Rochester's Board of Selectmen received an emphatic "no!" on at least one Town Warrant article Monday night.

The Selectmen met with Rochester's Finance Committee Monday night to finalize articles for Rochester's Town Warrant. While recommending most of the articles, the Finance Committee firmly stated that they were opposed to a $5,000 payment from the town which would pay for an outside analysis of the Old Rochester School Committee's finances.

The article they disagreed with proposes the payment as 1/3 of an overall payment for the analysis from each town in the school district - Marion and Mattapoisett also have a proposed $5,000 contribution to the analysis on their Town Warrants. The independent analysis proposal came about after a rift between Selectmen from all 3 towns and the School Committee appeared - the Selectmen had approved a 2 percent raise for teachers, which the committee increased by 3 or 4 percent. The additional increase is part of a process called 'steps and lanes', in which teachers and administrators are given pay increases as they move up different 'steps'.

The apparent disconnect between the Selectmen and the ORR School Committee led Marion Selectman Jody Dickerson to say that there had not been enough discussion between the two parties, and the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen to propose the hiring of a third party to evaluate the School Committee's finances.

Marion's Finance Committee, according to the town's warrant, recommends the measure. However, Rochester's Finance Committee sees things a bit differently.

"I can't recommend this," said Finance Committee member Peter Arminetti. "I don't know anything about it. I don't think any of the towns should pay this, and I think the whole thing should be tanked. I don't even know why it was ever brought up."

Parker explained that the committee was concerned with the overall cost of the analysis, which they feel is artificially low. "There needs to be more explanation of the scope of the analysis and the total overall cost before we can feel comfortable about it."

The Selectmen admitted they didn't know much about the proposal at all - they will be discussing it at the Tri-Town Selectmen Meeting on Thursday, April 27.

The article, which was approved by the Selectmen to appear on the final Town Warrant, must be approved by Rochester citizens at Town Meeting, on Monday May 22.