Whitehall School Board axes costly mower

By Dan King

As the spring sports season inches closer, the Whitehall School Board voted Monday to reject a proposal to buy a $57,000 mower to cut the grass on school athletic fields.

The board had discussed buying a Jacobsen R-311T lawn mower four times before taking the vote.
Ultimately, the board decided to come back to the next meeting with bids for two smaller mowers.

“We need to do this soon, because believe it or not we’ll be seeing grass by our next meeting, I hope,” Board President Virginia Rivette said.

School officials called the mower issue a matter that “has to be addressed now.”

“We need to do something about it,” said school Superintendent Liz Legault. “April is around the corner and we’ve got to get the fields ready for baseball and softball.”

The board, during a contentious discussion Monday, voted against the purchase of the new mower by a tally of 4-4, with Jim Huntington absent.

The gridlock saw Ted LaRose, James Brooks, Sam Kingsley and Virginia Rivette voting for the $57,000 mower, while Amy Austin, Frank Barber, Jeremy Putorti and Mark DeLuca voted against it.

LaRose was the outspoken leader of those in favor of the new mower, while Barber supplied the opposition.

“We need to make a decision, we’ve been kicking it around for nine months now,” LaRose said.

Legault added that Granville Central School recently purchased the same mower and she said Superintendent Mark Bessen told her that the district had no issues with maintenance of the mower.

However, Barber and others were not sold on a substantial investment.

“What are we going to do when, not if, when this mower breaks down? Are we going to buy another $60,000 mower?” Barber said. “I just don’t think it’s the best use of taxpayers’ money and I just can’t support it.”

Barber said he would rather see the district purchase two smaller mowers and replace them every few years, instead of making a large investment.