4014 - Use of ESU Property

General Facilities Use Guidelines
1. ESU facilities may be used by various education and community organizations and individuals when it is in the interest of the general public.
2. ESU facilities may not be used for personal profit and other commercial purposes. The ESU opens its facilities to ESU patrons for the benefit of the public, not commercial uses. Due to the complications created by groups or individuals using ESU facilities for commercial purposes, these uses are prohibited. Booster clubs and other organizations raising money purely for the support of ESUs, schools, and student groups, as defined below, and not for personal profit are not considered commercial uses but must comply with the ESU’s policies which apply to these groups.
3. Any person or group using ESU facilities must assure that it will be responsible for maintaining order, protecting property, and providing security and safety.
4. Only those organizations and persons who are known to ESU officials, who have financial resources sufficient to cover all rentals and possible damages, and who are willing to discharge such obligations shall be permitted to use the ESU facilities and equipment.
5. The rental fees for ESU facilities shall be set by the board.
6. Facility users that wish to use the facility must submit a facility use application which may be obtained from the ESU’s central office. The application must be received by the administrator prior to the approval of any facility use.
7. Any person or group using the ESU facilities, for any purpose, must comply with all of the ESU’s policies, rules, and regulations.
Use of Facilities
1. The administrator may authorize the use of any ESU facilities for non-ESU activities.
2. In addition to the guidelines listed elsewhere in this policy and other board policies or administrative protocol, the administrator will consider the following when making determinations regarding use of ESU facilities:
  1. Entities that provide education-related programming and services for students or ESU staff may be given priority of use over other groups. The administrator has sole discretion in determining whether proposed uses relate sufficiently to the ESU’s educational standards and programs.
  2. Entities that provide programming and services for community members and others living within the ESU’s boundaries may be given priority of use over other groups.
3. Denial of access
  1. The administrator may limit or deny access to ESU buildings, grounds, and activities to any person whom the administrator deems to be using the facilities inappropriately and contrary to the ESU’s mission.
  2. Upon determining that a person or group has engaged in, or is engaging in conduct that constitutes grounds for exclusion under this policy, the administrator shall take such action as he or she determines appropriate, including directing the person to cease engaging in the conduct or to leave the ESU premises or activity immediately. The administrator may request assistance from law enforcement authorities to remove an offending person from the ESU grounds. A person who enters ESU premises in violation of these conditions shall be deemed to be trespassing.
  3. The administrator shall have the authority to fix the time when, and the conditions under which, the offending person may return to ESU premises.
Entities and individuals may use or lease ESU equipment for non-ESU use only if they have received the prior permission of the administrator.
Proof of Insurance
1. Groups or individuals using ESU facilities, in addition to submitting the facility use application, may be asked to provide proof of insurance up to the current tort claims limits applicable to political subdivision in the State of Nebraska. Currently, those limits are $1,000,000 per person for any number of claims arising out of a single occurrence and $5,000,000 for all claims arising out of a single occurrence.
2. The ESU may require the group or individual to include the ESU as an additional insured on any such policies and may refuse access to its facilities until proof of satisfaction of this requirement is submitted to the administrator.
No Fees for Admission
1. Facility users may not charge a fee to participate in or be a spectator at any recreational activity, event, or other such gathering occurring on ESU grounds unless approved in advance by the administrator.
2. If the ESU retains control over the area of the premises in which the facility user desires to use, meaning the ESU provides supervision, staffing, custodial services, or otherwise maintains its control during the group’s use of the facilities, the group may not charge a fee for admission under any circumstances.

Adopted on: February 12, 2019
Revised on: Oct. 11, 2021
Reviewed on: Nov. 14, 2022

4014: Use of ESU Property