Swampscott Town Meeting kicks off tonight with budget

SWAMPSCOTT – Town Meeting members meet tonight to debate warrant articles that include requests to adopt a law that would essentially invalidate the high school’s Chemical Health Policy, allocate the $3.35 million to be raised from the recently passed debt-exclusion to fund the police station and approve a $57 million budget.Swampscott voters last Tuesday narrowly approved the debt-exclusion to raise money for the police station, now Town Meeting has to allocate the money that will be raised to the project in Article 7. Selectman David Van Dam said Tuesday after the election that he anticipated that this would not be controversial since ballot question passed.Article 10 on the warrant asks Town Meeting Members to accept Sections 84 and 86 of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 71. The law states that “(n)o student shall be suspended, expelled, or otherwise disciplined on account of marriage, pregnancy, parenthood or for conduct which is not connected with any school-sponsored activities.”Adopting the law would essentially invalidate the high school’s controversial Chemical Health Policy, which forbids students who have been caught illegally using, distributing or possessing controlled substances from participating in extra-curricular activities for a year unless they attend in-school counseling.Many parents and community members have supported the policy’s intent, but some have expressed concern that the new policy applies for all extracurricular activities and is in effect 365 days a year from a student’s eighth-grade graduation to his or her high-school graduation. Last week, the School Committee voted to a review of the policy that would include members from the original committee that formulated the Chemical Health Policy as well as members of the community and students.Other articles that have caused debate include questions on whether to increase the benefits of retired town employees and their survivors, whether the town should execute a deed that finalizes the purchase of the Leon E. Abbot Post 57, American Legion, and whether to impose a .75 percent local meals excise tax.The $57,082,597 2012 budget recommended by the Finance Committee reflects an approximately 3 percent increase in town spending. The Finance Committee characterizes the budget as finding “Swampscott in a state of relative financial balance, when compared to cities and towns across the commonwealth who are only now addressing the fundamental changes that we were forced to confront over the past five years,” in their warrant report.