Leading off today: Section 2 may be sitting on a $350,000 pile of money that its officers did not know about, but the governing body of scholastic sports in the Albany region must first sort out a staggering array of questions about its finances to know its true status.
In the end, they may learn that the organization is actually deep in debt.
An accounting firm hired by the section is in an uphill battle to reconstruct records after the suicide of its longtime treasurer in June, and section officials notified member schools last week that the organization may not have filed a tax return in more than 30 years, The Times Union reported Tuesday.
Minutes of the Section 2 Athletic Council meeting held June 6 noted that an audit was in progress. Treasurer Roger J. Seward took his own life June 15 before the audit firm could speak with him, the paper reported.
Section 2, which funds its championships and other programs largely through dues from schools, sponsorships by businesses and tournament ticket revenue, is a not-for-profit corporation registered with the state government, After recreating the section's books for the 2011-12 school year, accountants found more than $350,000 in its bank accounts, which the paper reported was far more than what officials believed they had available.
To put that in perspective, Section 5 -- often cited as a model to be emulated because of the way many of its operations are handled -- reported in September it has a balance of more than $260,000 after generating a net profit of $43,677 in 2011-12.
The state attorney general's office couldn't say late Monday whether the office was investigating either Section 2 or Seward, the paper reported. Section 2 President Paul Jenkins said the IRS will be consulted to determine whether there are potential tax liabilities.
Seward was the longtime business director for the Amsterdam School District before resigning last year after pornography was found on his work computer, The Times Union reported. Seward's work at Amsterdam also came into question in 2001, when the State Board of Regents alleged budget mismanagement. Seward remained business manager but was removed as treasurer and purchasing manager, reports said.
Drinking scandal spreads: Herkimer is next on the clock in metting out punishments in the aftermath of a September drinking party, The Little Falls Times reported.
Herkimer officials have conducted an investigation, and there likely will be players suspended from four school teams this week, AD Stan Congden told the paper. The football team, 5-0 and rated sixth in the NYSSWA Class C rankings to be released Wednesday, will likely be missing what coach Alan Steele called "a few" players vs.
