Regulations for Community Use of School Facilities

Responsibility for enforcement of rules and regulations concerning use of District facilities rests with the user group. Any infractions of the following regulations may be grounds for refusing to grant subsequent requests for the use of District facilities.

1. Facilities and space are available for reservation between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Exceptions, such as Champions, are handled on an individual basis.
2. Rentals will be considered cancelled on days when the schools are closed because of emergency conditions or hazardous weather. Use during summer vacation, on holidays, or during other vacation periods shall not conflict with building cleaning and/or renovating projects and will depend on the availability of building service personnel for supervision.
3. The Board of Education reserves the right to deny use of any facility to a person, group or organization. Examples of these are: conflict with planned or ongoing facility use; lack of personnel to prepare facilities; a known history of disruptive or undesirable conduct by the person and/or group; and failure to pay charges or fees.
4. Any contract or privilege granted to any person, group or organization to use any building or property is personal and shall not be transferred to any other person, group or organization.
5. Supervision of program participants and guests rests with the sponsoring organization. It must be absolutely understood that use of any facility is restricted to the building area(s) requested. 
6. The applicant agrees to assume responsibility for any damages and for all liabilities arising from the occupancy of building or grounds use, it being understood and agreed that the District assumes no obligation respecting the use of such premises. Users must take reasonable steps to ensure orderly behavior and will be responsible for paying for all damages associated with their use of the facility and/or equipment.
7. All renters shall provide the Nordonia Hills City School District with evidence that there is a general insurance policy, including contractual liability, in force that will apply to the renter's proposed use of the property. A current Certificate of Liability Insurance, naming the Nordonia Hills City School District as “additional insured,” is to be attached to the Facility Rental request. Minimum acceptable limits of liability should be $1,000,000 per occurrence/ $2,000,000 aggregate. The user shall be fully responsible for all loss or damage to District property, including property of students and employees.

Scouting troops affiliated with the Girls Scouts of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Council of the Boy Scouts are covered under a blanket certificate issued by those organizations. Please upload your current membership card as proof of your affiliation. If your troop is NOT associated with one of those branches, please contact the correct division to obtain the certificate.

Nordonia Athletic Boosters, Nordonia Band Aides, Nordonia Hills Preschool Parents and all NHCSD PTA/PTSA groups are covered under the District’s existing insurance policy.

8. School personnel may be required to be on-site when renting some spaces. The cost of personnel will be charged to the renter as follows:
1. A custodian shall be on duty whenever a facility is being used. The custodian will render custodial assistance in handling furniture and equipment and will be responsible for seeing that the facility is left in good order when the activity is over. The custodian’s time, including time for set-up and clean-up, will be charged when the hours of use fall outside of the normal working hours.
2. Food service personnel shall be required when kitchen facilities are requested.
3. An Auditorium Manager will be required when renting the High School Auditorium.
4. Maintenance personnel will be required when Boliantz Stadium is rented by all outside organizations. 
5. In the event that snow removal is required specifically for your activity, a charge for maintenance personnel will be assessed.
6. No school equipment may be used without the assistance of school personnel.
9. Alcoholic beverages, unauthorized tobacco products (including smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes), profanity, and gambling are prohibited on school property.
10. Users of facilities must comply with state and local fire and safety regulations.
1. Decorations must be fireproof and shall be erected and taken down in a manner not destructive to District property. Decorations are subject to the approval of the building administrator. The use of open flames, such as candles and incense, is not permitted.
2. Corridors, exits and stairways must be free of obstructions at all times.
3. Exits are to be lighted when facilities are in use.
4. Members of the audience or spectators must never stand or sit so they block exits.
5. Occupancy limits must be observed at all times.
11. Buildings will normally be open thirty (30) minutes prior to the activity and for thirty (30) minutes after its scheduled end unless other arrangements are requested on the application and approved.
12. The District will not be responsible for any loss of valuable or personal property. The District cannot provide storage for renters’ supplies and equipment unless pre-approved by the Business Director.
13. Non-marking gym shoes must be worn when using any gymnasium floor.
14. Flyers, booklets or other printed or audio-visual materials may not be distributed unless they relate directly to the activity for which the school facility is being used and have been prior approved with the application.
15. The maximum length of any school rental agreement will be one year.
16. Cancellation on part of the lessee must be made no later than 48 hours prior to the event. Failure to cancel 48 hours prior to an event will result in applicable charges.
17. The District reserves the right to request payment of estimated fees in advance.
18. Except for "service animals" required for use by a person with a disability, no other animals may be on school premises at any time.
19. The District may have a service animal removed from the school premises if the animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take effective action to control it or if the animal is not housebroken. The District is not responsible for the care or supervision of a service animal. The service animal is allowed to accompany its human in all areas the human is permitted to go.
20. Requests for District-owned equipment are not included in the direct or indirect costs and shall be charged based on request and type of equipment.
21. The use of any materials on floors or other parts of the building is strictly prohibited without specific approval in writing from the building administrator.
22. Use of stages, furniture, and equipment must be arranged in advance. Set-up and clean-up may be performed by members of the group using the facility, provided the responsible persons are listed on the application. Additional custodial services required for work not done satisfactorily will be charged to the using group. Arrangements must be made with the building administrator for use of any special or extra equipment. Extra compensation paid to employees for moving, operating, or supervising special or extra equipment will be charged to the using group.
23. Skateboards and other like equipment which constitutes a safety hazard to students shall not be allowed on District premises at any time.
24. Use of District facilities are in high demand during the school year. Please be considerate of the needs of many competing groups and be willing to work together to ensure that all community organizations are granted access to space in a fair and equitable manner.

Policies Concerning Use of Kitchens

No cafeteria equipment shall be used without an employee of the Food Service Department present. This is not only to prevent misuse of equipment, but also to prevent accidents that can occur when a person does not have knowledge of safety precautions and operating procedures for each piece of equipment. Fryers are NOT to be used by outside groups under any circumstances. All other major equipment may be used only under the supervision of the Food Service employee.

It is not the responsibility of this employee to cook and prepare all the food for the organization hiring this employee. The employee's job is to see that equipment is functioning and is used properly. Each organization requesting the use of the kitchen should also remember that the kitchen is clean upon arrival and should be left in the same condition.

Each organization is responsible for their supplies i.e. foil, plastic film, pot holders, paper towels, salt, pepper, dishes, forks, knives, glasses or cups, dish clothes, dish detergent, dish towels, and all clean up supplies unless these items have been purchased in advance from the Food Service Department.

The Nordonia Hills City School District’s Food Service Department provides catering services. For more information, please contact 330-468-4715.

Invoicing and Payment of Fees

Renters will be invoiced for the actual time space is used. It will be the responsibility of the activity supervisor to sign off on the building log sheet immediately following your event. This extra step is to ensure accuracy in the information being billed and thus protect all parties involved as groups occasionally will over-run their allotted time, finish early or make last minute changes in the space requirements. The log serves as a chance for the activity supervisor to finalize the information so that corrected invoices need not be issued. 

Please be considerate of the 48 hour cancellation rule. Due to limited space and high demand, your consideration in this regard is appreciated. The Nordonia Hills City School District reserves the right to charge applicable fees for any “no-show” events.

We make every attempt to curtail custodial charges for groups that have building time which overlaps with another outside group or have an event running concurrently with a school-related function. Groups will be responsible for a labor fee when:

• a. Custodial and/or maintenance personnel incur overtime due to your group's activity on weeknights.
• b. Your group is using space(s) outside of normal operating hours. Weekend custodial and/or maintenance rates will be billed, including set-up and clean-up time, at time-and-a-half on Saturday and at double-time on Sunday.
• c. Snow removal is required to open a building outside of normal operating hours specifically to accommodate your activity.
• d. Cafeteria staff or the auditorium manager is required for your event.

District-owned equipment is not included in the direct or indirect costs and shall be charged to the renting group based on request and type of equipment.

The Nordonia Hills City School District reserves the right to request payment of estimated fees in advance and to deny use of any facility due to failure to pay charges or fees.

It is the intention of the Board of Education that the facilities of the Nordonia Hills City School District be available for community functions as freely and fully as possible without interference with their basic function. It is, however, the responsibility of the Board of Education to ensure that those facilities are not used for illegal purposes or in any manner inconsistent with the general principles of non-discrimination or first come-first served priorities.

All citizens of the Nordonia Hills City School District have equal entitlement to use all facilities without qualification or reservation. If the using group will charge any fee related to the usage of school facilities, the fee may not discriminate among residents of the District based upon their place of residency.

1. Nothing in this document shall be construed as altering the traditional requirement for segregation of the sexes in use of sanitary or dressing facilities.
2. Classroom segregation based on levels of knowledge or skill is expected provided that all levels are available to all applicants on an equal basis.

Approval of exceptions to policies stated is reserved solely to the Board of Education.