Here is the article from the Boston Globe! It was combined with another article about Winthrop which I removed. We will continue to pursue the technology effort. The Boston Globe - 2013-11-10 In Dracut, Citizens for a Better Dracut successfully petitioned to have two articles placed on the warrant of the Special Town Meeting. One called for the town to allot $100,000 in free cash to provide added funds for schools to purchase textbooks, paper, and instructional supplies. The other advised selectmen, the School Committee, and the Finance Committee to agree by Feb. 1 “on a road map to secure passage” of a $1million-to-$1.5 million debt exclusion to modernize the town’s technology. Neither article went to a vote because town administrators allocated $100,000 for the schools, and the technology upgrade was sent to the Capital Planning Committee with the suggestion that it seek input on the issue from selectmen and the school and finance committees. Laurie Cheetham of Citizens for a Better Dracut said her fivemember group was pleased. “We accomplished what we set out to do,” she said, noting that the schools will be receiving more funding, and that a conversation has begun on additional money for technology. Cheetham said members of her group got together after the September defeat of two overrides to meet school and other town funding needs. The rejected overrides would have provided $ 2.9 million for the schools and $200,000 for general town services. Town Manager Dennis Piendak said he had opposed the group’s article seeking $100,000 for school supplies because it would have been drawn from free cash, which he said is not intended for operating expenses. He said Town Meeting cannot tell the schools how to spend money. He said the agreed-upon appropriation accomplished the aims of the article while avoiding those problems. “The override in town failed. Nevertheless the Board of Selectmen is still sensitive to the funding needs of the schools, and [has been] looking at some way some assistance for them could be provided,” he said, calling the funding vote an outgrowth of that sentiment. Piendak said referral of the other article to the Capital Planning Committee similarly reflected continuing interest in upgrading the town’s technology, noting that the overrides included technology investments. Boston Globe Media Partners LLc
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 00:24:55 +0000