of the Moraga School Board learned that the Town of Moraga has decided to stop contributing to the operating cost of sports fields owned by the District. The Town's decision was made in response to the District's plea to the Town to increase its contribution. Visibly disappointed, the Board acknowledged the town's decision and declared it would decide on an appropriate course of action.
The issue of the Town's contribution towards the maintenance of the fields has been souring the relationship between the two bodies for at least six years. In 1990, the Town started contributing to the operating cost of the District's fields. "Moraga has no recreation fields that are appropriate for playing organized sports," says Rick Schafer, Moraga School District Superintendent, "this is quite unusual; many communities own, operate and maintain their own fields. It made a lot of sense then to have Moraga support the maintenance of the school fields that are used after school hours by the entire community for its recreation needs." In 2003 the Council decided to switch its priorities and indicated that the fields' contribution should be redirected toward more pressing needs. The Town then began negotiations with the School District, which have not yet come to an end.
It is unclear if a joint use agreement was ever signed between the two entities. Documents were found that refer to the text, but the agreement itself could not be located. The Town has nonetheless contributed $45,000 per year to the District, following a sort of Gentleman's Agreement. The general failure of the process seems due to difficulty sorting responsibilities and a large quantity of bruised egos on each side. Some memorable incidents include a Mayor leaving the premises of the discussion because the District had not given him the Chair of the meeting, and a safety study made by the District that the Town qualified as not being impartial. "We've spent a lot of time and money on this issue," said the Superintendent.
At one of the last joint meetings, the District asked the Town to raise its contribution to $55,000, a reflection of the general increase in maintenance costs.
At the September 23rd Council meeting, Town Manager Mike Segrest proposed the Town pay that amount in 2009/2010, but then decrease the contribution by $11,000 each year until it ceases to exist in 2014. "If those were our fields we would move in the direction of having them be more self-supported," said Segrest, adding, "We would reduce the subsidies, which is consistent with the rest of our policy, and the direction that was given by the Town Council. This is, unfortunately, what the financial reality is today."
In a letter dated August 23, 2009, Rick Shafer indicated that the cost the district incurs due to community use is $168,000 per year. At this time, the user groups are contributing $90,000 to the School District; that amount will need to be raised by 61% over a five year period to compensate for the Town's defection. "The District's plan is to revise the facility fee schedule to recover the amount of money being reduced or eliminated by the Town and also cover the shortage," said Schafer, "the goal is to have facility users cover costs generated by their use of the District's facilities."
School Board Member Dennis Kelleher recognized that the School District didn't have any leverage with the Town: "Let's accept it, it is what it is, our next subject is how do we go from there," said Kelleher. Board Member Lisa Evans agreed with Kelleher and added, "this is inconsistent with the Town's history, and we are not accepting this because we like it."
In the process of revising the schedule, the District will also review the fee policy as it relates to the Town. For example, the Town uses the Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School Auditorium to conduct its Council meetings. "The District intends to charge users as appropriate to recover costs incurred as a result of their use of our facilities," said the Superintendent, "this will include set-up charges, custodial charges and facility use charges if appropriate."
Even the possibility of the Town using $737,000 from the East Bay Regional Park District (WW money) on School District fields didn't lighten the mood of the School Board. "The Town decided to spend that money on the school's field, but nobody asked us," said Board Member Kelleher. "And we will inherit the maintenance of that field," added the Superintendent.
The issue of the Town's contribution towards the maintenance of the fields has been souring the relationship between the two bodies for at least six years. In 1990, the Town started contributing to the operating cost of the District's fields. "Moraga has no recreation fields that are appropriate for playing organized sports," says Rick Schafer, Moraga School District Superintendent, "this is quite unusual; many communities own, operate and maintain their own fields. It made a lot of sense then to have Moraga support the maintenance of the school fields that are used after school hours by the entire community for its recreation needs." In 2003 the Council decided to switch its priorities and indicated that the fields' contribution should be redirected toward more pressing needs. The Town then began negotiations with the School District, which have not yet come to an end.
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA