BEVERLY — The School Committee meeting where members will decide the fate of the city's elementary schools will be held tomorrow night.
The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Building on Cabot Street.
The School Committee will vote on either Superintendent James Hayes' plan to close both Cove and McKeown and turn them into an early childhood education center and alternative secondary school, respectively, or Mayor Bill Scanlon's plan to keep Cove open using money made available through the city's trash fee and recycling savings, and turn McKeown into an alternative secondary school.
Hayes' plan has been publicly analyzed for two months as the community has struggled to come up with an alternative. Scanlon presented his own last-minute alternative Wednesday night, originally the night the School Committee had planned to vote on Hayes' plan.
"There are a lot of people in this room who are confused, and who wouldn't be with all these plans," resident Tracey Armstrong said at the Wednesday night meeting.
And then she brought up another plan to consider — to pass a $2.5 million Proposition 21/2 override on June 3.
"The citizens have power. The citizens have a voice," she said. "Beverly is worth the investment."
If voters pass the override, the School Committee vote would not matter. A successful override means the school system would stay the same come September, and it would give administrators a year to work out all the details of an elementary consolidation plan that, theoretically, more people would like.
An override would permanently increase property taxes by about $185 a year for a home assessed at $450,000.
If you go
What: School Committee meeting to vote on an elementary school consolidation plan
Where: Memorial Building
When: Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m.
HAYES' PLAN
r Close McKeown and turn it into a secondary alternative school.
r Close Cove and turn it into an early childhood education center.
r Use the savings from closing both schools to help close a $2.67 million shortfall in next year's budget.
SCANLON'S PLAN
r Close McKeown and turn it into a secondary alternative school.
r Keep Cove open.
r Use general fund money available through trash fees and increased recycling savings to help close a $2.67 million shortfall in next year's budget.
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