So far, Galluccio has been publicly quiet in the budget process, which is his first as school committee chair.

Taking 10 minutes when most members spoke for more than 20 minutes, Galluccio asked district officials to clarify the size of the additional CRLS budget request and reiterated his support for vocational education.

And he called the district's two cable channels, which air student-produced programming and broadcast school committee meetings live, the "best way to sell our schools."

For the most part, he said he wanted to respect the decisions of D'Alessandro and her top deputies, who have been putting the budget together since December.

As mayor, Galluccio is the committee's closest connection to City Manager Robert W. Healy, who decides what major school projects will be funded as part of the city's long-term capital budget.

With questions still unanswered about how the district will pay for the merger of the Fletcher and Maynard elementary schools, which the committee approved three weeks ago, this role might be Galluccio's most important one.

Galluccio said he is working with Healy to secure money from the city to renovate one of the existing buildings or build a new facility that would permanently house the merged school.

But he cautioned about using the $14 million dollar figure that D'Alessandro is currently counting on in her budget.