Last week, City Manager Robert W. Healy approved more money for roof repairs, furniture, carpet and window replacement, as well as more than $400,000 for technology. Some of this added work will be done next year, but the window and technology upgrades will wait for the following year.

Although the steering committee's site selection subcommittee concurred with the architectural report's findings, the committee as a whole did not even vote on that recommendation in a meeting Monday at the Maynard School.

Parents said they were upset that as they met to discuss site selection, the city council was already approving the $1.1 million in improvements to Maynard.

Chemi Whitlow, a Maynard parent on the steering committee, called the process an "insult."

D'Alessandro acknowledged last night that the decision had been made without the steering committee.

"They thought this had already been done by the city council, which it had," she said, "so it would be after the fact."

But she defended her decision to bring her recommendation.