SCITUATE — With a bill authorizing a $4-million school bond in the hands of Governor Carcieri yesterday, two local Democratic candidates have criticized a provision that would have voters at a special Financial Town Meeting decide whether to approve borrowing the money, as opposed to placing it on the November ballot.

Janine Grigelevich, seeking election to the School Committee, and Michael J. Marcello, who is running for the House District 41 seat held by the retiring Carol A. Mumford, a Republican, said that financial town meetings usually draw only a few hundred of the town’s 10,000 residents, and that such a sizeable chunk of money should more properly be placed before the voters at the general election.

The money would be used for renovation and expansion at the middle school-high school complex. The bill authorizing the bond issue was passed by both the House and Senate in June and was sent to Governor Carcieri.

Amy Kempe, Carcieri’s press secretary, said yesterday that the measure was among “several hundred bills” passed in a last-minute crush by the General Assembly that were being reviewed by the governor’s staff.

Gail Chatfield, deputy town clerk and canvassing clerk, said yesterday that no date would be set for the Financial Town Meeting until after the governor decides whether to sign or veto the bill. If the governor approves it, she said, the Town Council would decide on a date.

Grigelevich said she has two children who attend Scituate schools, and added, “I know that money is necessary to address the long-standing deficiencies of the high school-middle school complex, but the bill’s requirement that the vote be held at a special Financial Town Meeting is simply unfair and unwise. A bond of this size and importance should be voted on at an all-day special election or, better yet, in the upcoming November elections to allow the vote of all taxpayers to be counted — not just those few who can attend a special meeting.”

She accused the council and School Committee of “trying to ram a proposal through at the last minute, and to do so with as little citizen involvement as possible. This is business as usual for this council and committee, which has done exactly this time and again in the past. A special Financial Town Meeting ensures that the elderly, the sick, parents with young children, and those who work late or may be out of town will not be able to attend.”

Grigelevich said that only about 300 voters attended the annual Financial Town Meeting in April.

Marcello, a former member of the Town Council, said, “This Town Council and School Committee again have failed to properly educate and publicize their plans, and they are trying to make up for it by holding a vote at a special Financial Town Meeting, hoping that they can get it through with a small cadre of voters. I am outraged over their lack of commitment to the public will, and their unwillingness to hold a fair, broad-based election.”

He said the council and schools panel “are once again showing their contempt for the voters and taxpayers of Scituate.”

When asked for comment yesterday, Robert R. Budway, president of the all-Republican Town Council, remarked, “I guess the election is approaching.”

Budway said the question of how to approach the voters on the bond issue was hashed out during recent council meetings.

“We had an extensive discussion on this,” he said. “There were a number of the prospective Democratic candidates there, voicing a different opinion. There were also different opinions on the council. After considerable discussion the consensus of the council was to do the election in the fashion we have indicated.”

Budway said the timing of an all-day election was a drawback due to a requirement for sufficient notice. A Financial Town Meeting however can be called with fewer restrictions, he said.

To schedule a vote on the November ballot, he said, “Given the timing on this, we would have one bite at the apple before the end of the year, after which time state funding could be in jeopardy. The Financial Town Meeting decision gives us flexibility as to when it would be held, and, if necessary, to go back again if it were rejected.”

Additionally, Budway said, voters can get up at a Financial Town Meeting and ask questions before making a decision, an option not available when they step into a voting booth.

tmorgan@projo.com