A select group of Sydney public schools are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra income by hiring their facilities to host weekend markets, kids’ activities and even as film and TV sets.
Hiring of school facilities is typically authorised by individual principals. A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education confirmed that funds received from hiring facilities are retained by each school. While most of the income comes from facilities run by contractors on school sites – such as out-of-hours care and canteens – and hired to local businesses and community groups, some schools have more one-off tenants.
At Caddies Creek Public School in the city’s north-west, which reported $321,552 in rental income last year, the money has been used to invest in a new building and furniture to improve facilities for community use. Popular facilities were sports grounds and the school hall, and not-for-profit or community groups were typically charged lower fees than businesses, Petersen said, adding that although some schools were able to turn a tidy profit others renting to only a couple of groups were probably only charging fees to cover their costs.“In a lot of cases, principals don’t like renting out their facilities because it’s extra workload ...
Eacott said this meant the uptake of schools as venues would be higher in places where there was an absence of amenities in the community, and in densely populated areas.