July 15, 2016 at 4:57 p.m.
School officials considering allowing alcohol consumption on district property during special events
Requests for drinks at alumni events, wedding receptions leads to study
School officials considering allowing alcohol consumption on district property during special events
District superintendent Kelli Jacobi told the operations and strategic planning committee Monday that administrators have been approached by members of the public who want to serve alcohol at functions such as weddings, class reunions and other adult events held at district facilities.
At present, district policy prohibits the possession of alcohol and the use of intoxicants and harmful drugs on school property. A separate policy prohibits the possession, consumption or distribution of alcoholic beverages or other controlled substances and betting at any function sponsored by the district or occurring on district property.
Jacobi asked if she should investigate the possibility of waiving or amending these policies. The committee told her to look into how other school districts handle such requests and report back.
In a phone interview, Jacobi said the most common request is for weddings and receptions held at the Cedric A. Vig Outdoor Classroom (CAVOC), a scenic forested area.
"I've been contacted by members of the community asking why we have that policy and would the board consider making changes to it," Jacobi said.
In addition to CAVOC, the facility most requested for waivers would be the high school for reunions, she said.
"They want to have some kind of reception as part of (reunion) weekend take place at the high school," she said. But CAVOC-based activities seem to generate the most requests.
"It's really a beautiful facility, and we can rent it out," Jacobi said. "But, as long as that policy is in place, it's not very attractive for those types of events."
She said several members of the committee appeared "open to" the possibility of changing the policy.
"They asked me to look into (whether) any other district (is) doing anything like this," Jacobi said. "How would that impact our insurance. So they kind of gave me a to-do list of things to look into to bring back to a future meeting."
It will take some time before the issue reaches the full school board for consideration, she stressed.
"It's going to take a couple of months to pull everything together," she said. "I'll probably bring it back to the committee next month, but I will guess they will have more questions and want more information. I don't think anything is going to be done quickly."
Jamie Taylor may be reached at jtaylor @lakelandtimes.com.
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