Politics & Government

What Should Schools Do With $1.5M?

Voters said 'No' to artificial turf, but the money is still there.

Voters said "No" to installing a new artificial turf field at the high school with part of a $1.5 million surplus created by switching insurance carriers in July.

But now that the referendum failed, the entire surplus is set to remain in the budget as part of an insurance line item until the district decides what to do with it.

The proposed field installation was projected to cost about $990,000, potentially leaving some surplus for other projects. Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried has said using some of the funds to purchase world language software for the elementary schools and computers to run it was one option he saw as worth exploring.

Fried said Tuesday that school administrators and the Board of Education would be discussing what to do with the funds. Officials have said the surplus should not be used for faculty or staff because they cannot rely on the revenue recurring each year.

Commenters on Wednesday suggested and . Another suggested . At public meetings, residents suggested the possibility of keeping the money as a buffer, not knowing what state aid figures would be next year, or whether the district would be faced with dramatic insurance premium hikes such as the one that led to the surplus in the first place.


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