By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Alabaster City Schools sports facilities will now give priority to students and city recreation leagues over outside entities, according to a new facility rental policy approved by the city’s Board of Education during a Feb. 11 meeting.

School Board members voted unanimously during the meeting to approve the new policy, which creates a clear hierarchy of who has first access for booking the ACS sports facilities.

“We’re the only show in town as far as gyms go, so it’s a hot commodity,” said ACS Executive Director of Pupil Services and Operations Dr. Jeff Atkins. “This creates a hierarchy of who we want to serve first.”

Through the new rental policy, facilities will be booked in the following order:

-Alabaster City Schools

-Alabaster city recreation leagues

-County events

-Community groups such as the YMCA

-Outside groups, such as travel ball leagues and the Amateur Athletic Union

The new policy also slightly increases the cost of renting out an ACS facility, which brings it more in line with the cost ACS incurs to provide lighting, HVAC and other services to the facilities while they are in use, Atkins said.

The policy also limits the number of consecutive days the facilities can be rented, which prevents one entity from booking the facilities for weeks or months at a time.

“We’re making the changes to better serve our kids, because we want to make sure we’re taking care of them first,” Atkins said.