SOMERSET As a former selectmen s resignation and allegations of incivility continue to roil town politics, Somerset leaders say they re confident the conflict will not hamper big projects like the proposed new Somerset Middle School and Brayton Point development.
“As much as the politics have been kind of loud and not very positive lately… I think Somerset has a lot going for us and I think we can still get there if we all work together, said Julie Ramos Gagliardi, a Somerset resident and the chair of the Somerset Berkley Regional School Committee.
On April 14, then-Selectman Holly McNamara resigned from her seat. She cited bullying and harassment from residents, especially those opposed to the business operating at Brayton Point as the driver of her decision.
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Competition at play in early timing of UMass tuition freeze
By Katie Lannan, State House News Service
University of Massachusetts trustees on Wednesday approved a plan that will freeze next year s tuition at its current level for in-state students at its four undergraduate campuses, while raising medical school tuition and out-of-state tuition at UMass Amherst each by 1.5 percent.
Tuition for out-of-state students at the Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell campuses will not increase.
Trustee Stephen Karam, who chairs the board s Administration and Finance Committee, said trustees usually set tuition levels at a summer meeting. By doing it now, our campuses will be able to provide more certainty to our students about the cost of attending one of our campuses and hopefully give them a more competitive edge in recruiting and retaining our students, he said.
The Somerset Berkley Regional School Committee approved a 6% budget increase on Tuesday and is moving forward with a plan to redistribute how much the two towns pay to support the regional high school.
The $17.5 million budget, which must be approved by both towns at their Town Meeting, would be a $1.14 million increase over last year’s.
Ronald Tarro, the school’s Director of Business and Finance, said about $1 million of that is to cover increasing costs associated with special education, including tuition and transportation for some special needs students who are sent to out-of-district schools. Required funding for collective bargaining agreements, salaries for a handful of new positions including two new paraprofessionals and a decline in revenue from out-of-district students coming in to Somerset Berkley drove the rest of the increase.