Wedowee council punts on decision after new football coach’s request for money
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RCHS has $23,000 available to be put toward the purchase of a $44,000 video board for the football field.
New RCHS head football coach and athletic director Tal Morrison can take solace in at least one thing after he appeared before the Wedowee Town Council Tuesday asking for funds.
They didn’t say no.
But that doesn’t mean they said yes either.
The council tabled Morrison’s request for a total of $26,000 to complete the purchase of a new video scoreboard for the RCHS football field and to help fund the purchase of a new basketball scoreboard and the required shot clocks that go with it.
That decision came after an initial recommendation by Mayor Tim Coe that the city proceed with giving the money to the school.
“We’ve got the money in the bank, and I would like to recommend that we pay the $26,000 to the school,” Coe said immediately after Morrison’s request.
But none of the council members offered a motion to that effect, and it was partially because they didn’t share Coe’s confidence about the current state of the city’s bank account.
“We do want to help. But the fact of the matter is we’ve lost money three out of the last four months, according to our profit and loss statement,” said councilmember Jerry Huddleston. “And we haven’t got a bank statement amount since March. So I could not in good conscience vote to spend any money over there, although I am for it.”
Councilmember Dana Chandler provided essentially the same sentiment, saying that the city’s money should be going towards street repairs until that issue is satisfactorily resolved.
Pam Johnson, who made the motion to table Morrison’s request and delay a final decision, also pointed to financial uncertainty as the source of her hesitation.
“I don’t want us to say no to the children,” Johnson said. “But I want us to say let’s be financially responsible, and make sure that we do what we need to do.”
Morrison is in a difficult position on in regards to both scoreboards, but he admitted the more pressing need is for the new basketball scoreboard and shot clocks.
The AHSAA passed a new requirement for the upcoming basketball season that all schools hosting official AHSAA competition will be required to have shot clocks installed and operable for each game.
Morrison said that the school has $10,000 designated for that expense, but the current scoreboards in the RCHS gym are not compatible with the required shot clocks. That means that the gym will require an entirely new scoreboard system to support the AHSAA’s requirements, at a total cost of $15,000.
Morrison’s request to the city was for the additional $5,000 to cover the difference.
In regards to the video board at the football field, there is a fund with over $23,000 in it designated specifically for that purchase. A seemingly obvious solution would be to take some of that money and apply to the shot clock expense.
But Morrison said that is not an option.
“The issue is once that’s earmarked for a certain item, I cannot do anything with it other than for that item,” he said. “Any of you that’s got that thought, $23,000, you could do a lot of things within the program with that. Yes, I could. But legally I can’t.”
The total cost of the video board is $44,000, so Morrison asked the city for $21,000 to cover the difference in that cost instead of leaving that money unused until the rest is raised.
“Why not do what it’s earmarked for? Give them something that they can take a little pride in, something that will make them feel special,” Morrison said.