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Mr. Melvoin, Mr. Schmerelson, Ms. Newbill, Dr. Rivas, Ms. Gonez, Ms. Ortiz Franklin, Mr. Yang - Building Stronger Communities: Leveraging School Facilities for Engagement and Financial Stewardship (Res-021-25/26) (Noticed October 14, 2025) (VERSION 3)
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Whereas, The Los Angeles Unified School District (District) is committed to improving and maintaining state-of-the-art facilities-including 1,200 schools and 21,000 buildings-that maximize student learning, provide enrichment opportunities, and serve the public and community;
Whereas, The District strives to manage public funds and District-owned properties with transparency, efficiency, and accountability;
Whereas, Any use of school facilities or access to District owned property must be documented and authorized by an agreement such as a civic center permit, filming permit, or license agreement. The Real Estate and Business Development department within the District’s Facilities Service Division is responsible for processing and preparing these agreements. These agreements allow users to access the District’s public facilities, and generate approximately $15 million in annual revenue for the District;
Whereas, The Civic Center Act detailed in California Education Code §§ 38130-38139 requires school districts to make their facilities available for community use when not needed for school purposes. Local organizations and members of the public may utilize District facilities for recreation and sports, public meetings and forums, arts, music, and cultural events, childcare, and more;
Whereas, Each school district adopts its own board policy and administrative regulations implementing the Civic Center Act including application processes, priority use schedules, fee structure, insurance and liability coverage, and permitted activities;
Whereas, The District adopted BUL-6894.1 entitled, "Procedures for Third-Party Use of School Facilities” in February 2018 and has not since updated the policies and procedures;
Whereas, Partners and members of the community currently utilize District owned property-including schools, athletic fields, and gyms-for a variety of purposes including community meetings, athletic and enrichment activities, camps, carnivals, filming and more;
Whereas, Given the broad scope of duty to manage 21,000 buildings and its charge to address Proposition 39 charter school facilities agreements, the District’s Real Estate and Leasing Department is overextended beyond its capacity to thoroughly assess District assets and it is vital to provide appropriate customer service to members of the community who may be interested in utilizing district facilities;
Whereas, The District should consider realigning the Real Estate and Leasing Department around four key functional areas: including 1) licensing/access, 2) asset management, 3) revenue generation, and 4) compliance;
Whereas, The District’s current system to receive and process agreements is inefficient and is not designed to handle the complexity, volume, or opportunity presented by the number and types of District facilities available for third-party use;
Whereas, Currently, District facilities are underutilized for community use beyond the school day, which represents untapped opportunity for community benefit and revenue generation for the District;
Whereas, Unlike in other systems, members of the public cannot currently access a centralized portal to view or request facility use, and internal systems lack automation, performance monitoring, and transparency; and
Whereas, A centralized digital platform with online applications, automated alerts, and public-facing access is necessary to streamline operations, improve customer experience, and reduce compliance risk; now, therefore be it
Resolved, That in order to improve the community and partner use of Los Angeles Unified School District (District) facilities and to maximize revenue to the District, the Governing Board of the Los Angeles Unified School (Board) directs the District to:
• Determine funding and issue Request for Proposal(s) (RFP) for an updated, centralized, online real estate and facilities management platform to support intake, workflow tracking, agreement management, and performance monitoring. The system should be user-friendly and include:
o Automated deadline alerts and internal notifications for District staff
o Public-facing tools for site browsing, pricing, online applications, and online payments (i.e., ACH, credit card);
o External notifications sent to external partners at a minimum of three weeks before the facilities will be used for the event;
• Coordinate with and support school administrators to align site availability, community access, and scheduling, and develop a plan to centralize a facility use calendar and communication plan to support higher utilization and equitable access;
• Evaluate options and develop a plan to update and simplify the public facing website to make facility options and pricing structures more transparent and responsive to community needs;
Resolved further, That the District shall review and revise its policy and procedures regarding facilities access, use, and fees, including to reflect recent legislation, demand and availability, and equity considerations. The updated policy should include:
• Criteria to prioritize access, where feasible, for organizations that serve underserved youth-including those with disabilities, and LGBTQ or gender nonconforming youth-as well as those that provide free or low-cost programs focused on sports, play, and enrichment;
• A tiered cost structure for the use of District facilities that takes into account the applicant’s status (e.g., nonprofit vs. for-profit, and/or municipalities and other government entities), event participants and/or users including District students and families, and the type of programming or services provided (e.g., tenant rights clinics, immigration rights clinics, counseling services, unhoused student/family supports, early education centers and childcare programs for children birth to age five, and housing assistance), and whether that programming or services are free or fee-based;
Resolved further, That District facilities work closely with Risk Management to streamline processes on the appropriate documentation needed in conjunction with the services offered by specific organizations, such as medical organizations, athletic organizations, etc.;
Resolved further, That the District will support Parent/Teacher Associations, Parent/Teacher Organizations, non-profit Booster organizations, etc., through a simple renewal process for facility use, allowing recurring rentals based on rental history; and
Resolved, That the District report back to the Board within 120 days with the revised policy and plan to achieve the actions outlined above, including timelines, cost estimates, revenue estimates, potential uses of revenues, and staffing needs to support implementation of the plan by the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year.