Bumped from their regular cafeteria location, poms practices in the main hallway two times a week while the NJROTC rifle team shoots in the cafeteria. This is typical of competition for space, even though LHS is the newest high school with room for 1,600 students!

School facilities are in very high demand. Not only do 1,496 students use the facilities for educational or recreational purposes, but the public is encouraged to take advantage of the building to further their programs. However, with many groups that need school facilities to operate, available locations for them can lead to conflicts and competition.

Surprisingly, the most sought for facilities during the school day are the four computer labs. Teachers who wish to use a computer lab for a period must reserve a spot on a sign-up sheet Every Monday the list it updated. However, the competition for the computer labs is fierce.

“It’s first come, first serve” said Stefanie Roberts, Tech Coordinator. “Teachers will email me days in advance to try to reserve a spot for them.”  Due to the limited number of the labs usable in the building, it can take weeks to reserve a spot. The irony is that LHS has more labs than most other schools.

In addition to this, some classes may not be able to use a computer lab. Classes with a higher number of students may not have enough computers in a lab for all to use. As a result of this, computer labs B206 and A224 are the most sought for because they each have 35 computers.

One solution to this problem is Computer on Wheels (COW) carts. These laptops can be used in any classroom. While not as reliable as a desktop computer, the laptops still provide access to the resources.

Other facilities are also in high demand. The open space of the cafeteria is useful for clubs after school, along with the gyms for various sports. In-school reservations for these are done through the front office. Many groups, such as poms, share this facility.

Previously, poms had the cafeteria to practice for themselves after school. However, due to the increased need for facilities, Poms now practice in the main hall while groups such as the NJROTC rifle team practice in the cafeteria.

“We used to have the cafeteria everyday,” said Coach Michelle, “but now we are restricted to Mondays and Wednesdays.”

Poms may also practice in the cafeteria with other groups. However, due to the risk of injury from the NJROTC rifles, they cannot practice in the same room.

The theater is used extensively. Not only do in-school groups such as band, chorus, orchestra and drama use it to practice and perform but many outside groups and schools. Allowing all these groups to use a single facility throughout the school year can be a challenge. To coordinate, every April/May the users of the theater map out a schedule to show who gets to use it and when.

“It’s a long, time consuming, tedious process” said Mr. Lloyd, band director, “But everyone is cooperative. It is not a negative experience at all.”

Along with this, in-school groups are always given priority over those out-of-school, making it much harder for small, less organized, out-of-school organizations to guarantee a spot in the theater.

However, outside groups are not ignored entirely. FCPS encourages their facilities to be used by the public. Not-For-Profit Organizations are allowed to use the property of FCPS for educational, civic, social, religious, and recreational activities.

Being generous to the community is just one of the motives.  Letting organizations use school facilities generates income hourly from organizations not related from FCPS. These organizations also have to pay custodians and equipment. There are many factors relating to charge, including if there is an admission charge or if the organization is to benefit the school itself (but not sponsored from FCPS).