Watertown Public Schools set new priority rules for booking gyms, fields and other facilities for 2026-27, directly affecting when youth sports groups can reserve space.

WATERTOWN -- The Building and Grounds Subcommittee of the Watertown Public Schools met July 31 to review facility rental policy for the 2026-27 school year, including new rental rates and a priority booking schedule that will shape access for the town's youth sports organizations.

TOWN -- Under the plan reviewed by the subcommittee, facility requests will be filled in order of priority: Watertown Public Schools programs first, followed by City of Watertown departments and the Recreation Department, then Watertown youth organizations and youth sports groups, then nonprofit organizations, and finally outside organizations. Each priority tier opens roughly two weeks after the one before it. Officials said booking windows are tied to season: winter-season bookings, covering roughly November through March, open to the first priority tier on August 1. Committee member Amy Donahue asked how the timeline applies to "our biggest group that we work with mostly," Watertown Youth Basketball, and officials confirmed the group's winter reservations would fall under the August 1 opening.

Proposed rental rates discussed included $75 per event for custodial coverage, $27 for food service staff and $100 per event for an audio-visual technician, with a three-hour minimum for custodial coverage required under the custodians' union contract. Officials said the high school gymnasium will not be available for outside rental during the 2026-27 year. The auditorium and black box theater will be limited to school-based use only in the first year, with youth organizations to be considered in year two. The cafeteria could open to outside bookings as early as November, but the kitchen will remain closed to renters for the year while staff are trained on new equipment.

Compiled from team and league reports, reader submissions, and local coverage.