"We thought the money had been conceptually set aside," said committee member Alice L. Turkel, who said committee members had not expected all of the funds projected for construction or renovation to actually be in the city's capital budget. "When they showed us the money, it wasn't there."
It was not clear yesterday why no money had been set aside to fund the merger. Healy has been ill for several weeks, and the school committee only requested additional funding for the merged school one month ago.
Over the past few weeks, parents and school committee members have said at public hearings that a new or significantly renovated school is an important part of the merger plan.
At a meeting Feb. 15, the school committee had already delayed its final approval of the merger to tomorrow.