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As the Fairfax County Public School system searches for funds, surveys were recently sent to community church groups that use the system's facilities as meeting places to find out how the religious organizations would react to increases in school-use fees.

"The school system is looking at all sources for revenues," said Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer of the school system. While the system may introduce or increase fees on everything from Advanced Placement exams to student parking and sports participation, some potential revenue streams don't involve students, officials say.

One of those is community-use fees, which would impact the 1,195 groups that use one of Fairfax County's 196 schools during weeknights and weekends.

"Our buildings are in use more hours each week for community use than instructional purposes," Tistadt said.

During fiscal 2009, the school system generated about $4.8 million in fees to use its buildings, according to the Facilities and Transportation Services department. However, it spent about $9.14 million in maintenance, utilities and cleanup on community uses.

Tistadt said the school system is looking to close that $4.3 million gap by about $200,000. The survey sent to church groups, which are the most regular users of school facilities, was meant to gauge reaction to increases in community-user fees.

Some local organizations say they have mixed feelings about the proposal.

"At this point, if you can find the land in Fairfax County, it's so expensive, and the building costs are expensive," said Pastor Gary Maines of Centreville Community Bible Church. His congregation of about 100 non-denominational worshipers has met in the Deer Park Elementary School cafeteria since 2001.

With collections down because of the bad economy, Maines says his group is not looking to get its own facility anytime soon, limiting its options.

"It's not cheap for us by any means to pay the rental fees. ... We did get a survey not too long ago about how we would feel about them raising the fees by 10 percent, or 20 percent," Maines said. "If they raised it much more than that, we'd have to find someplace else."

There are about 130 churches, more than 400 homeowner associations and condo groups, about 90 tutors and about 130 sports groups among the 1,195 organizations that use school facilities as meeting places.

Bonnie Wilbur, a Fairfax County resident, is a member of Centreville Quilters Unlimited, which meets once a month at Colin Powell Elementary School in Centreville. The group has used the facility to hold monthly guild meetings for the last six years, Wilber said.

"We might be up a creek," Wilbur said of a proposal to increase user fees. "Finding a place to meet here is difficult. Most of them are booked up all the time, if they are even available for these meetings. Libraries book two months in advance. Churches, you have to be a member. It's very hard to find a place that accommodates 70 people."

If the schools raise fees, Wilber said, "I think we'll have to pay. There's no question that the fees they apply to us now are very moderate. We couldn't afford to rent a hall in a hotel."

Tistadt said the schools have already evaluated the responses to its survey.

"What I took away is percentage increases in percents of tens would cause people to consider leaving," he said, "If fees were raised more than 5 or 10 percent, groups would leave."

Tistadt said the schools are always being asked by community group leaders to increase hours and access to facilities.

Superintendent Jack Dale presents his budget for the 2010-2011 school year to the School Board on Jan. 7. For more information about the budget, visit www.FCPS.edu/news/fy2011.