Community Use of Schools Program
"Community Use of Schools Program is an initiative that supports access to school space outside of school hours where all people can gather to learn and participate in a range of activities offered by community user groups"
A. HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS:
As a general guideline, schools space is available outside of school hours from mid September to mid June, Monday through Friday from 6pm until 10:00pm and on weekends subject to custodial staff availability and approval by the principal. Summer use varies from school to school.
School principal approval is required for all organized activities planned on school grounds for indoor and outdoor activities including, but not limited to, recreational, educational, cultural, theatrical and art related events, festivals, municipal or civic events.
Reduced school facilities access rates are offered to non-profit organizations in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Education through funding provided by the provincial government. For more information on the Board's fee guidelines, review the Board's Policy 409 Use of School Buildings and Equipment and its associated Management Guideline 409.
Each user group must designate an adult representative who applies for a permit and an event supervisor who will be on site at all times during the group's activities. On-site supervisor must have in possession a valid (principal approved) facility user permit for the date and times of the activity. The event supervisor designate will be the liaison between the group and the attending school custodian/ board staff member during the event.
To obtain a SGDSB Facility Use Permit, follow these two simple steps:
STEP 1: LOG-IN
To log into your online user account (if you do not have one you must create one), click this Community Use of Schools link and then click on 'Welcome Guest! Login to Request Facility Use' in the top right corner of the webpage, and proceed to provide email address and user account password under the 'Login' section.
Don't have an online user account? Simply click Community Use of Schools and locate the"Welcome Guest! Login to Request Facility Use" link in the top right corner of the webpage. Follow the "Don't have an Account? Create One' link, read and accept the Terms and Conditions and submit the user account application request. Allow one to two business days to have your user account approved. This is not to be confused with a facility request which can only be submitted AFTER being approved for an online user account.
IMPORTANT: Activating an account and requesting space online will require for the organization to accept all applicable rules and regulations in accordance to Board Policy 409 Use of School Buildings and Equipment and its associated Management Guideline 409. Permit Applications are processed on a first come first serve basis.
STEP 2: SUBMIT FACILITY USE REQUEST
Once logged into the user account, the event organizer will fill out the facility request and submit online. The request will be reviewed and processed by the principal. A confirmation email of the approval status of the request will be emailed to the organization’s email address provided when the user account was created. This process can take a few days depending on principal availability, so community user groups are encouraged to submit their requests well in advance.
B. COMMUNITY USE OF SCHOOLS RESOURCES:
We invite all community users to view booked community events across the region which can be filtered by date, organization type, room, and school:
To access our Community Use of Schools Information Resource Centre that contains documents such as
Frequently Asked Questions - School Addresses and Contact Information - How to Create a Log in Account - SGDSB's Board Policy and Management Guidelines - etc
click the DOCUMENTS tab under the Community Use of Schools Calendar link.
Questions related to the Community Use of Schools Program may be directed to Karin Patock at (807) 853-6149 or email at sgdsb%23on%23ca|kpatock .
C. LIABILITY INSURANCE:
Permit holders have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for those participating in a given activity and will be required to carry liability insurance based on the nature of their events. Note that the Board’s liability insurance does NOT extend to the activities of groups renting school premises. For more information on liability insurance, click and review the following:
What about those who are not part of an existing insurance program? You are invited to contact the Community Use of Schools Coordinator for further information on how to obtain reasonably priced coverage for an upcoming event.
Questions related to CUS Liability Insurance may be directed to Karin Patock at (807) 853-6149 or email at sgdsb%23on%23ca|kpatock .
D. JOINT FACILITY USER PARTNERSHIPS (Long-Term Facility Use Agreements):
Facility Partnerships is a Ministry of Education initiative that encourages School Boards and their community partners to engage in long-term Facility Partnerships for the benefit of the boards, students and the community when considering building new schools, undertaking significant renovations and optimizing unoccupied school space owned by School Boards.
Questions related to the Facility Partnership Program may be directed to Karin Patock at (807) 853-6149 or email at sgdsb%23on%23ca|kpatock .
