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Richardson ISD will raise custodial fees for organizations leasing district facilities as part of an ongoing effort to reduce expenditures across the district.
Mike Jasso, assistant superintendent of district operations, said at the June 4 school board meeting that the district will also transition to a new facility rental platform that will streamline the leasing process.
These changes will go into effect in fiscal year 2026-27, which starts July 1.
What you need to know
RISD will increase its custodial fee for facility users from $20 to $30 an hour. This applies to nonprofit youth sports and organizations as well as other community and commercial organizations who lease facilities on RISD campuses, including auditoriums, athletic facilities, classrooms and libraries.
The fee change does not apply to school-sponsored organizations, who are typically not charged to use RISD facilities.
“We’re not trying to generate revenue with this cost increase,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said. “If we’re going to have custodians there, we need to be able to cover the costs.”
Also of note
RISD will begin using the platform PracticePlan for all facility rentals, which Jasso said will streamline the rental process and automate manual tasks that district staff typically cover for facility leasing.
The platform also comes at no cost to the district as it charges a service fee to groups leasing the facilities.
“It will allow for a much easier digital platform for community users to understand what facilities are available, the cost [and] what dates are available,” Jasso said.
How we got here
District staff have been evaluating expenditures across RISD in order to work toward a more balanced budget, Branum said. One of the district’s significant expenditure items is overtime costs, which staff aim to cut down on through increasing the custodial fees.
“This more accurately reflects our actual expenses for providing that service as we lease our facilities,” Jasso said. “It ensures a cost-neutral operation, but we continue to offer our facilities out to the public.”
