One was arrested after a dispute erupted at the Revere City Council meeting over a new high school plan

During a Revere City Council meeting Monday night, tempers flared when a man was arrested for assault following a confrontation over plans to build a new high school.

The row was followed by weeks of debate over whether to build the new school – what Revere’s students say sorely needed – on the existing lot of Revere High School or on the former Wonderland dog track.

The city council continued the discussion Monday night, meeting in a hall full of parishioners. There, resident Wayne Rose allegedly punched another man in the face with his fingers, causing a “very small laceration that did not require medical attention,” Revere police told Boston.com in an email.

The confrontation happened while the city council was on taking a breakreported WCVB.

Rose has been arrested and faces charges of assault, assault and disorderly conduct, the Chelsea District Court’s office confirmed. His attorney did not respond to a voicemail asking for comment.

Wonderland vs. Revere High: A Tale of Two Locations

The City Council voted in October to authorize Mayor Brian Arrigo to foreclose on the Wonderland property outstanding domainfollowed by a January vote to approve Wonderland as the site for a new school, The Boston Globe reported.

However, last month the former Wonderland owners sued the city, claiming the property was worth more than the $29.5 million Revere offered for it, the city said Globe. Also in February, the city council voted against submitting the design proposal for the Wonderland site to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which provides funding for school building projects.

Wonderland opponents have raised concerns about the costs associated with the significant domain lawsuit, as well as the loss of potential taxes the city could collect if a developer were to build on the site globe reported.

But proponents – like principal Dianne Kelly – have argued that Wonderland is the more cost-effective option and that building it on the high school’s existing site presents a number of logistical challenges globe.

Some, including council member Anthony S. Cogliandro, noted disadvantages of both locations.

“My risk has always been taking Wonderland off the tax lists and my stance has always been that I don’t want that at the existing site,” he said during Monday’s meeting. “I never cared about the cost — I don’t care if it costs $2 billion to build this school; I’m interested if we can afford it, and the truth is we can’t. We can’t afford it in Wonderland, we can’t afford it in high school.”

He added, “We need to get back to the drawing board because we need a school and we need to be able to afford that school.”

Later in the meeting, Councilor Marc Silvestri suggested that Revere revise his plan for a Wonderland school to reduce costs.

The intention, he explained, is to “bring back the schematic design, take some numbers off the site, and build a high school as soon as possible.”

This application ultimately failed. Instead, the council voted to move that the high school’s existing site be selected as the preferred option for submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority.