SHARON Project to cause late start of school

Fund-raising groups will have to provide financial audits and a variety of other information before they can operate.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- School won't start till Sept. 9 this fall, according to the schedule approved by the city school board.
The board adopted a 2002-03 school calendar with the late start of classes because of ongoing renovations at the middle-senior high school.
The last day of classes next school year will be June 10, which will also be graduation day for seniors.
The calendar shows two snow makeup days, Dec. 2 and April 21. If snow makeup days are not needed, there will be no classes those days.
It shows an eight-day break for the Christmas-New Year's holiday, three days for Thanksgiving, two days for Easter and single days off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, and Memorial Day.
Other action: In other business at their meeting Tuesday, school directors said a proposed school board policy giving the district more control over booster organizations hasn't generated any complaints from those groups.
School Director Dom Russo presented the board with a proposed policy in January and the board formally introduced it for first reading Tuesday.
Final passage could come in March.
Neither school directors nor the superintendent has received any complaints about the more stringent requirements booster groups will have to meet if they want to use the district's name.
School director Pamela Corini said she had only one telephone call on the matter, that from an officer of the wrestling boosters indicating that the group has its financial records in order and thinks the new policy is a good idea.
Russo, in presenting a draft version of the policy in January, said it will give the district more control over fund-raising groups using the district's name.
The board needs to take steps to ensure those groups are run responsibly and are accountable for the money they raise, he said.
Failure to comply with the policy would result in the loss of board recognition of an organization and its right to use school facilities.
Details: Among other things, the policy would require organizations to provide their bylaws for board approval, provide lists of fund-raising plans by July 1 of each year, provide an audit of their finances by Aug. 30 each year and have at least one of their elected officials be a parent or legal guardian of a current pupil.
Further, the policy bans any gifts or awards to pupils, directly or indirectly, without approval of the board, superintendent and building principal.