When Should Summer Use of Schools End?

As the Long Beach Board of Education hammers out the language to a revised policy on use of the school district’s buildings and facilities, one of its terms has become a point of contention.  

Trustee Roy Lester challenges the term that calls for use of all facilities during summer to end the third week of August to allow the custodial staff to prepare the schools to reopen in September. His concern in part is that classes sometimes start after Labor Day, leaving two weeks when the facilities go unused for recreational, camp and other summer programs.  

“I believe that school facilities belong to the public, and even though people are starting to use the schools in the beginning of September, I think there are a lot of the school facilities that could still be used past that period in August and still have our schools prepared for the children to come back in September,” Lester said at the Feb. 14 board meeting.

The board first reviewed the newly revised policy at a meeting in January, discussing terms ranging from availability to community-based groups, eligibility and fees for external organizations, hours of use, and the summer schedule, when Lester first raised his objection to this term.

He found it difficult to believe that cafeterias couldn’t be prepared for school within two weeks. Board President Dr. Dennis Ryan said that increasingly more school districts in Nassau County start classes before Labor Day, with some first days projected to fall on Aug. 28.

“So if that is the trend and there are more districts planning to do that, then I’m much more comfortable with the present wording rather than leaving the buildings open until the end of August and then expecting the custodial staff to do a Herculean task in terms of getting the schools ready,” Ryan said.

Moreover, both Superintendent David Weiss and District Chief Operating Officer Michael DeVito noted that many teachers take time during summer break to set up their classrooms, and that two weeks is the bare minimum that staff needs to prepare.

“So, they’re not looking to extend close to September,” DeVito said. “Here or there, there may be some organizations that really benefit from the use of our facilities [through the beginning of September], ... and the board has the discretion to grant [them extended use]. But I think it terms of the general concept, I think we should stick to this.”

To Lester, this sounded like the tail wagging the dog. “I guess it bothers me to see millions of dollars worth of buildings that we can’t use during that two week period because, you know, a teacher wants to be in a classroom or a cafeteria needs to be swept or waxed,” he continued. “It just seems that there might be a better way that we can do this that’s not going to deprive possibly hundreds of children that could be using the facilities at that time.”

DeVito noted that part of the policy review process is to ensure that first priority goes to students that use the facilities during the school year.

Gerri Maquet and Jackie Miller, co-presidents of Central Council PTA, agree with the revised policy’s existing language.  

“I don’t know what an appropriate time to prepare for the school is, but as PTA we would always want the most preparation for the classrooms that our children could have,” Maquet said. “I think this year it was quite shortened; however, the facilities staff clearly did a fabulous job in getting the schools ready. It seemed rather stressful for the individuals involved.”