Board approves hourly stadium-lighting fee for remainder of 2025–26 school year

The Huntington Union Free School District Board of Education voted unanimously April 13 to approve an hourly stadium-lighting fee for turf-field events, a measure district finance staff said is intended to recover operating and staffing costs rather than generate new revenue.

Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Management Services Dr. Ruby Harris presented the change, describing a four-tier user classification and a separate lighting schedule that includes a two-hour minimum and district staffing to operate the lights. "This is not a revenue boost here. This is really just to cover the cost of what is occurring, wear and tear, [and] the increased cost due to the new things we put in these areas," Harris said.

Harris told the board the district updated its facility-use rates after committee meetings and a comparison with neighboring districts; she said rates had not been updated since 2018. The lighting policy includes a hard stop at 9:00 p.m. to limit late-night light use and requires district staff to be present to operate stadium lights, which the proposal treats separately from standard multi-hour field rentals.

Board members asked for clarifications about billing blocks, minimums, and how lighting hours interact with the existing four-hour block structure for facility rentals. Harris said the lighting fee would be charged in addition to the existing four-hour block when applicable and reiterated that the district will administer tier placement for users to reduce clerical back-and-forth.

The motion "to approve the facility use fee schedule for the athletic field lighting for the remainder of the 2025–26 school year" was moved and seconded and carried by unanimous voice vote.

The full facility-use schedule, including auditorium packages and other updates, will be returned to the board for consideration at the May 11 meeting; Harris said implementation of the broader structure would be planned for July 1 to avoid retroactively changing fees already committed for the current school year.