1. The board of directors of a local school district may establish a community education program for schools in the district and provide for the general supervision of the program. Financial support for the program shall be provided from funds raised pursuant to chapter 300 and from any private funds and any federal funds made available for the purpose of implementing this chapter. The program which recognizes that the schools belong to the people and which shall be centered in the schools may include but shall not be limited to the use of the school facilities day and night, year round including weekends and regular school vacation periods for educational, recreational, cultural, and other community services and programs for all age, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups residing in the community.

2. If a community education program is established, the board shall appoint a community education director who shall have professional training in the field of community education, recreation, or comparable experience.

3. Upon establishment of a community education program, the board shall provide for the selection of a district-wide advisory council which shall be responsible to the board and shall cooperate with and assist the board and the local community education director. The board shall also provide for the selection of local advisory councils.

4. The board shall receive an annual report and budget recommendation from the district-wide advisory council and may request supplementary reports as needed.

5. The school districts may cooperate with community colleges, institutions under the control of the state board of regents, and area education agencies in providing community education programs.

6. The board may use opportunities available under Pub. L. No. 93-380.

7. The board may approve cooperation and pooling of funds with other school districts.

It is the purpose of this chapter to provide educational, recreational, cultural, and other community services and programs through the establishment of the concept of community education with the community school serving as the center for such activity. In cooperation with other community agencies and groups, it is the purpose of the community education Act to mobilize community resources to solve identified community concerns and to promote a more efficient and expanded use of existing school buildings and equipment, to provide leadership in working with other entities, to mobilize the human and financial resources of a community, and to provide a wide range of opportunities for all socioeconomic, ethnic, and age groups. A related purpose of this chapter is to develop a sense of community in which the citizenry cooperates with the school and community agencies and groups to resolve their school and community concerns and to recognize that the schools belong to the people, and that as the entity located in every neighborhood, the schools are available for use by the community day and night, year-round or any time when the programming will not interfere with the elementary and secondary program.

The local community education director shall:

• 1. Serve as staff person to district-wide and local advisory councils.
• 2. Promote, publicize, and interpret the community education programs to the schools and community.
• 3. Facilitate community needs and resources after adequate assessment.
• 4. Seek ideas, promote people involvement in the process, and open lines of communication and coordination.
• 5. Stimulate planning to meet needs.
• 6. Schedule community-use hours available in school-plant facilities and related equipment and coordinate such use with building principals or designated representatives.
• 7. Prepare the community education budget in concert and with approval of the district-wide advisory council, and administer the budget after final approval by the board of directors.

The district-wide advisory council shall:

7. Make school facilities and resources available to all age groups from the total community, day and night, year round.

Any county conservation board may cooperate with the federal government or the state government or any department or agency thereof to carry out the purposes and provisions of this chapter. Any county conservation board may also cooperate with a private, not-for-profit organization to carry out public projects and programs authorized under this chapter. Any county conservation board may join with any other county board or boards to carry out this chapter, and to that end may enter into agreement with each other and may do any and all things necessary or convenient to aid and cooperate in carrying out the chapter. Any city, village, or school district may aid and cooperate with any county conservation board or any combination of boards in equipping, operating, and maintaining museums, parks, preserves, parkways, playgrounds, recreation centers, and conservation areas, and for providing, conducting, and supervising programs of activities, and may appropriate money for such purposes. The natural resource commission, county engineer, county agricultural agent, and other county officials shall render assistance which does not interfere with their regular employment. The board of supervisors may be reimbursed to the credit of the proper fund from county conservation funds for actual expense of operation of county-owned equipment, use of county equipment operators, supplies, and materials of the county, or for the reasonable value for the use of county real estate made available for the use of the county conservation board.

The governing body of any school district may grant the use of any buildings, grounds, or equipment of the district to any county conservation board for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter whenever such use of the school buildings, grounds or equipment for such purposes will not interfere with the use of the buildings, grounds, and equipment for any purpose of the public school system.

The board of directors of any school district may authorize the use of any schoolhouse and its grounds within the district for the purpose of meetings of lodges, agricultural societies, and similar societies, for parent-teacher associations, for community recreational activities, community education programs, election purposes, other meetings of public interest, public forums and similar community purposes; provided that such use shall in no way interfere with school activities