District Property, Use of (October 2008 School Leader Update)
- Transportation
In accordance with Iowa Code section 285.10(9, 10), vehicles owned by a school district may only be used for non-school activities under the following circumstances:
- The vehicle is not needed for transportation of pupils.
- The district charges and collects "an amount sufficient to reimburse all costs of furnishing the bus and driver."
Example: 10-12 students all sign up for the same baseball camp. Their parents ask the district to provide transportation for convenience of the parents. The school board makes a finding that the vehicle is not needed at the time in question for transportation of pupils. The board and the district's transportation director figure out the actual costs involved. The board enters into a written agreement with all affected families.
Note that following all of these steps has the additional advantage of protecting the district from any allegation of a violation of the Camp and Clinic* rule — assuming a baseball coach from the school does not accompany the students and assuming further that attendance at the camp is totally voluntary! And, of course, the students are paying any and all fees related to the camp.
- Athletic Equipment (e.g., catcher’s mask, football pads)
When a student voluntarily chooses to attend a specialized camp and the host of the camp does not provide safety equipment, the student often asks to use equipment owned by the district. The district must charge a fair rental to the student. This avoids any appearance that the camp is school-related and also emphasizes to the student, the student’s family, and the community at large that the district is aware that district property is not property of students; it belongs to the taxpayers, and the district is being a good steward of the property by charging a fair rental value.
- Insurance Carrier
This is just a reminder to the district to alert the district’s insurance carrier whenever district property is being rented for non-school purposes.
Remember the Camp and Clinic rule only applies to interscholastic sports, not music or speech. That rule [36.15(6)] prohibits school personnel, whether employed or volunteers, from coaching the school’s students out of season and from requiring students to participate in any activities outside the season of that coach's sport as a condition of participation in the coach's sport during its season.