Groups Step Up Complaints That County Thwarts 'National Night Out,' Other Events at Public School Buildings

Reisterstown community groups are constrained from holding "National Night Out," political forums and other functions by the increased bureaucratic requirements imposed by the Baltimore County school system, according to members of the groups.

School officials have recently begun to more stringently enforce the district’s facility use policy, referred to as “,” which requires detailed documentation and increased insurance costs.

The Chartley Homeowners Association is among those whose members worry that the new enforcement of facilities use rules harms its efforts to hold events and raise money.

The association has held its "National Night Out" at for the past nine years, but association leaders said the detailed requirements of the district’s school use rules increase the cost and paperwork so much they are prohibitive.

“If we can [hold National Night Out at the school] this year, this will be the last, but we’re not even sure if we can meet the requirements this year,” said Ernie Schmidhauser, the group’s "National Night Out" chairperson.

The drug and crime prevention event is a joint effort between the community and police that aims to get residents involved in keeping their neighborhoods safe.

In other parts of Baltimore County, craft fairs, recycling events and community concerts have become nearly impossible, or at least troublesome, to hold through what parents say is inconsistent application of the rule. Some cite that the rule says community groups “may not sublease or rent BCPS facilities and ground to any other parties” as the source of their issues, while others point to insurance requirements.

“When a PTA cannot hold a function on their own school property, I find that horrendous,” said Mary Molinaro, president of the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Coordinating Council (ROG).

The district’s rule and the applications associated with community groups using school grounds got lengthier when the policy was revised in July of 2010.

The policy originally did little more than restrict gambling outside of games of bingo.

Here are some selected policies new to the revised document:

• Birthday and anniversary parties and wedding receptions are prohibited.
• A bingo license must be obtained if games are to take place.
• Documentation of crowd management training is required for indoor activities with 50 or more people.
• The Office of Food and Nutrition must approve all food preparation, serving and vending.

The document also gives a lengthy list of “high-risk activities,” which would likely not be approved by school officials under specific insurance requirements.

Some of the activities on that list include boating, dunk tanks, hayrides, ice skating, limo rides, moon bounces, mud wrestling, rollerblading, tobogganing, trampolines, water games and concerts. Separate insurance requirements apply to fireworks.

In Reisterstown, Molinaro, with the Reisterstown-Owings Mills-Glyndon Coordinating Council, said her request to use for a political forum preceding last year's elections was denied because she needed proof that she had a $2 million insurance policy for the event.

“The whole insurance thing is blown out of proportion,” said Norma Bosley, a representative of District 11 Del. Dana Stein.

Bosley, executive director of the Reisterstown Festival, said the event couldn’t have a climbing wall or a HALO jumper, longtime features of the festival, this past fall.

Schmidhauser, with the homeowners association, said his group needs a $2 million liability insurance policy for the "National Night Out" event, increasing costs from $300 for the previously required $1 million policy, to $600 or $650. The CHA board's proposed 2012 budget does not have enough money to afford those costs, he said.

He received a letter from Baltimore County Public Schools Tuesday that also asked for proof of general liability insurance, auto insurance and workers’ compensation insurance from Baltimore Gas & Electric and the Reisterstown Volunteer Fire Company.

BGE would demonstrate a high-voltage situation, something it has done at the event for years, and the fire company would demonstrate how it would rescue a person trapped in a car, he said. BGE's demo includes information on safety precautions its workers use on the job and shows how easily electric wires cause shocking with props like branches and, sometimes, hot dogs.

“I’m not sure if BGE is going to give us all that information,” Schmidhauser said.

He and the community association’s president, Dave Powers, attended , in which PTA and community members complained about the policy.

While the council , it can align its support with the community, County Council Chairman John Olszewski Sr. told the audience.

“We don't control board policy, which is true,” he said. “…. One thing we do control with the board is the budget. So, I think our advocacy will not fall on deaf ears."

Schmidhauser, who said he was happy with the council’s response, noted that among those in attendance was the parent of a child who has Down’s syndrome. The child attended a support group at a county school, but the school’s facility rules forced the group to move its meetings to a private school.

At , board President Earnest E. Hines responded to criticism the board faced for enforcing Rule 1300.

Hines said the board will discuss the matter at its retreat on March 19.

“We are listening to citizens’ concerns,” he said.

ROG voted Tuesday to send a letter to the county council, county executive, school board and state officials expressing concern that Rule 1300 limits community activities on school properties.

Schmidhauser predicts county schools will see fewer applications for using its facilities if Rule 1300 isn’t scaled back.

“If that does not happen, we’re going to be forced to look elsewhere,” he said.