Nahant school override up for vote at April 30 election

NAHANT – Selectmen opened – then immediately closed – the Town Meeting warrant for the final time on Thursday night, sending 23 articles to Town Meeting voters to debate on April 30.Article 21, which asks voters to approve a $260,000 override to fund Johnson School, is the most controversial article on the Warrant.School officials say the override will fill a budget shortfall due to a $113,000 reduction in state and federal funds coupled with a dramatic increase in special-education costs. The proposal will add approximately $189 or $3.50 per week to the average tax bill, according to numbers from Town Accountant Deborah Waters and based on a median home valuation of $540,000. The override faces two votes for passage: a 2/3 majority vote at the Annual Town Meeting and a ballot question at the Town Election. Both occur April 30.Other articles ask voters to approve $250,000 to dredge Bear Pond on the Kelley Greens Golf Course, borrowing $750,000 for new water meters and spending $150,000 for a sewer project on Ward Road. Town Meeting will also be asked to approve a $10.1 million balanced 2012 budget.In other business, Town Administrator Mark Cullinan read a letter from the Town that commends Fireman Austin Antrim for taking a grant-writing course and successfully getting a $91,186 grant from the Department of Homeland Security. The grant money will be used to purchase safety equipment, Cullinan said.Also, the American Legion Mortimer G. Robbins Post #21 will dedicate its new quarters at the Nahant Lifesaving Station on Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m. Cullinan said that the Post’s new home was a “win-win for the Town, the Nahant Preservation Trust and the American Legion.”