SEQUIM — New rental rates for Sequim School District’s facilities and fields will be in effect after talks between staff and prospective renters.
The district’s board of directors unanimously approved the rate changes at their regular meeting on Oct. 6.
The revised rates follow a general rule to add 5 percent to the 2019 rates, Superintendent Regan Nickels said.
Depending on what tier a renter falls under determines the rates, and the rates are generally less than first proposed in the summer except for-profit rentals. However, for-profit tier rates are generally less than the 2019 rates.
The district’s rental rate changes are the first since 2019. Nickels said in September they’ll review them each year.
She told board members that, in each group meeting, the group organizers all recognized the district would need to raise rates to recoup some of its costs. In previous years, the district on average received less than $10,000 a year from its rentals, staff said.
District staff first met with renters in late July to share the proposed rate changes, but due to their concerns, the rates were paused for 60 days so staff could receive more input.
Nickels said they generally told her the rates were too high, too fast and their budgets were too tight.
Nickels said on Oct. 6 that they’ve created a pilot program for users that might use facilities or fields for more than 750 hours a year.
Staff will continue to meet with groups and make adjustments to the pilot program as needed, Nickels said.
The district follows four classifications:
• Class A: For parent, youth and/or teacher groups (i.e., PTA, school clubs).
• Class B: Youth nonprofit social, civic and recreation groups with membership at 90 percent-plus Sequim School District students (i.e., Scout groups, community athletic youth teams).
• Class C: Adult nonprofit organizations, youth nonprofits with 89 percent or less youth from Sequim, community clubs, post-secondary institutions, cultural and political groups.
• Class D: For-profit, business-related enterprises.
Class A rentals remain mostly free. Group B renters will see the largest increase as they haven’t had to pay for any rentals at least since the 2019 rates were adopted. For example, renting the stadium field will cost $50 an hour for Group B renters.
Rates for Group C are nearly all less than the summer proposed rates and largely follow the 5 percent increase from 2019. For example, hourly gym rentals went from $20 to $25 per hour.
For Group D, most rates are more than the proposed rates in the summer but less than the 2019 rates.
Custodial fees are a consistent $46 an hour with a minimum of two hours for tiers B-D, and supply fees are $120 an event. However, Mike Santos, the school district’s director of facilities, said in September staff will talk to groups about what is fair regarding supplies. He said then that custodial rates are fixed and the public cannot clean as it goes against district policy and bargaining agreements.
Santos said they have to ensure facilities are cleaned, because if they’re not, then it will take staff away from regular duties the next day or work week.
District staff also added a key deposit system with a $150 refundable deposit, and they combined some fee elements previously proposed, such as parking lot rentals with facilities, to cut down any confusion.
On the district’s FMX rental system, one non-district renter, the Sequim Irrigation Festival, has reserved a facility so far. All other reservations appear to be school district related or meet criteria for no fees, such as school clubs and classes using the auditorium.
Sequim Wolf Pack previously rented the district stadium for two separate days after organizers moved practices and games away from school campuses due to costs.
The festival has shifted a majority of its rehearsals for its annual Royalty Ambassador Scholarship Pageant to the Sequim Boys & Girls Club. However, the nonprofit reserved the Sequim High School Auditorium for rehearsals from Feb. 18-20, 2026, and the pageant on Feb. 21 along with the neighboring cafeteria for a reception.
Michelle Rhodes, director of the Sequim Irrigation Festival, previously said she understood the need for an increase, but the new rates are more than triple what they’ve paid to rent the cafeteria and auditorium. She said they’ll hold practices in 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 expenses.
To register or reserve a Sequim School District facility or field, visit https://sequimschools.gofmx.com/register or call 360-582-3276.
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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.
