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Liverpool, NY -- Parents in the Liverpool Central School District are angry after finding about 1,500 reading books in the dumpster at the former Wetzel Road Elementary School.

Mike and Trista Colatruglio said the family discovered that the district was throwing away the student reading guides, teacher guides and reading books a few weeks ago. The couple, their children and several neighbors brought five carloads of the books to the Liverpool Board of Education meeting Monday night.

"That’s my tax money," Trista Colatruglio said. "Schools are crying that they need money, but they are throwing money away."

Steven Garraffo, a school administrator, said the books are about 10 to 14 years old and some have been in storage for about three years.

Kevin Nuzzo, assistant to the superintendent, said the district follows a protocol to dispose of surplus books. The district can sell, donate or recycle the books. These books were approved as surplus in the fall of 2012 and it was determined that they needed to be recycled, he said.

Trista Colatruglio said the books are copyrighted from 2001 to 2005 and about 90 percent of the books are brand new. Some of the books are the same books her children used in the 2011-12 school year, she said.

Mike Colatruglio said his children discovered the books in the dumpster when they were playing at the playground at the Wetzel Road facility. The couple said they looked the books up on Amazon, an online retailer, and estimated the cost of the books to be about $30,000.

“These books are still being reproduced and they are still being sold,” he said. “There’s got to be a better place for these books than a dumpster.”

The couple has twin 10-year-old daughters at Willow Field Elementary and a 14-year-old daughter headed to the Liverpool High School Annex. She was told recently that one her 10-year-old was behind in reading. "Then why doesn’t the district give her these workbooks?" Colatruglio asked.

Board Member Stephen DiMarco said he thinks there is a simple solution to the problem. He suggested that at the end of the year the district could set up a date to invite the public, parents and charity groups to come pick up the surplus books. Other board members agreed and the board will explore the idea.

“The books are still usable,” said board member James Root. “I think it’s great that community members rallied around this.”

After the board meeting, the family loaded the books back in their cars and they plan to donate the books to charities and local organizations.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@syracuse.com or 470-2298. Follow @SarahMosesPS on Twitter.