Saugus school board debates where to apply recently discovered funds

SAUGUS – Saugus Schools Superintendent Richard Langlois said Pupil Personnel Director Cynthia Joyce was able to find more than $460,000 in Medicaid reimbursements that could help offset the town?s nearly $1 million deficit.Langlois said the money comes from medical service the school provides to its students who are reimbursed by Medicaid and is made up of more than $200,000 each from 2011 and 2012 in “unanticipated funds.”?It?s an incredible amount of work,” said Langlois. “This extra money couldn?t come at a better time so I?m happy for that.”Finance Director Sam Rippin said he was also able to find additional money totaling $300,000 in savings from utility costs, wage adjustments and a recent spending freeze.School Committee member Arthur Grabowski said he wanted to see some of the money transferred into the transportation account to avoid potential cuts to busing, but fellow member Frederick Doucette said there are certain federal mandates for special education that the school must meet.Grabowski responded by asking Doucette if he wanted to see a “student killed walking on Main Street.”?Thank you for making me say I don?t want to see a student killed,” said Doucette. “I appreciate that. Way to be a team player.”Grabowski asked Doucette if his statements were sarcasm, and Doucette said it was “the height of sarcasm.” Grabowski responded that he doesn?t “appreciate” sarcasm and then said he had to leave early.Grabowski left the meeting about an hour later.Reed said there was “no reason to get extreme” over the issue.?It doesn?t mean you can?t prioritize things as money becomes available,” said Reed. “I think it?s best to protect our exposure in special education.”The committee also discussed the uncertainty surrounding next year?s budget and the possibility of layoffs.Reed sad things “don?t look good” after she and Langlois met with Town Manager Scott Crabtree.?They have emphasized there?s a big deficit that will most definitely affect us in FY13,” said Reed. “We are going to be cut, how much, we don?t know.”Langlois said if there is not a solid budget number soon, layoff notices will go out on June 15.?If, come June 15, I have to lay off a substantial amount of teachers, what does it do for the morale of our school community?” said Langlois. “(Crabtree) understands this and knows the sense of urgency, but the window is getting smaller. The longer the delay, the more catastrophic it is for us. Hopefully by June 6 there will be a hard number to look at.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].