Actually, it is turning out to be more of a slugfest now: "Another brouhaha in Gilford, this time over use of school budget surplus"; it seems that the School Board’s complaint that the Budget Committee was trying to dictate policy was just a smokescreen. Here in NH:
GILFORD — Budget Committee member David Horvath is challenging the right of the School Board to spend some of its projected 2010-11 school year surplus on items budgeted for next year.
In an e-mail Horvath sent to Assistant Gilford School Superintendent Scott Isabelle, Horvath challenged the legality of the encumbrance of about $150,000 from this year’s projected surplus.
"It is a concern of the BC that none of these items are line items in the 2010- 2011 budget and further that some of these are in the 2011-2012 budget," he wrote noting that fluorescent lights bulbs for the Gilford Elementary School aren’t in either budget and citing RSA 32:5-II of the municipal budget act.
According to the draft minutes of the May 2 School Board meeting, Isabelle recommended spending at total of $169,000 of the projected $500,000 surplus for a tractor and a Zero-Turn mower, replacing some computers with some unexpended heating oil money, refinishing the gymnasium floor from the same heating account, replacing booster pumps from some money in the worker’s compensation line, replacing the SAU office boiler and ceiling from the heating oil account.
All of the above are items included in the 2011-12 operating budget.
Even as the soon to be departed Superintended DiMinico whined about an impending budget problem just a few weeks ago (as the State was not going to be giving the town as much money – golly guys, I’ve only been yelling about this was going to happen for what, three years??), here they are talking about spending on new stuff. That chest beating now looks like a strictly faux concern for the affected staff that may have to be let go. Instead, the public is now the happy audience of the happiness of "Hey! we’re getting a new $40K mower! Oh, not approved for this year? – doesn’t matter; that grass has gotta be cut!". After all, it’s for the children".
No, this is not about the children – it is a power struggle by…
