$3M schools grant comes with a catch

SAUGUS – The school district could be in line for a $3 million grant, but there is one string attached: the town must fully fund the library.Reps. Mark Falzone (D-Saugus) and Kathi-Anne Reinstein (D-Revere) along with Sens. Thomas McGee (D-Lynn) and Anthony Galluccio (D-Cambridge) tucked the “green school environmental grant” for the town inside the state’s environmental bond bill, which Gov. Deval Patrick has already signed.”It’s a one-time grant,” Falzone said.But in order to be eligible to receive the money, the library must be re-certified, which means its budget must be fully restored.The library was decertified May 29, 2007 when a Proposition 21/2 override aimed at funding the library failed.The library has since reopened, but its funding was significantly cut and is well below the level the state requires for certification.Some have already accused Falzone – a strong proponent of the library – of extortion, but Falzone shrugged off the notion.”The town receives all sorts of grants, whether it’s for the Senior Center or Community Policing and in order to accept any of them there are certain conditions that must be met,” he said. “This is no different.”That said, Falzone also said it’s time for the town to step up and make sure the library is recertified. He said he believes a certified library is a service that taxpayers should expect and deserve to have.”Our state legislative delegation worked tirelessly to secure funds for Saugus despite financial constraints, but the town needs to take steps to re-certify our library in order to take advantage of these funds,” he said. “Not only will re-certification allow state funds to flow to the library again, but when funds are released it will free up this $3 million for the school district to employ environmentally sustainable practices.”Technically, it would be up to the School Department to decide how to spend the grant, but Falzone already has an idea.”I got the idea from (former Town Meeting member) George Moriello,” he said.Moriello has talked with Falzone in the past regarding the possibility of renovating the Belmonte Middle School. Falzone admitted that $3 million wouldn’t provide much of a renovation, but it would be a good start and it’s money the town doesn’t have.”And it really could be environmental if they use it to replace inefficient windows, address a new heating system or put it toward air quality issues,” he added. “I think (the grant) would be pretty flexible.”While recertifying the library won’t happen overnight, Falzone said that is fine because the town has five years to meet the grant requirements.”But I wouldn’t wait until the last year,” he added. “The governor has the right to fund this or not fund it even though he’s already signed it.”The sooner the town gets its ducks in a row and requests the release of funds from the governor, the better Falzone said.”What’s the downside of this?” Falzone asked. “If they don’t want to fund the library than they’re no worse off than before. If they do and the governor doesn’t release the funds, well then they have a certified library.”