Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JAnUAry 12, 2024 “The missing piece” Board of Health welcomes a new member; colleagues laud Joseph Dorant’s environmental expertise By Mark E. Vogler T he town’s newest Board of Health member, Joseph Dorant, couldn’t have asked for a better first meeting. On Monday, just four days after he was sworn in at Saugus Town Hall, he received a long introduction and a warm welcome from his board colleagues. Dorant’s introduction was the first order of business on the agenda and lasted about eight minutes as the board’s chair Maria Tamagna read from the highlights of his resume – including more than 25 years as an environmental engineer for the state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). “Mr. Dorant offers us a wide knowledge base. I’m sure he’s a welcome member of our board,” Tamagna said. “I think to have an environmental expert on our team is just going to add a whole different layer to our expertise as a group. I’m excited,” she said. Adding a member with Dorant’s extensive environmental background “is sort of the missing piece,” Tamagna said, noting that she and the other board members have professional backgrounds in the medical and health care field. “We’re really going to enjoy this,” she said. Dorant worked from 1978 to 2006 as an environmental engineer and Chief of Technical Services in MassDEP. And overlapping part of that period (1991-2006), he was a member of the Environmental Strike Force. He was part of an interagency unit comprised of scientists and engineers from MassDEP, environmental police officers Joseph Dorant (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) from the state Department of Fish & Game, State Police and prosecutors from the state Office of the Attorney General who collaborated in prosecuting environmental crimes. “I started in 1978 before the Clean Air Act and before the Clean Water Act and Hazardous Waste Regulations,” Dorant told his colleagues. “I was fortunate to see firsthand the environmental imCelebrating Our 52nd Year Dan - 1972 We Sell Cigars & Accessories! ALL MAJOR BRANDS Singles * Tins * Bundles * Boxes * Travel Humidors * Desk Top Humidors * Many Types of Lighters * Ash Trays * Juuls * Vapes * Glass Pipes * Rewards Program * CBD Infused Products * GIFTS UNDER $30 - GIFT CERTIFICATES SMOKER’S DELIGHT! 15 HANDMADE CIGARS! Four-Year-Old Tobacco * 100% Long Filler * Cellophane $49.95 WINTER STORE HOURS: OPEN DAILY 7 DAYS A WEEK, 9AM - 6PM R.Y.O. TOBACCO & TUBES ON SALE! WE MAKE HOUSE KEYS! Green Label Cigar Sale! Buy 2 Cigars, Get One FREE! A.B.C. CIGAR 170 REVERE ST., REVERE (781) 289-4959 Chris 2024 MONDAY NIGHT INTRODUCTION: New Board of Health Member Joseph Dorant (center) listened as Board Chair Maria Tamagna read from the highlights of his resume – extensive environmental expertise – which Tamagna called “the missing piece” that the board needed. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) provements in Massachusetts over the last 30 years,” he said. In 2006, he joined the Massachusetts Organization of State Engineers and ScienPUBLIC SCHOOLS | FROM PAGE 1 pected to present his budget to the selectmen at a meeting set for Feb. 27. At that time, it will be known at least publicly how much of a gap exists between the superintendent’s proposed school budget and the town manager’s spending plan for education. The price of losing ESSER Hashem emphasized that the Saugus Public Schools needed to include in its operating budget several positions funded previously by ESSER. The $122-billion ESSER money awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic marked the largest-ever one-time federal investment in education. The money enabled school districts to address the impacts of COVID-19 on students. “With the end of pandemic funding sources such as ESSER, in order to keep our current levels of services, costs will need to shift from grants to our working budget,” Hashem noted in his budget message. For instance, Hashem identified in his proposed budget several staff positions that were previously funded from ESSER. They include a full-time elementary math instructional specialist ($111,076), a fulltime secondary math instructional specialist ($103,198), a full-time computer techtists (MOSES) – an employee union that represents over 3,800 technical, engineering and scientific employNEW MEMBER | SEE PAGE 3 nician ($60,000) and a halftime English Language Learning instructional specialist ($49,849) to be used district-wide. Hashem’s proposed budget also includes a full-time music teacher ($56,159) at the Belmonte STEAM Academy that was previously funded by ESSER. The five positions once funded by ESSER would account for an increase in personnel costs of more than $380,000. Hashem noted that the cost of special education continues to rise. Though costs have been kept in check in this area by school officials, it remains an area where funds are necessary. “Our district has gone through a series of challenging transitions over the last five years, and I’m working with the School Committee, leadership, and all stakeholders to provide stability for our district,” said Hashem. He had served 10 months as acting superintendent while McMahon was on paid administrative leave during an investigation into her alleged misconduct. “The budget was developed with the district’s need for stability in mind. It is also directly related to our District Improvement Plan and the recently adopted five-year Strategic Plan. As is the case with all school systems, our students and their needs are the main priority,” he said.
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