Selectman leads charge vs. voke school

SAUGUS – In what he hopes will be a preemptive strike against the North East Metropolitan Vocational School budget process Selectman Michael Kelleher Tuesday called for three town meetings to be scheduled over the summer months.The meetings were scheduled for July 13, Aug. 10 and Aug. 24.”It can be amended,” Kelleher said. “This allows us to act very, very quickly when the (vocational) budget does come out. Timing is of the essence.” Kelleher has been working to rally support on two fronts. The first front is a fight to get the state’s vocational school tuition formula changed. The town pays over $2 million for 145 students, which is considerably higher than two-thirds of the communities that send children to the Wakefield school. And the tuition bill will jump another $240,000 because 16 more students were sent to the school this year.Twelve communities send their students to Northeast Metro and each pays a different tuition. The formula was established in 1993 during education reform and was designed to give less well-to-do communities a break. Over the years economics have shifted but the tuition formula has not. Some, however, such as Kelleher, thinks it is time for a change.”I am committed to this,” he said. “There will be a change. It is coming.” A change in the formula, however, won’t come soon because it will take an act of the legislature to accomplish.”It’s abundantly clear that this will take a long time, which is fine,” Kelleher said, adding that the problem seems to keep growing arms and legs. “That’s not a reason for not doing it, it’s just a reason to work harder.”The second more immediate front is to vote down the Wakefield vocational school’s budget. The budget has not been finalized. A public hearing on the proposal is being held tonight in fact in the school’s library, 100 Hemlock Road, Wakefield at 7:30 p.m.Kelleher said the budget has a five percent increase on top of last year’s 8 percent increase and he is determined to shoot it down.In order for the budget to be turned back to the School Committee, however, a total of five communities need to vote to reject it. Kelleher said he has the support from other communities including Chelsea, which is why he called for the Town Meetings.In order for Saugus to reject the budget it needs a vote by Town Meeting.”I will stand on the floor of Town Meeting to ask them to reject it until cuts are made so we don’t have to cut out school budget to fund theirs,” he said.Selectman Peter Rossetti pointed out that there is a reason Town Meeting doesn’t meet over the summer and it’s due largely to vacations.”Just keep in mind you might not get a quorum,” he said.Kelleher said that is why he is scheduling the meetings now, so meeting members can keep it in the back of their minds when vacation planning.