A $36,800 donation from the Oyster Bay Athletic Booster Club to paint the high school gymnasium drew debate during the Oct. 28 meeting of the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District Board of Education, with some residents questioning whether the project was an appropriate use of the club’s funds.
Former board Trustee Norah Windhausen, speaking during public comment, said the project should have been paid for using the district’s general fund rather than money raised by the nonprofit Booster Club, which she claimed is intended to support students directly.
“Painting the gym is a capital improvement and should be paid for out of the general fund or from the reserves,” Windhausen, an Oyster Bay resident, said. “This is $36,000 that could potentially be used toward scholarships and make a difference in some of our students’ lives, but you would rather use it to paint the gym.”
Windhausen, who stepped down from the board last year, added that athletes in the district are often asked to send fundraising links to family and friends to raise money for the Booster Club, with the understanding that donations will go toward scholarships, equipment and team apparel.
“Nowhere did it say they will be providing capital improvements to any buildings or structures,” she said.
District Superintendent Francesco Ianni responded that the donation was an offer from the Booster Club to enhance the gym’s appearance in a way the district’s maintenance staff could not manage on its own.
“The painting of the gymnasium in its entirety cannot be done with the manpower that we have, and it cannot be done in a short period of time,” Ianni said. “The paint that the booster club is providing … is not just a regular paint. It’s decal — it’s a line that goes around with the purple and gold. So it’s very specific, and I believe that will enhance the entire gymnasium.”
Ianni explained that the work could not be completed during the school year by the district’s custodial staff because it would require closing the gym for an extended period.
He also emphasized that the project was coordinated with district leadership. Still, several attendees questioned both the funding source and the process by which the Booster Club made the donation.
The club’s president, Adam Samodulski, sought to clear up what he described as a misunderstanding. “We came to the administration as the booster board,” Samodulski said. “Quite frankly, we thought the gym needed an upgrade as far as the way it looked aesthetically. As parents, we go to other schools, we see that their gyms look quite snazzy, branded very well, and we thought our gym needed an upgrade.”
The idea, he said, had been discussed by the club for several years before it was brought to the administration. “We were just trying to snazz up the place a little bit,” he said. “We thought the kids would really enjoy it, the parents, the community.”
Following public comments, board trustees discussed the donation before voting on whether to accept it. Some expressed their appreciation for the club’s support but agreed with residents’ claims that such expenses should be covered by district funds.
“I think painting the gym, adding that detail to the gym, affects all students,” Trustee John Paul Kopacz said. “But if it can be done with our school district money from other resources, that would give the Booster Club an opportunity to pursue other donations closer, more directly to the students.”
Others said that because the Booster Club had come up with the idea of funding the project, it wasn’t the board’s place to decide how the club chose to spend its money. Trustee James Rickard defended the donation as a positive enhancement of the school environment.
“If there’s something that the Booster Club believes will bring pride and school spirit, I think there’s nothing better than school spirit,” Rickard said. “We appreciate these nonprofits coming in and enhancing our students’ education and spirit.”
Other trustees echoed those sentiments, thanking both the Booster Club and the district PTAs for their ongoing financial and volunteer support. Before the final vote, Samodulski reassured the board and the attendees that the donation would not detract from the club’s mission.
“No one is going to go without any requests that (have) been made of the Booster Club,” he said. “We’ve fulfilled 99 percent of them. This generous donation is just an extension of the kind of school that we want to be part of, the kind of environment we’re trying to raise our kids in.”
The board ultimately voted to accept the donation, as part of its new business resolutions.
