After months of negotiations under fear of layoffs, almost every bargaining group in the City of Hayward has agreed to defer Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) for the year. This, combined with cuts to overtime spending by the Fire and Police Departments, has saved the City of Hayward over $7,500,000. The only bargaining group which refused to defer COLA was SEIU 1021 Maintenance, who may face layoffs in the near future.

Different bargaining units have different timelines for their deferrals and vastly different amounts of savings depending on the unit. The Hayward Police Management Unit (HPMU) will not defer their COLAs until FY 28 two years from now and will only save the city $30,000 for the year. However, the deferrals for other bargaining units will be for the coming Fiscal Year (FY 27). The COLA savings for each unit are detailed below.

• Unrepresented Management Employees—Executives, Directors, Deputy Directors, etc.—$340,000.
• Hayward Association of Management Employees (HAME)—Managers, Coordinators, Analysts, etc.—$465,000
• International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21—Associate and Assistant Engineers, Technicians, Planners, Librarians, etc.—$427,000
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 1021 Clerical Unit—Clerks, Technicians, Secretaries, etc.—$427,000
• Hayward Police Officers' Association (HPOA)—All Police Officers below Captain—$400,000
• International Association of Firefighters (IAOF) 1909—All firefighters except the Fire Chief—$1,300,000

On top of the COLA deferral savings, additional savings from HPOA and IAOF in the form of overtime reductions will save the city around $4,000,000—$2,000,000 from each bargaining unit. COLA deferrals will continue for the HPOA for the next several years, putting off raises of up to 7% for unit members.

These savings should allow the City of Hayward to have a balanced budget for next fiscal year and concludes months of negotiations between bargaining unit leaders and the city's negotiation team. However, it is unclear at this time what the budget outlook for the city will be like in FY 28 when the deferrals expire. If the Business License Tax changes pass, potentially netting the city an additional $10,000,000 per year, the new funding will likely allow the COLAs to resume.

Performing Arts Center Prompts Revenue Thoughts

At the April 15th Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) Board of Trustees meeting, the Trustees received an update on the Visual And Performing Arts (VAPA) program throughout the district. The programming continues throughout the district despite an 80% budget reduction, though the Performing Arts Center may be a source of substantial revenue. Multiple Trustees appeared to embrace the idea of monetizing their facilities for use by the general public, though whether the current processes can support that remains uncertain.

VAPA Took Big Cuts But Continues On

Heather Figueroa, VAPA Coordinator, pointed out that the VAPA program lost around 80% of its budget—Assistant Superintendent Amy Nichols revealed later in the meeting that the majority of the funding was from one-time sources. The reductions forced the elimination of the Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA), professional development opportunities, district-sponsored study trips and adjudicated events, and the All District Music Festival.

The funding from Proposition 28, which is earmarked specifically for Arts and Music in Schools, is primarily used to cover salaries, all expanded programs were eliminated. "Teachers have continued to do the work that they do with less," Ms. Figueroa said.

All 1st - 4th grade students are enrolled in VAPA courses by default—either music, art, or both, but 5th and 6th grade students are only partially enrolled due to expanded PE minutes needed at that age. Despite that barrier, 50% of those students are participating in a "pull-out" program.

In high schools, VAPA course enrollment is around 47% of students. However, when it comes to disproportionately impacted groups, the percentages vary. Just under 13% of Special Education students are enrolled in VAPA courses, over 23% of English Learner students are enrolled, and just under 87% of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged students are enrolled.

For the refresh program, much of the work appears to have focused on high schools. This includes improvements to the stages, art spaces—ceramics, music, painting spaces, etc, and a particularly nice sprung dance floor at Mt. Eden, home of the Performing Arts Center.

Performing Arts Center Outperforms In Revenue

James Schott, the Performing Arts Center Manager, joined Ms. Figueroa to present on progress for the Performing Arts Center (PAC). The PAC is in its second full year of operation and continues to see increasing use. Last year the facility hosted around 51% HUSD events and 49% community events. However, this year the ration is closer to 61% community events and 39% HUSD events, likely because staffing shortages have forced the PAC to close on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The team is continuing to try to make access to the PAC equitable. The facility sits on the grounds of Mt. Eden High School, and some teachers have expressed concern that the location gives Mt. Eden students easier access to the professional-grade facility. Mr. Schott and Ms. Figueroa are working with district transportation to try to address these issues.

The PAC team is also trying to develop a sustainable custodial plan and work with Career Technical Education (CTE) to develop a pipeline of potential workers who can help staff the various functions at the PAC.

Moving Forward With Less

The VAPA program continues to work on family and community engagement, though Ms. Figueroa explained that the TOSA was primarily in charge of community engagement. She highlighted a number of events where students performed, like the Hayward 150th Year Celebration, the MLK Jr. Celebration, and multiple student showcases.

In future years, the VAPA team will continue to support VAPA programming and try to remove barriers to VAPA courses for students. They will also explore partnerships with higher education institutions and support VAPA teachers using the California Arts standards.

Using Facilities To Make Money

Trustee April Oquenda asked how much revenue the Performing Arts Center was expected to make, considering it made $26,000 in revenue in one month (Jan-Feb). Mr. Schott said that they are expecting a lot more community events, which do make the district money. However, he pointed out that much of the revenue should ideally go to maintenance and repair of the PAC and finishing still-unfinished projects.

Trustee Oquenda then asked how much revenue the facility is expected to generate. Mr. Schott predicted that, just from external events, the PAC should make between $600,000 and $680,000 in a year. However, he again pointed to the need for money for repairs and maintenances, saying that he already had $100,000 in equipment that needs replacing. Trustee Oquenda requested a formalized budget and revenue projection if they were able to be fully staffed. "I feel like it's a really good way to justify what you need," she said.

Mr. Schott pointed out that the PAC is only one facility and that, if the District used their model, they could potentially generate even more. "The school district has a bunch of sites that can be rented out," he said, "and if they use the same format that I'm using at the PAC, the district in general can generate way more revenue out of the sites it's already using."

Other Trustees appeared to support the idea, including President Peter Bufete and Trustee Sara Prada. "So many times when we have budget difficulties, we look into making cuts," President Bufete said. "But solutions that generate income and revenue it's definitely more of the avenue we'd like to go down."

Trustee Prada said, "I am very eager to see how we can use our facilities to bring in more revenue." However, she said that there appeared to be little action on that front. "We've had people constantly asking 'Hey, we want to rent out spaces on the weekend at sites across the district. Why is it so difficult? Why is there so much red tape?'" Superintendent Chen Wu-Fernandez said that they are working on a process and that although she feels usage has increased, data will come in the future.

The Actual Costs

The Hayward Herald looked into the cost of renting facilities in HUSD compared to those at HARD, one of the only other agencies with multiple facilities to rent.

HUSD Rates

HUSD facilities are available seven days a week, excluding holidays, but appear to be unavailable during summer. Each site has different facilities ranging from classrooms, to parking lots, to cafeterias/multipurpose rooms. To rent the Burbank Elementary Amphitheater, which is outdoors, for 2 hours on a weekend costs $344.76 for individuals. Of that cost, $255.90 is marked as Custodial.

Indoor spaces are more expensive. Renting the Ochoa Middle School Library for 2 hours on a weekend costs $442.58 for an individual, of which $255.90 is Custodial fees.

Unfortunately for comparison shoppers, the prices are hidden until you login and the Custodial fees aren't added until you begin the checkout process. There is also fine print saying that the rental request has to be approved by the site, which may cause complications. At Hayward High School, there appeared to be no facilities available at all for the rest of the school year.

Notably, HUSD offers a 50% discount for nonprofits looking to rent spaces.

HARD Rates

HARD facilities are also available almost every day, including over the summer and on many holidays. They have outdoor facilities—mostly picnic tables, and community centers.

For outdoor facilities, it depends on where you're renting. Kennedy Park is especially popular, so reservations cost between $100 and $375 for District residents. The documentation doesn't give a time for that fee, but the rental agreement says that reservations are for 300 minutes at a minimum, which is 5 hours. Any park other than Kennedy Park ranges from between $20 and $60 for District Residents.

Indoor facilities are much more expensive and are required to be rented for a minimum of three hours. Renting the San Felipe Community Center costs $165/hour, plus a $500 deposit and $250 for insurance—more if you plan to have alcohol at your event. The minimum cost is $1,245. Renting the Mt. Eden Mansion is only $145/hour, plus the $500 deposit and $150 for insurance without alcohol, totaling a minimum of $1,085.