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Fitch Hall of Fame to get reboot
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
School district officials will meet with a handful of people this week, hopeful that they can take over the Austintown Fitch Hall of Fame.
The school board elected to save the hall of fame after an investigation into the booster organization’s financial situation began a few months ago. The bank account for the group was below zero, leading the school district to contribute about $150 to access electronic statements for the police investigation.
No past members will be affiliated with the reboot.
“I don’t feel comfortable having any of them back,” board member Lou Chine said last week.
The only interaction that the school district has with booster organizations, such as the hall of fame, is to allow them to use the school’s name and logo. Boosters are supposed to apply for a 501(c)(3) status, meaning that they will be audited yearly.
“Unfortunately, the hall of fame never went and got their nonprofit” status, said Vincent Colaluca, Austintown schools superintendent. “They never had a process in place for getting an audit. That’s something that has to get done.”
At the January Austintown Board of Education meeting, the board unanimously approved a new requirement for booster organizations using the school’s name to provide a yearly financial statement to the district.
The decision to save the hall of fame, with a completely new board overseeing the group, was made during a work session last week. At that time, school administrators had a few people in mind — some were currently involved with other booster organizations while others were past school administrators.
A police report was filed Nov. 26, 2014, by the Austintown Board of Education that claimed funds were taken from a bank account and an undetermined number of checks were forged between April 1, 2014, and Nov. 26, 2014. The investigation is ongoing as police have been matching receipts with bank records, authorities have said.
School officials said last week that they have to track down what reservations were made for the 2015 program and where to find past nominees.
“Some names were turned in but were never acted on,” said board member Ken Jakubec. “They were supposed to be saved, but who knows if they were.”
The school board agreed that it would need to spend a few thousand dollars to get the program going again, and then, once the group is stable, the group will pay back the money.
Colaluca mentioned the possibility of having Fitch Principal Chris Berni act as a liaison between the school district and the new committee.
“I don’t want to dishonor any of those past hall of fame winners,” Colaluca said. “They deserve to have their honor continue.”