SAUGUS – A tug of war over $100,000 earmarked for the library broke out during the Selectmen’s budget meeting Tuesday.Selectman Michael Kelleher said he’d been losing sleep over the lack of textbooks in the School Department and asked his colleagues to consider moving the $100,000 from the library to School Department for the purchase of new textbooks.”Some of the books they use at the High School are the same books I used when I was in school and some have pages missing,” he said. “It’s embarrassing and it’s not the way to educate kids.”Kelleher said he spoke to Superintendent Keith Manville, a few teachers and at least one principal on the textbook issue. He said he understood that $100,000 isn’t nearly enough to replace all the well-worn books, but he said it’s a start.Kelleher said the $100,000 originally earmarked for the library represented a 33 percent increase – the largest by far in the budget.”Can you quantify that $100,000,” he asked. “Does it get (the library) recertified? Will you be open another 10 hours?”Library Director Ewa Jankowska reminded Kelleher that the board needed to fund the library to the point it could remain open 50.5 hours per week for two years straight in order to regain certification.Library Board of Trustees Chairman Jean Bartolo said she hoped to use the bulk of the funds to expand the hours of three part-time employees and the rest would be used on computer maintenance and office supplies.Bartolo said the library has had to beg, borrow and steal office supplies over the last year and the only books that were purchased came from funds raised through Ellen Burns’ retirement party.”We are in the book business and we can’t even buy books,” Jankowska said.Kelleher countered that the textbook issue was just as serious if not more so.”Quite frankly this is the way third world countries educate their kids with out of date books,” he said.Selectman Peter Rossetti argued that the town could not tell the School Department how to spend any money given to them since they have a bottom line budget.Kelleher said that is why he wanted to earmark the money in an article all its own.Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian explained that even if the money was in a separate article it would still go into the School Department’s budget if it were accepted. He suggested the board put the $100,000 in a targeted stabilization fund. Town Meeting members would have to vote to transfer the money into the fund and the School Department would then have to come back to Town Meeting with a specific plan before it would release the money.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani asked that Kelleher take the money from “available funds” rather than pull it away from the library. Selectman Stephen Horlick agreed and made the motion to put $100,000 from available funds into a targeted stabilization fund for textbooks specifically.”I’m agreeing with the Town Manager,” he joked. “That doesn’t happen often.”The motion passed 5-0 and Jankowska said she was very relieved the library would hang onto its funding.”Good things will happen,” she added. “I am full of hope.”