Some pitfalls with community use
There are positive and negative consequences for the school in almost all measures taken to secure funding beyond that provided by the Ministry of Education.
Following are examples of design decisions by schools that were linked to significant community funding. In each case, aspects of the resulting facility were not what curriculum specialists would have preferred.
- A very large stage to attract use by orchestras and dance companies – while a large stage is useful for many school productions and concerts, it can be inflexible and difficult for students to use for daily classes.
- Dedicated storage space for local societies that rent the space regularly – the result was a steady modest income for the school and good community relations, but less storage space for curriculum activities.
- Permanent audience seating with quality seats, suitable to carry the names of a donors – the result was a large formal theatre, but the whole space would have been more flexible if less of the seating was fixed.
- Expansive foyer space that can be rented out for functions and impressive enough to be named for a sponsor – this was useful for some school events but probably led to cuts in other spaces, plus students could only make limited use of the foyer.
- Increased audience capacity to encourage community and rental use – this made the auditorium suitable for many school functions but the space was less flexible for student use, and occupied space that could have been devoted to another specialist teaching space.
- Deliberately reduced audience capacity to make the theatre more attractive for commercial rental – the result was potentially high income from rental, but the auditorium was less flexible for teaching and unsuitable for some school functions.
- Local body funding for a large school theatre required easy public access and good parking – as a result, an arts centre planned for a site within the school and close to other facilities (like visual arts) was moved to a different site by the school's main entrance, useful space in the theatre was limited, and the opportunities for sharing and collaboration across arts disciplines were reduced.
- A large rehearsal studio seen as an income-generating adjunct to a school auditorium was attached to the main theatre building – dance classes benefited from use of this excellent studio space, but it was often unavailable (as it was for hire) and it was sited far from other curriculum facilities.
Conditions on school use
Schools often place conditions on their own use of a new facility in order to secure significant donations, sponsorship, or grants. Schools get bigger and more impressive facilities, but classes have limited access to them.
Following are examples of such restrictions.
- Shared ownership of a facility with a local body – the school has guaranteed access to excellent teaching spaces but strictly within school hours, and no assurance of after-school or weekend use.
- The facility is shared with another organisation at all times – a consequence is limited storage for curriculum programmes.
- Several schools accepted grants on condition that the facility is available for commercial rental (which can be during school hours) – school use must be strictly booked and is subject to interruption for a significant commercial booking, and informal and rehearsal use is very limited.
- One facility attracts so much commercial rental that a full-time manager is employed – good booking systems are in place, but teachers have to negotiate with the manager for informal access.
- Schools have accepted local funds on the understanding that the facility will be rented to local societies at reasonable rates – protocols for access are left unclear in order to treat local societies generously, and as a result local societies often have full use of the facility for whole weeks.
In addition, you should be aware that local authority property designations may change if a facility is not being used purely for educational use. This could affect costs like rates and parking charges. Check Ministry of Education policy on Third Party Occupancy of school facilities.