In the same week a county dignitary accused the board of education of mismanaging taxpayer dollars, the board of commissioners unanimously voted to spend money on something a school does not need. Now school officials are holding up a mirror on the commission.
At the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners meeting on May 17, lawmakers voted to spend a total of $32,000 on roofs for batting cages in Andrews and Hiwassee Dam. Commissioner Jan Griggs initially made a motion to spend money on a batting cage roof in Hiwassee Dam after reportedly speaking with Principal Daniel McNabb. Commissioner Cal Stiles suggested that Andrews also be given the same amount for a batting cage roof, and the board unanimously agreed.
The vote followed a decision in April to spend $16,000 on a roof to be installed over a new batting cage that will be constructed at Konehete Park in Murphy. Griggs and Stiles voted against the expenditure, but later proposed the same amount be spent in Andrews and Hiwassee Dam in the interest of fairness to those other communities.
However, some citizens have argued that commissioners mismanaged funds by voting to spend money on a school project for which no one asked.
“I was never approached by anybody, nor did any of my people ever approach anyone from the county commissioners, about having a batting cage roof,” Andrews High School Principal Lance Bristol said. “Not only that, we don’t have a batting cage worthy of being covered.”
Bristol said he “would’ve loved to provide some input” on how taxpayer dollars would be best spent on projects for the school. He added that the vote by commissioners last month did not follow protocol.
School principals maintain a capital needs list that is presented to the Cherokee County Board of Education, which decides whether the funding is appropriate before asking the county commission for approval. Bristol said a batting cage roof for Andrews High is not on his list.
“I’ve already had the company that builds the roof call me and ask about the specs,” he said. “There’s more prudent ways [to spend that money].”
School officials say the appropriation of money for a batting cage roof at Hiwassee Dam also broke protocol, and as a result will require even more funding before all is said and done.
In March, the school district received approval to spend $15,022 for a new batting cage in Hiwassee Dam. Griggs later approached McNabb about having the county pay for a roof over the cage, and the commission agreed to the expense. However, the concrete pad doesn’t match the roof structure, according to school officials, who say the district is seeking estimates for the cost to enlarge the pad.
This dispute stems from a proposition by Commissioner Gary “Hippie” Westmoreland, who suggested the county should pay for a roof over a batting cage that will be constructed in Konehete Park. Griggs and Stiles argued that if the county is going to pay for a batting cage roof for one high school, it should do so for all three.
However, school officials argue that Westmoreland’s suggestion was different from the requests by Griggs and Stiles because the school district is not involved in paying for the new batting cage in Murphy. Local parents are reportedly providing the materials and funds to construct the public batting cage in Konehete Park, and the county is only paying for the roof.
School officials plan to seek additional funding to enlarge the concrete pad at the batting cage in Hiwassee Dam. Bristol plans to ask the commission for permission to spend the $16,000 that was appropriated to Andrews on something more critical.
“We desperately need a serious upgrade in security cameras,” Bristol said.
At the May 19 budget work session, Griggs accused the school board of mismanaging taxpayer dollars and suggested that a committee be formed to investigate the matter. School administrators denied the accusation and invited Griggs to sit down and review her questions about the budget, but that meeting has not come to fruition.
Griggs told the Cherokee Scout she would be willing to meet with school officials after she receives answers to a set of questions she submitted via email.
School officials say questions about the district’s budget could have been answered during one of the recent work sessions. However, the school district never requested a budget hearing in front of the commissioners, nor did commissioners request a hearing with a representative from the schools.
“That’s why we weren’t at the meeting in the first place,” Superintendent Jeana Conley said. “We would happily have been there to respond if asked to.”