A Pittsburgh company was hired Monday to appraise the fixed assets of Farrell Area School District.

While a resident said the hiring was another example of wasteful spending by the board, the superintendent said the appraisal will help make the district more accountable to taxpayers.

The school board Monday hired Industrial Appraisal Co., Pittsburgh. The company will be paid $6,595 for the inventory and appraisal and $1,495 for a software package that will create a computerized inventory.

The district also agreed to pay $780 for annual updates of the value of insurable items, and $350 for annual updates of the fixed asset report.

The board also adjusted accounting thresholds that will be used in compiling a list of items that are insured, and that have a useful life of more than one year.

The thresholds are ranges of value.

Superintendent Richard R. Rubano Jr. said the new thresholds will help give a more accurate value of the district.

The appraisal will show not only what the district owns but details such as when an asset was acquired, its depreciation schedule and its usable life.

"It will give taxpayers greater accounting of what there is," he said, adding that the appraisal will meet the requirements set by the Government Accounting Standard Board.

Farrell resident John Brown was not impressed with board's action.

"You can hire someone to appraise the school," he said. "How about bringing someone in to find the waste?"

Rubano responded that the district did that when it volunteered to be one of the first districts to undergo a performance audit by the state Auditor General's Office, a program designed to point out ways to save money.

Rubano added that he publicly goes over the budget each spring line by line to identify what the money is being spent on.

Rubano said the district has no waste and grants have kept it alive. "Without grants we would have closed our doors a long time ago," he said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at jpinchot@sharonherald.com