Tamaqua Area School Board finance committee on Tuesday recommended a number of purchases, including new copiers for the elementary schools.

Business manager Connie Ligenza said the two copiers costing $37,730 will replace heavily-used, workhorse copiers in the elementary schools that are eight or nine years old.

The copiers will be purchased from Stratix Systems Inc. using a CO-STARS purchasing contract, she said.

Board members were surprised at the cost of the heavy-duty copiers, but Ligenza said the district spent $45,000 on the copiers they are replacing eight or nine years earlier.

Another purchase involves new doors at the senior high school at cost of $80,771.93 from Gordian Inc., using a Keystone Purchasing Network contract, Ligenza said.

Board member Nicholas Boyle asked when the project would start. Chief operations officer Ken Dunkelberger said that the project has to be approved before the company will put the district on its schedule.

Dunkelberger expects Gordian to give him some dates, and he expects them to be flexible, but some weekend work may be involved.

“They’ll let us know if they can do it sooner, rather than later,” he said. “If not, we will be pushed to early spring and try to get it done before graduation.”

Superintendent Ray Kinder said Dunkelberger can provide an update for the board when the district receives dates.

The final purchase discussed was two, used golf carts from Don’s Golf Carts of Lehighton for use by district trainers and custodial staff. The cost is $9,200.

Dunkelberger explained the golf carts both have new tires, and one has a new battery, while the other has a two-year-old battery.

Board President Larry Wittig asked if they were electric, as the hills in the area may be a problem. Dunkelberger said they were electric, and the hills were borderline.

However, there was more concern with gas-powered and possible small-engine repairs, Dunkelberger said. More can go wrong with gas engines, he said.

Wittig said electric are better for the environment, too, and Dunkelberger agreed.