West Deptford Committee Honors $2,000 Commitment to Football Team

A promised donation to the West Deptford High School football team for championship jackets is still coming from the township, after the township committee approved the money as part of the bill list at their closeout meeting Thursday.

The $2,000 donation, which Mayor Len Daws said was promised by former mayor Anna Docimo shortly after at the beginning of the month, won't be made immediately, though.

“There's a little bit of anxiety over this,” Daws said, acknowledging the public sentiment both for and against the donation. Given the football parents' association has already laid out $6,500 for the jackets under the assumption the money would be there, Daws said the committee felt it wouldn't be fair to renege on the promise.

“The committee wants to stand behind that commitment,” he said.

To try to quell some of that anxiety, Daws said the committee's going to seek out private donations to try to cover the $2,000 donation. In the meantime, the actual check will be held over until Jan. 27, with the hope it can be covered and canceled.

While there's a precedent for the money–Daws pointed out that there was a time when the township committee would pick up the entire cost of championship jackets–it's essentially a handshake agreement at the township committee level.

“There really isn't a clear-cut policy,” Daws said.

At the school board, however, there's a formal deal approved on what the district contributes–currently $80.

As for putting a more formal agreement in place, Daws said that's something to take up in the new year.

“We'll leave that to next year's committee,” he said.