The last several weeks I have been working on a large project that involves researching the policies of local school districts regarding the use of their facilities by community organizations (such as local churches). Often I can learn their policies by looking at their web sites. Very often board policies and administrative procedures are posted there, and you just have to know where to look. Other times though, I have needed to submit a request for the policies and procedures under the Freedom of Information Act. My goal is to gather data on all of the school districts in the six county (Illinois) portion of Chicagoland. There are hundreds of districts in this area, and so this is quite a formidable project. When done, I hope to color code each school district on county maps.
- Green means that the district is open to outside groups using their space and that this use is either free or very low cost.
- Blue means that the district is open to rentals, but the fees are substantial.
- Yellow indicates that the district may or may not be open. The policies are somewhat ambiguous and need to be tested.
- Red signals that the district is closed to use by outside groups or severely restricts the time that space is available. For example, they may allow groups to use space only on the weekends.
So far, I have been pleased to learn that only about 3% of the districts are red. The vast majority (probably 80%) are green or blue meaning that they are open to use by outside groups. My plan is to use this information to look for churches that are located in "green districts" (i.e., the ones that are most open) and to let them know that they should have an easy time starting a Kids Club inside of their local schools.
Curious about your district's policies? I'd love to help you research them. Post a comment or shoot me an e-mail, and I will see what I can do.
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