largest in regionBy Chris Stevens/The Daily ItemSAUGUS-The town’s tuition for students headed to the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School was set to rise to more than $200,000, but vocational School Committee member Peter Rossetti said a super majority may vote to reject that increase.However, even without the boost in costs, Saugus still carries the largest tuition burden of the 12 participating schools.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani told the Finance Committee his latest communication with the school had tuition costs rising $233,189 from $1.86 million to $2.08 million. That would make Saugus the only town paying over $2 million in tuition and for sending fewer students than three other schools.Chelsea plans to send 205 students to the vocational school in 2009, yet it pays just over $4,000 per student in tuition. Saugus will send 145 students and spends a whopping $14,000 per student.While Revere is close to Saugus in cost with its proposed tuition hovering at $1.9 million, it sends 242 students to Saugus’ 145.Rossetti said he had a meeting set with representatives from seven other communities that are part of the vocational school and he expects they will vote as a block to reject the budget.”Saugus has already rejected it . . . hopefully we’ll get a new assessment,” he said.Finance Committee vice-chairman Ken DePato, who was running the meeting Wednesday said he wondered if the vote to reject was a sign that other communities were beginning to see the inequity in the tuition formula.The formula for tuition at the vocational school was changed when Education Reform swept in 1993. Rossetti said the formula was altered to give communities that, at the time, were considered poorer areas a break. But while times and financial circumstances have changed, the formula has not.”It would be cheaper to pay students to go to private school rather than the vocational,” DePato said.Not necessarily, according to Rossetti. Rossetti said about 25 percent of the students that go to the vocational school are on education plans. If they were educated through the public system, Rossetti said there is the chance some might be sent out of district, which would cost far more than tuition to the vocational school.Town officials thought they might have seen a glimmer of hope in seeking a more equitable tuition when Rossetti mentioned vocational officials are exploring the idea of building a new school.If officials want a new vocational school, which would need the support of all the participating communities, then Saugus might have the leverage it needs to lower its tuition rate.But Rossetti said Friday that he doesn’t think even that argument will help. First, he said lawyers are still deciding whether the district needs all the schools to agree of if a super majority can decide to build a new school. Second, he said, while it might be leverage to have certain concessions made, he doubts it would extend toward lowering the tuition.”I support the school but we give more money than we do to support the kids here, and we still have kids turned away,” DePato said.