ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Stephanie Mastrocola, left, and Danielle Ferreira celebrate at Prince Pizzeria Tuesday night following the town’s special election.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — Voters overwhelmingly supported the $186 million investment in Saugus Public Schools in a special election Tuesday.
“This is history in the making,” said Superintendent Dr. David DeRuosi. “We can see by the results that the community has spoken. The town has spoken. It’s time. Saugus needs this and we’re going to get the job done for them.”
Jubilant supporters gathered at Prince Pizzeria to tally the unofficial results of the election, which were released around 8:30 p.m. More than 4,900 residents, about 25 percent of registered voters, visited the polls to vote on two questions Tuesday and more than twice as many people supported each question than those who voted against them.
The first requested $160 million for a proposed grades 6-12 combination middle and high school, and the second sought support for a $25 million district-wide master plan that would restructure the district to include an upper elementary school for grades 3-5 at the existing Belmonte Middle School and a lower elementary school for Pre-K through grade 2 at the Veterans Memorial Elementary School.
The master plan is a town project and is not being pursued through the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The town’s share of the total project would be an estimated $118 million, bonded over a 30-year period. The MSBA will reimburse the town at a minimum rate of 53 percent — which is expected to increase — of eligible approved project costs for the middle-high school.
According to the unofficial results, 3,470 people supported question one and 1,450 voted against it; 3,371 people voted in favor of question two and 1,533 people voted against it.
“I am so excited but not at all surprised,” said School Committee Chairwoman Jeannie Meredith. “I know how passionate everybody in this community is about our kids.”
Stephanie Mastrocola, president of the Waybright Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, echoed her sentiment.
“We were confident it would pass,” she said. “We’re strong. We set out to do this and we knew we were going to win it.”
Saugus High School Principal Michael Hashem said he was proud of what the town accomplished and he was ready for the next step. The school project will now enter the design phase, which is expected to take about a year.
“After that we can get shovels in the ground,” said Meredith.
Town Manager Scott Crabtree said he has a meeting scheduled with the MSBA on Wednesday.
“This is the biggest step and the biggest investment in the town’s history,” said Crabtree. “I’m ecstatic.”
Crabtree added he was thankful for the collaborative effort of town officials, the School Building Committee, the PTO, and the residents who voted in favor of new schools.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.