Youth Programs: School Facility Usage Fees Getting Higher

Hopatcong youth recreation programs were shocked when the borough's school district began charging facility usage fees last year.

Now the programs say it's only getting worse.

Dan Titus, president of Hopatcong Warriors youth football, told the Board of Recreation at Tuesday night's meeting at borough hall that the district would up program's usage fees this fall.

Board of Recreation President Dave Barnish, who also heads the town's youth track program, said the district raised his program's usage fees this summer, too.

"I feel like, at this point, you're double-dipping," Titus said of the district's charges. Borough taxpayers fund the schools' facilities.

Titus said last year the district tagged the Warriors with a $1,000 fee after the season for using the high school's football field, janitors and concession stand. He expected a similar charge this season.

Instead, Titus said the district laid out several scenarios for the program, including leasing the high school football field's concession stand for about $7,000 for the season. It also proposed selling the stand to an outside service, which most likely wouldn't allow the Warriors to use it for fundraising, according to Titus.

Titus said the charges could have devastating effects on the borough's programs.

"There's always the possibility of raising our registration rates. We really try like heck not to do that," said Titus, whose Warriors charge $85 at signups. "We know that if we did raise the registration rates we would lose kids.

"So, honestly, I'm giving the bill to [Mayor Sylvia Petillo] and say, 'We can't do this.' …We may not have a program. We're not in jeopardy yet, but I want to put that out there because sooner or later it's going to come down to that."

Dave Barella, the Warriors' general trustee, said the program could also consider chopping the thousands of scholarship dollars it provides the district each year. He also said the program could stop buying field amenities, such as down markers. Barella estimated the Warriors cost about $60,000 a year to operate.

Barnish said he plans to hold a meeting with all the town's youth recreation program representatives within the next week to figure out which grievances they'll present to the district.

The track program, according to Barnish, paid about $250 in usage fees last year. This summer, the program was charged $650, despite using the same facilities.

Barnish said he wrote a letter to the district asking why they were charged about $400 more this year, but nobody responded.

"I haven't heard back," he said.

Borough business administrator Catherine Stienel said she would do the same at last month's town council meeting. Recreation Coordinator Sue Parachuck said she hadn't heard if the district replied to Stienel yet.

The district for years offered its facilities free-of-charge to the borough's youth programs. But, according to district business administrator Theresa Sierchio, the school has been forced to stick programs with a tab due to Gov. Chris Christie's squeeze on the state's education budgets.

Hopatcong's school district lost $1.7 million in state aid this year. The district was further deprived of about $700,000 when the town defeated its budget in the spring.

Titus feared the district's charges would further increase.

"What's it going to be next year? Five, six, seven [thousand dollars]?" he said.