The Monessen girls’ basketball team will travel nearly four hours to a PIAA playoff game this weekend. How they're getting there is getting a lot of attention.
Earlier this week, a social media account for the team asked for help finding a charter bus to take the girls to the game, adding the school board couldn't provide one.
The post blew up and word spread to Kevin Acklin with the Pittsburgh Penguins - who offered to help.
“Let’s jump in, let’s offer,” said Acklin. “If there’s a distraction and if they’re feeling stressed out about not having the resources to get a bus, I told them to call the director and send us the bill.”
“It’s not about paying for a bus, it’s about letting these girls know that we care, something that gives them a wind at their sails for Saturday, you know that’s the power of sports,” added Acklin.
But the school board actually turned down the Penguins offer, saying at a board meeting Tuesday they will cover the cost after all.
Superintendent Robert Motte tells News Radio KDKA they had always planned to supply the charter bus, but were working to find the best price, and reserved school bus as a Plan B.
Motte adds that just as the Penguins were making their offer, they found a price they were satisfied with and that they do appreciate the Penguins generosity.
A letter released says in part:
It is important to note that often social media posts spread misinformation that can sometimes spiral out of control. In this case, that is exactly what happened. As always, the responsibility for fiscal integrity and oversight of school finances rests with the Board of Education. With that in mind, the Monessen Board of Directors fully intended to provide a charter bus to transport our girls’ basketball team to Otto- Eldred for Saturday’s PIAA state competition, which is approximately a four-hour drive. The initial quote for the transportation that was presented to the Board was, what we believe, extremely costly. Therefore, as a Board, we were looking for other competitive quotes.
In a follow-up post on Wednesday, the Monessen Girls Basketball page said they didn’t want to talk about the situation with the school board, but wanted to focus on the positive aspects.
“Our kids come from a community that is very high in poverty. They have seen friends die, friends go to jail and have dealt with issues a lot of adults have never dealt with, but having so many people from all walks of life step up and want to help them especially a professional sports team was just an amazing feeling for them,” the post said in part.