Tamaqua Area School Board's various committees took action on a number of items during Tuesday night's meeting.

Under the auxiliary committee's report, Superintendent Carol Makuta and Athletic Director Mike Hromyak presented information on School Sports Media, a Florida-based company that offers advertising options to school athletic programs. Hromyak said that the company has a number of different advertising packages available that can be customized to each school's specifications. One option is to sell advertising space on athletic fields, which many districts currently display."The more we allow to advertise, the more money we have coming into the district," Hromyak said. "We would need manpower for the signage."Other possibilities discussed were soliciting sponsors for game tickets and national sponsors for sports uniforms."If we could get a national company to sponsor our uniforms, that would help a pinched budget," said high school principal Stephen Toth.According to Hromyak, the district would receive 75 percent of advertising sold and School Sports Media would receive 25 percent. He also said that Tri Valley, Panther Valley, Pine Grove, and Mahanoy Area school districts are either working with School Sports Media or are in the process of negotiating a partnership.Makuta said that Jeff Bowe, district solicitor, is currently reviewing the information received by School Sports Media and the committee would table any further discussion until a future meeting.In other matters, the education committee approved a contract between Behavioral Health Associates and the district. Makuta said that this is a routine contract approved on an as-needed basis to tend to the needs of certain students. The committee also approved the superintendent's action to enter into an agreement with the Schuylkill Intermediate Unit No. 29 effective July 1.Under the terms of the contract, the district will be a sub-recipient of a contact with the Pennsylvania Department of Education in order to perform certain Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) series. The district renews this partnership contract each year, Makuta said.The finance committee approved a number of change orders to the ongoing high school locker room project that are not to exceed $44,790.07. Engineering firm, the McClure Company, are handling the project, and the scope of work has changed due to structural issues with the existing framework."We've tried paint samples from three different companies, and the drywall is not taking the paint," according to a McClure engineer who attended the meeting. "There was also fiberboard in the ceiling that was not taking paint, and we had to re-do the metal stairs. Now the lockers will be flat on the wall, which is a much safer environment. We demonstrated the old office area, and the new aluminum we're putting in is the same as in the pool area."Makuta said that the district is looking to get some sort of compensation out of the project since the scope of work has changed.District Business Manager Connie Ligenza also reported that the district has approved a new Workman's Compensation Insurance Package with Highmark Blue Shield through ETA Benefits Group, Tamaqua. According to Ligenza, the district will save over $30,000 annually compared to their previous provider's quote.