FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — Some parents in the Franklin Area School District aren’t happy with the way the district spends money.

“We all work very hard for our money, and we would like to see it put to better use,” said parent and taxpayer Dawn Perry.

At Monday’s school board meeting, a motion to buy a new sign to be placed outside the junior/senior high school died. The sign would have cost $2,400.00.

The digital sign would have had slightly different wording. The current one reads “Franklin Area High School Middle School.”

The new one would have read “Franklin Area Jr./Sr. High School,” as the name was recently changed.

“We have kids in AP classes that need books and other materials. I don’t think we should be spending money on useless things like signs,” Perry said.

Perry and other parents have been frustrated by spending issues in the district over the years.

A few months ago, the school board narrowly approved a budget that included a tax increase.

Perry also was against a study to see if there was enough space at Central Elementary or the junior/senior high school to house the district offices.

Child Development Centers is looking to buy the administrative building that houses the district offices.

“I’d like to see the district offices in the junior/senior high schools where the older kids (are) so there can be more communication,” Perry said.

Perry said Franklin has closed three elementary schools in the last five years, including Seventh Street, Polk, and Utica.

“I was very upset with Seventh Street because it’s where I went, and it’s where we bought a house, but it has been a positive experience for our kids.”

“They ended up at Central Elementary where they did things they couldn’t have done at Seventh.”