The county school board voted 8-1 Tuesday night to spend $6,660 to equip Rockmart High School with a new baseball net, but not before the board’s “east versus west” politics reared its head once again.

Polk School District Facilities Coordinator Tom Reilly told the board that the net would take at least two to three weeks to arrive, and two or three days to install.

Considering that baseball season ends around April 15, Reilly said the net would see several weeks of use for this year.

The $6,000-plus dollars spent on the net includes installation by Shephard’s Tree Service and a one year warranty on their installation.

Omni Sports will be providing the net at a cost of $4,350 which includes a one-year warranty.

Rockmart High School will be paying for half of the total cost.

Board member Beth Warner voted against the purchase.

The decision to replace the net had been discussed several times by the board, notably during the March 2 meeting when talks turned to an “east versus west” mentality.

The argument during the March 2 session involved two proposed purchases, the baseball net for Rockmart High School and a surveillance system for Cedartown High School.

The dispute arose because the two separate items had been lumped together for a vote, and a majority of the board approved a motion to separate them.

These purchases became an item of contention when a majority of the board voted to consider the items separately. The board then voted to table the RHS purchase but to proceed with the item for CHS.

Charges of favoritism were issued claiming board members weren’t treating the Rockmart and Cedartown schools equally.

Board member Harold Lumpkin opposed separating the two items. He said the board should approve both purchases.

“If you separate them then it becomes a Rockmart High School issue and a Cedartown High School issue,” Lumpkin said.

Board member Beth Warner objected to Lumpkin’s remarks. Warner was one of the board members who called for the two items to be separated.

“I resent the implication,” Warner said.

Warner said it was a matter of merit — not a “Cedartown versus Rockmart” issue.

Warner said the surveillance equipment was an urgent need due to two recent burglaries at the Cedartown campus.

The board gave the green light to accept the surveillance equipment bid from Tele-net Systems of Rome for $3,861.50. CHS is to pay for half the bill out of the school’s maintenance and operations funds, and the rest will come from the school system’s maintenance fund.