SAUGUSHave a Happy & Blessed Easter and Passover! a Happy & D CAT Vol. 26, No.13 -FREE- www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday HONORING AN EAGLE A AD ATCTE E 781-233-4446 Friday, March 29, 2024 Clarifying the price of Saugus Public Schools Finance Committee Vice Chair says public ought to know that the School Department actually gets close to $29 million more than what its operating budget shows By Mark E. Vogler t the outset of Wednesday night’s meeting, Finance Committee Vice Chair George DeDomenico made a point of diff using any argument that Saugus Public Schools are being underfunded this year. Financial documents supporting the town manager’s proposed budget for the 2025 Fiscal Year show municipal general fund operating budgets total $78.3 million and the tentative school fund operating budget for next year is $33.1 million. What many town residents may not realize is that nearly $29 million of the $78.3 million that is portrayed as part of the town operating budgets is actually listed as School Department Schedule-19 charges hidden in the A SPECIAL COMMENDATION: Emmitt Lozano, 18, of Saugus, proudly displayed the citation he received at Tuesday night’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting which recognized his personal accomplishment of earning the Eagle Scout Badge – the Boy Scouts’ highest honor. He earned the rank of Eagle over the winter as a member of Lynn Boys Scout Troop 34. Please see inside for story and more photos. (Saugus Advocate Photo by Mark E. Vogler) town side of the budget. “When you actually combine those numbers together, the School Department gets 56 percent of the total pie,” DeDomenico said. DeDomenico, a longtime member of the Finance Committee, sought to make “the clarification” before the Finance Committee began its review of the School Department operating budget. “The same topic comes up every year – the way we portray our budgets in the budget books … the town side/school side,” DeDomenico said. “Oftentimes, we get into heated discussions about the numbers,” he said. In many of the previous Finance Committee budget reviews of the School Department over the past decade, past School Committee members have argued that the School Department was consistently being shortchanged in the town manager’s budget. Meanwhile, Finance Committee members would try to point out that the School Department was receiving millions of dollars more that wasn’t part of its offi cial operating budget. And the ongoing argument would lead to acrimonious discussions between the Finance Committee and the School offi cials. “The town in its entirety supports the school system,” DeDomenico said in an interview after the meeting. “It’s nice to be able to inform the public about the full budget to support the schools. We’re trying to seek clarity and transparency on just where the numbers fall,” he said. A $1.2 million diff erence between town and school Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree has recommended $33.1 million for the School Department for the 2025 Fiscal Year that begins July 1 – an increase of $1.5 million over the Fiscal PRICE | SEE PAGE 2 Over 45 Years of Excellence! Have a Happy and Blessed Easter and Passover from the Marchetti Family!
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