Bishops Feeling Blue Over Green
The Asbury Park Board of Education does not have enough green to get a blue football field, according to a report in the Asbury Park Sun.
700 members of the community presented the deadlocked Board of Education with a petition asking that the new field of the Blue Bishops be covered with blue astro turf. Opposition wasn’t about the color, it was about money. Blue turf will cost $45,000 more than green turf, according to business administrator Geoffrey Hastings.
The board has $825,000 of their $66 million Abbott funded budget allocated for the new football field….$700,000 for the turf and and $107,000 to cover change orders or unforeseen expenses. Nobody said the BoE or the Asbury Park Sun…whoever came up with those numbers…is good at math.
The board was deadlocked 4-4 over the color of the field until one of the supporters of blue left the meeting. Then the mean greenies passed the budget without the $45,000 for the blue turf.
State monitor Lester Richens said the board couldn’t afford the extra money that is coming from Trenton by way of New Jersey income taxes.
MMM is happy to offer the following suggestions to the Asbury Park Board of Eduction:
1) Go through the budget looking for additional math errors. Maybe you already have the money.
2) Regardless of the math, put the turf out to bid again. $45,000 is not much in a $700,000 order. Competition is a wonderful thing. That’s why we have bids.
3) Hire this blogger to find waste in your budget. I’ll find the $45,000 and a lot more. Pay me 20% of every dollar over $45,000 I find in unnecessary and wasteful spending. 30% if anyone is indicted as a result of my findings. Pay me nothing if I don’t find anything. Give me 30 days and complete access.
Posted: March 31st, 2012 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Asbury Park, Asbury Park Sun | Tags: Asbury Park Board of Education, Asbury Park Sun, Astro-turf, Blue Bishops, Geoffrey Hastings, Lester Richens | 4 Comments »