SAUGUS — During a recent Finance Committee meeting, light was shed on the decline in enrollment at Northeast Metropolitan Regional Technical Vocational High School.

At a previous finance committee meeting on April 24, Town Manager Scott Crabtree showed concern regarding the lower rate of enrollment from Saugus students at the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Technical Vocational High School in Wakefield, colloquially known as the Voke.

At that prior meeting, Crabtree called the drop in enrollment “concerning,” and that “something doesn’t add up.”

During the meeting held on Wednesday, Secretary for the School Committee at the Voke, Peter Rossetti, was in attendance.

Rossetti was able to provide insight to Finance Committee members and Crabtree regarding the drop off in enrollment.

“Part of the reasoning for that (enrollment decline) is that Saugus has a brand-new school, and some of the Saugus students who might go to the Voke, have decided to go to Saugus schools — they’re staying in town,” Rossetti said.

Rossetti said that this year, there had been 1,200 applicants for the Voke, but that only 325 seats were available, leaving Saugus an allotment of those, split between the other twelve communities served by the school.

Rossetti estimated that the allotment of seats for Saugus students equates to approximately 5.7% of the 325 seats available, which breaks down to roughly 19 students from Saugus who are able to attend.

According to part of the agreement that was written regarding allocation of seats, the ratio of students allowed per community is determined by comparing the number of students enrolled in public high school(s) in a particular town (grades 9-12) to the total number of enrolled students from the twelve communities which the school serves.