SEQUIM — New rental rates for Sequim School District’s facilities and fields have been proposed with many prices less than initial increases in July.
However, some groups that paused or moved events say they’ll have to stick with the changes or amend plans due to higher costs.
School staff first met with nonprofits, businesses and community groups on July 29 about proposed updates to 2019 rates for usage of spaces, such as the Sequim High School auditorium and football stadium. After hearing concerns from the groups, the rates were paused for 60 days on July 31 so staff could meet with the groups about their concerns.
“We are really working to be responsive from what we’ve heard,” Superintendent Regan Nickels said at the Sept. 15 school board meeting.
Initially, 41 renters were invited to the July meeting, and staff met with nine groups or businesses last month before a draft was released on Sept. 11.
Rates haven’t been revised since 2019, and Nickels previously said revision talks started last fall but were paused to focus on the proposals for the construction bond and levy renewal that voters approved in February.
On Sept. 15, Sequim school board directors agreed to revisit the rates at their Oct. 6 meeting after the 60-day pause expires.
Nickels said the new rates won’t be made until board directors approve the changes. She encouraged groups to call the district at 360-582-3276 to reserve spaces.
Nickels said the general feedback about the initial proposed rates was that the timing was too soon, the rates were too high, and their budgets were too tight for rate increases.
Some groups also asked about the possibility of creating long-term rental rates, local business rates and consideration of rates for groups that donate or offer scholarships to students, she said.
Nickels said group organizers asked the school district to work with the city of Sequim to make sure services and facilities weren’t redundant and if they could partner in some capacity.
“In every single meeting, there was absolutely recognition that the district would need to raise rates over time and recoup partial costs,” she said.
They also asked for transparency for where fees would go, to which Nickels said they’ll do their best but the uses could differ annually, such as supporting the football field one year, a basketball court the next or the auditorium in another year.
Rates explained
Nickels said their general rule for the latest proposal was to use the district’s 2019 rates and add 5 percent.
Most rates were reduced from August to September based on feedback for most facilities and fields. The district still uses four classifications:
• Class A: for parent, youth and/or teacher groups (i.e. PTA, school clubs).
Under the new proposed rates, rentals remain nearly free for Class A use so long as the group or event remains within its time allotted.
• Class B: Youth nonprofit social, civic and recreation groups with membership 90 percent or more Sequim School District students (i.e. Scout groups, community athletic youth teams).
Since 2019, Class B groups had no charges for rentals. Under the newest rates, it would be $21 per hour for gyms with a required minimum of two hours of custodial fees depending on the size of the group renting the facility or if the event is after school hours or on the weekend.
Fields, courts, tracks and the stadium’s parking lot range in costs from $6 an hour to $21 an hour.
The stadium would cost $50 an hour with at least two hours of custodial and supply fees.
The auditorium would cost $36 an hour for rehearsals or meetings, and $58 an hour for performances with custodial and supply fees.
Custodial fees are $46 an hour with a minimum of two hours, and supply fees are $120 per event. They’re the same rate for Class B-D, but Mike Santos, the school district’s director of facilities, said they’ll talk to each group about what is fair regarding supplies. Custodial rates are required under the district’s bargaining agreement, staff said.
• Class C: Adult nonprofit organizations, youth nonprofits with 89 percent or less youth from Sequim, community clubs, post-secondary institutions, cultural and political groups.
For the newest rates, it would be $25 per hour for gyms with the same custodial fees depending on the event.
Fields, courts, tracks and the stadium’s parking lot range in costs from $11 an hour to $25 an hour.
The stadium would cost $80 an hour with at least two hours of custodial and supply fees. The auditorium would cost $42 an hour for rehearsals or meetings, and it would be $64 an hour for performances with custodial and supply fees.
• Class D: For profit business-related enterprises.
For the newest rates, it would be $45-$74 per hour for various gyms with the same custodial fees depending on the event.
Fields, courts, tracks and the stadium’s parking lot would range from $21 an hour to $53 an hour.
The stadium would cost $110 an hour with at least two hours of custodial and supply fees. The auditorium would cost $50 an hour for rehearsals or meetings and $83 an hour for performances with custodial and supply fees.
Nickels said the revised fees will not recoup all of the costs, and the school district has proposed a policy to review the fees annually. Staff report that fees recouped each year came to less than $10,000 a year from rentals.
They’ve also implemented a key deposit system so that a custodian doesn’t have to be present. It would be a $150 refundable deposit for a key because it costs about $500 to re-key doors, such as the gym doors, Nickels said.
Custodial and supply fees depend on the event type, Nickels said, referencing various needs between a practice and a tournament.
Santos said they also combined certain elements, such as parking lots with facility rentals, to simplify the process. Staff cut four-hour and eight-hour increments from auditorium rentals to reduce confusion.
As for supply charges, Santos said that would range depending on the event, and they want to see what’s fair to the renter.
He said a $120 charge would cover half a case of toilet paper and half a case of towels in one evening.
Nickels said they’ll see how they can order supplies and arrange cleanings so groups won’t have to incur more fees.
Santos added that they’re more concerned about custodial time than supplies due to capacity for staff to clean in time for regular operations. If a gym or bathroom is not cleaned, then that will take staff away from regular duties come Monday morning, he said.
Groups offered to clean, Santos said, but they can’t allow non-staff to use the building’s cleaning chemicals and have access to janitor closets. It also could be problematic for children or staff members with sensitives or allergies, he said.
Group feedback
Group representatives said they appreciated district staff taking time to hear concerns, but the revised fees are still too much for some of them.
Amber Dewey, executive director of the North Peninsula Building Association (NPBA), shared that sentiment and that the nonprofit’s Building, Remodeling, & Energy Expo held annually in the high school’s gym will move to Port Angeles’ Vern Burton Community Center on Feb. 21-22, 2026.
“We’re relocating out of the city, unfortunately,” she said.
The costs are less than half in Port Angeles, Dewey said, and the school district also would require fees for mats to go down in the gymnasium, which was re-coated this summer.
“Our event is free, and as a nonprofit, we can’t continue to absorb higher and higher increases,” Dewey said.
For many years, the Sequim Irrigation Festival has used the high school cafeteria and auditorium for its scholarship pageant rehearsal and main event.
Michelle Rhodes, the festival director, said they appreciated the listening session and communication, and they understand the district’s need to increase fees.
“The new proposed fee schedule is one that we can work with,” she said.
“It will be too cost prohibitive for us to utilize the cafeteria for practices, but we still plan to hold the Royalty Ambassador Scholarship Pageant in the auditorium.
“The new fee increase will more than triple what we have paid for the use of the cafeteria and auditorium in previous years, for just the use of the auditorium.”
Rhodes said they’ll hold practices at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club to limit any barriers for high school participants, and they’re seeking ways to raise more funds to cover the increased expense.
“As an all-volunteer organization, we work diligently to keep our expenses at a minimum, allowing us to provide annual scholarships, two full weekends of community fun, and represent the Sequim-Dungeness Valley and Clallam County at 14 parades throughout the state of Washington,” she said.
In August, Ghostlight Productions organizers paused its fall production of “Cinderella” in the auditorium to 2026 due to the first proposed increase in rental rates.
Mark Lorentzen, artistic director of Ghostlight Productions, said they were pleased with the revisions as “none of us were thinking that it would go back to the original pricing, and all of us understand that expenses for everyone have increased.”
“The revised fee schedule was still significantly higher than what we had been paying, but it was workable at least within the budgets of those that I have spoken with,” he said.
However, Lorentzen said the board’s delay in approving the revisions delays their planning and hinders budget projects, and he’s reached out to the school district for clarification.
Since the first rate proposal, Sequim Wolf Pack, a youth football and cheer program, moved practices from Sequim School District’s practice fields to Sequim Little League’s T-ball fields and home games to Civic Field in Port Angeles.
Stephanie Whitehead, the group’s treasurer, said the updated rates are “closer to what we budgeted for future seasons.”
“The bigger variable for us will be any added custodial/event staffing fees and how they’re applied,” she said.
Whitehead said they plan to keep home games in Sequim at the stadium and practice at the Little League fields and Sequim city fields depending on scheduling and staffing requirements.
“As a volunteer-run nonprofit, every dollar we spend on facilities is a dollar we can’t put toward safety gear and keeping player costs reasonable,” she said. “If the final rates mirror what was discussed, we expect to continue playing at the high school stadium while keeping costs manageable for families. Our priority is local access for kids and a collaborative partnership with the district.”
For more information about Sequim School District, visit sequimschools.org.
________
Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
He has family employed by and enrolled in Sequim School District.
