Saugus parents, teachers, vent funding frustrations to school board members

SAUGUS – Budget discussions got off to a personal start Thursday when Belmonte Middle School staffers and parents told the School Committee exactly how their students were being affected by budget cuts.English Language Arts teacher Myra Monto held a worn out, torn reference book that she said was copyrighted 1966 and urged the purchase of new reference material.Teacher and parent of an eighth-grader Joy McCauley said last year her son was in a classroom of 20 and he’s now in a classroom with 30 other students.McCauley said it’s been proven that students learn better in groups, but because the classrooms are so crowded the desks must be kept in orderly rows.”Our kids deserve so much more,” she said, her voice breaking slightly. “Excuse the tremor in my voice. I am emotional because I love this school. If I were to put a priority on this budget it would be staffing.”The Middle School took the hardest hit during last year’s budget crunch when Town Meeting members cut the School Department budget by a total of $1.3 million. Principal Charles Naso was forced to lay off approximately 12 teachers and he told the Committee Thursday he’d like them back. He’d also like to restore textbooks, extra curricular positions that were paid with a stipend, such as the Model UN coordinator and eighth-grade advisor.Naso said he’d also like to hire a librarian and a guidance counselor because the student ratio for guidance is 373 students to one counselor. He said he would like to lower that to at least 241-1.Finally, Naso said he is also asking for three foreign language teachers.In its heyday, the Middle School had five foreign language teachers. Now, the school that has to send home notices in four different languages has none.Thomas Steward, parent of an eighth-grader, said he majored in Spanish in college largely because he began taking Spanish when he was a Saugus middle schooler.School Committee member Frederick Doucette agreed there is a need to push languages at the lower grade levels.”It’s depressing that we don’t have it at the middle school level, but the whole thing is depressing,” he said.Committee member Wendy Reed said ideally she’d like to see it started in the elementary levels.BMS Vice Principal Linda Gaieski said her biggest concern is that the school is not adequately preparing students to be competitive in the world.”Go to Lynnfield, Wakefield, Melrose – even Lynn and Revere I regret to say,” she said. “Their kids are more competitive. We are barely making it work.”After Selectman Stephen Castinetti said he was actually considering sending his fifth grade son to private school, Doucette reminded the audience it was essentially preaching to the converted.”I love the passion in this room,” he said. “The problem is you can’t have the fight in here. You need to take it to the Board of Selectmen, to the floor of Town Meeting.”Doucette said the committee would put forth the budget requested by the principals, but parents and staffers will have to help fight for it.”Not only to get what you want, but to get what you need,” he said. “Talk to your neighbors, talk to your Town Meeting members.”