ASD School Director sharply criticized Administration for not considering cuts in several sports-related requests.
As the Armstrong School District continues budget planning for the 2019-2020 school year, one director is calling for restraint in athletic spending.
“I have a comment about our athletic supplies,” Director Doug Smith said during last night’s Caucus meeting. “If you want to start cutting budgets, I have three spots for you. The stop watch - $363 was in this list. Soccer goalie gloves - $178 for one pair. We ordered two pair. And for a booming $78, a pre-game planning board for your basketball coach. Now folks, you have to look at some of those things and just smirk. You can’t spend money on this.”
There was no response from any of the other board members to Smith’s list.
Director of Finances and Operation Sam Kirk said he will be asking for Directors to vote Monday night for more money to pay bills related to stadium construction at both Armstrong and West Shamokin.
Kirk said the District had previously transferred $100,000 from the General Fund to the Construction Fund to pay bills that were not covered by reimbursement. In addition to the original transfer of $100,000, Kirk said another $85,000 will need to be transferred to pay for unplanned expenses.
Finance Director Sam Kirk said damages during construction at West Shamokin and Armstrong are costing ASD an additional $85,000.
“These were items that were not budgeted. The $85,000 will cover any remaining bills. There is one bill at West Shamokin for $25,000 from the AstroTurf contractor. There was damage that was done by the contractor during that project. There were underground electrical lines that were cut that our guys fixed to the tune of about $1,200 in material and labor. And the back parking lot had a lot of damage to it during that time. We did fix that to the tune of $22,000. I’ve asked the contractor to cover half of that, but have not received an answer yet. So that $25,000 bill should be half of that.”
The school board will consider these and other business items during their public meeting on Monday, April 8 at 7:30 PM in the Large Group Instruction room at West Hills. The public is welcome to attend.
