Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 Northeast Metro Tech to seek voter approval for new school W AKEFIELD — Superintendent David DiBarri and the Building Committee at Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High School (Northeast Metro Tech) announce that voters across the District’s 12 sending communities will have the opportunity to approve plans for a new state-of-the-art school building later this month. Northeast Metro Tech currently serves about 1,300 students in its career technical education programs, but only has the capacity to accept 41 percent of applicants each year. Another 1,300 post-gradArtist’s rendering of the main entrance to the proposed Northeast Metro Tech. Voters will be asked to approve construction in a District-wide referendum on Jan. 25. (Photo Courtesy Northeast Metro Tech) Lawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lein * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 Lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net BUDGET | FROM PAGE 1 perintendent for five years before leaving last June 30 – had drawn criticism for not lobbying hard enough for School Department budget increases. DeRuosi last year requested a School Department budget of $30,073,439 – a 1.68 percent increase. Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree’s proposed operating budget for Saugus Public Schools – which Town Meeting approved – was about $29.9 million – $300,000 over the Fiscal Year 2021 budget. But Supt. McMahon, who is in her first year of a five-year contract, is committed to turning around the town’s underperforming school district. Before she was hired as superintendent, she served as a top official in state Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley’s office. One of the big discussion “ The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr. points is going to be the budget pressure resulting from increased out-of-district placements, and increased social/ emotional support resulting from the pandemic, according to School Committee Member Ryan Fisher, who chairs the School Finance Subcommittee. Supt. McMahon noted that school enrollment has declined over the past five years, with the school district having almost 200 fewer students. “My goal is to reduce out-ofdistrict replacement,” she said, adding that Dawn E. Trainor, the School Department's Director of Pupil Personnel Services and Adult Education, will be leading a special education program audit to help accomplish that task. Adding to the challenges We are closed Monday, January 17th in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As always, access our ATMs and your Online & Mobile Banking anytime. Enroll at www.EverettBank.com of turning the School Department around are those generated by COVID-19, especially remote learning, which contributed to learning problems, according to the superintendent. “We have kids whose needs are even more significant because of the time we were unable to serve them in the pandemic,” the superintendent said at Wednesday’s meeting. She lauded a dedicated and 419 BROADWAY. EVERETT, MA 02149 771 SALEM ST. LYNNFIELD, MA 01940 WWW.EVERETTBANK.COM 617-387-1110 781-776-4444 Member FDIC | Member DIF talented teaching staff for helping to meet the everyday challenges of COVID-19. “I can’t say enough about how hard our teachers are working,” she said. uates and adults benefit from Northeast’s night or weekend training programs to advance their careers. However, Northeast Metro Tech was built in 1968 and the facility has outlived its intended lifespan. Classrooms and shops are overcrowded, systems are outdated, and the building does not comply with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. A team made up of Northeast Metro Tech officials, School Committee members from all 12 communities that METRO | SEE PAGE 7 ZOOMED IN: Saugus Public Schools Superintendent Erin McMahon, appeared Wednesday night at a video-conferenced meeting of the Saugus School Finance Subcommittee; she briefed members on her proposed budget for the 2023 Fiscal Year which begins July 1. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) COVID-19 has set educational learning in Saugus back, particularly in the early grades, McMahon stressed. “Our second grade teachers are dealing with kindergartners … Every student in the Veterans Learning Center has never been in school,” she said. “We as an educational community are dealing with a lot of trauma and a lot of social/ emotional distancing,” she said. A key feature of the budget unveiled this week by McMahon is the addition of a new dean’s position program. One of these staff members – who have trained to assist students with emotional and mental health issues – would be assigned to each school. They would assist school principals. They have been described as teacher leaders. “I think this is a great idea. It’s outside the box and I commend you for that,” Serino said.
3 Publizr Home