Policy Manual

C-650-AR: Division Facilities & Equipment

1. STAFF ACCESS TO DIVISION BUILDINGS OUTSIDE OF REGULAR WORK HOURS
   1. Division staff’s access to schools and division buildings outside of regular work hours for purposes within the scope of their duties is at the discretion of the principal or building supervisor.   
   2. Principals or building supervisors shall establish a process for approving, documenting and controlling the access to the building by division staff outside of regular work hours.  Access outside regular work hours can be granted to facilitate the delivery of programs and services.
   3. Staff members accessing division facilities outside of regular hours are responsible for ensuring that the security of the building and its contents is maintained.
   4. Any activities, involving staff, outside of the delivery of division programs and services may not be considered division insured events by the division’s insurance underwriters and are not permitted.
2. COMMUNITY USE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS OUTSIDE OF REGULAR WORK HOURS
   1. Division facilities are to be used primarily in support of regular curricular and extracurricular programs. Nevertheless, division facilities should be made available for community use when and if appropriate.
   2. Within the Scope of the Reciprocal Use Agreement
      1. The Reciprocal Use Agreement between The Board of Trustees of St. Albert Public Schools, Greater St. Albert Roman Catholic Separate School Division, The Regional Authority of the Greater North Central Francophone Education Region No. 2 and the City of St Albert, shall be used to govern the use of division facilities by the community outside of regular work hours as delineated in the agreement.
   3. Outside the Scope of the Reciprocal Use Agreement
      1. Religious groups may be granted access to division facilities with or without a rental charge, providing the group assumes responsibility for extra security, caretaking and/or maintenance costs that may arise from such use.
      2. The Superintendent may approve rental of division facilities, exclusive of those designated for Reciprocal Use, to commercial or private interests whose primary objectives support and enhance the division mission, other than those businesses that are in competition with public education.
3. LOAN OF DIVISION EQUIPMENT
   1. Equipment purchased by the division is to be used primarily in support of division and school curricular and extracurricular programs.  Notwithstanding there may be occasions when the loan of division equipment would meet another goal of the division, that of being a good community partner, and therefore principals and division administrators should use their discretion in those rare circumstances when considering lending division equipment.
   2. Administrators must ensure that:
      1. loans of all division equipment to external or internal persons or entities are approved, documented and controlled;
      2. loaned equipment should be robust and not critical in nature to the operations of the division;
      3. situations in which equipment is loaned should be infrequent and exceptional in nature;
      4. persons to whom equipment is loaned understand that they are responsible for returning the equipment in the condition it was loaned;
      5. persons who, in the opinion of the division, do not return equipment in the condition it was loaned become immediately financially responsible for the full replacement cost of the item; and
      6. a loan agreement must be completed in each circumstance.
4. VANDALISM AND SECURITY OF DIVISION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
   1. Division staff shall use a multi-faceted approach to provide security and minimize vandalism.
      1. division facilities are designed and maintained in a manner that will provide a safe and secure learning and working environment and the protection of division assets;
      2. school-based initiatives (such as Crime Stoppers) that provide opportunities for students to demonstrate good citizenship and respect for property, are encouraged;
      3. students will be educated to respect and care for their property and the property of others;
      4. students comply with the rules of the school (see Section 31, Education Act) and are responsible for any of their acts of vandalism. Student disciplinary measures, including suspension and expulsion may be utilized when a student is found to be responsible for damages. In some circumstances, the division may prosecute and/or take legal action.  Every reasonable effort should be made to recover the cost of the vandalism;
      5. in acts of vandalism, all reasonable efforts will be undertaken by division and school administration to recover costs, including legal action;
      6. appropriate security measures such as alarm systems, key controls, surveillance systems and security lighting are installed, maintained and monitored;
         1. school initiatives for the installation of security related systems must be undertaken in consultation with, and approved by, the Facilities Services Department. This will ensure appropriate standards are in place for equipment purchases and installation methods, including the operations and maintenance of such systems;
      7. vandalized property is repaired as soon as reasonably practical so that facilities and equipment are not viewed as targets for further vandalism;
      8. all occurrences of theft must be reported to school administration. If theft occurs in a central service department, the incident must be reported to the department’s administration;
      9. occurrences of vandalism are monitored by school administration and reported to the Facilities Services Department (780-460-3700), and as appropriate to the Secretary-Treasurer (780-460-3712).  Maintenance requisitions should clearly indicate if the acts of vandalism occurred during or after school hours as well as any other relevant information.  Once the requisition is completed it must be submitted to the Facilities Services Department; 
      10. recovered costs will be reimbursed to the school or department that incurred the expenses resulting from the vandalism.
   2. The Facilities Services Department shall annually present a report on vandalism to the Board of Trustees.