LYNNFIELD
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
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Vol. 4, No. 47
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PERMIT # 167 WOBURN, MA
978-777-6397 Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Coach Lamusta predicts team will play at a high level, end season on successful note LHS Pioneers host North Reading Thanksgiving Day, kickoff 10AM
By Joe Mitchell
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t’s been a work in progress this season for the Lynnfield High School football team (38), as it had to transition into a new system under the guidance of first-year coach Pat Lamusta. It helped that he and his players were not unfamiliar with each other, because he’s also the varsity boys’ lacrosse coach. But different sports require different game plans, and it does take time to execute them properly. The football Pioneers lost their first four games, all road contests, before finally coming home in October to beat Manchester Essex with Rock-
TEAM | SEE PAGE 13
Pioneers Captains Cole Moretti, Leo Quinn, Hunter Allain, and Jaret Simpson, shown with Head Coach Pat Lamusta, will lead the LHS Football Team during their Thanksgiving Day showdown with visiting North Reading at 10 a.m.
Budget Summit yields few monetary requests By Christopher Roberson
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Member FDIC Member SIF
indful of the town’s delicate financial state, only a handful of department heads have asked for budget increases for fiscal year 2020. “We’re going to need to slow down significantly to continue to provide basic services, that’s the reality,” said Town Administrator Robert Dolan during the annual Budget Summit on Nov. 15. “We have a significant decline in new growth; we need to look at careful spending.” He also said the town is being challenged by a growing school population, higher insurance costs and union contracts that are set to expire in July 2019. In addition, Dolan said that many communities, including Lynnfield, can expect modest increases of “one to two” percent in state aid over the next several years. He highlighted some of the town’s accomplishments, such as the creation of the Substance Abuse Prevention Office. “It’s going to save lives,” said Dolan. He said progress has been
made on the proposed Summer Street Improvement Project, and the School Enrollment, Capacity and Exploration Committee has continued working on how to manage Lynnfield’s student population. “In a few short months, we’ve done a lot of great things,” he said. Superintendent of Schools Jane Tremblay said she is planning a budget workshop with the School Committee in midDecember. She said that as with prior school budgets, the special education line item is still unknown at this time. “It’s really early in the process in terms of special education; that’s always been a wild card,” said Tremblay. In addition, she said she would like to reinstate the tutoring positions that were cut last year. Police Chief David Breen said he has incurred overtime costs for patrol officers as well as dispatchers and would like to hire “one or two” new officers. He also said the department will be requesting $45,000 to fund the fourth year of the five-year
BUDGET | SEE PAGE 7