WOBURN - Asst. Supt. Joseph Elia recently solved an old fashioned who-done-it mystery involving the placement of a book donation book in one corner of the WMHS parking lot.

According to Elia, whose original investigative efforts were reportedly stymied by a line-up of blank looks and clueless shoulder shrugs, he has now learned that the drop box was placed in the lot by a student advisor.

"It was one of the student advisors [who did it] through the principal. And that's okay," explained Elia, who was simply seeking information on what the arrangement is with the donor company, Got Books.

A few months ago, a local parent and PTO member approached the School Committee to seek permission to situate the drop boxes at several education facilities across the city.

In return, the PTO member explained, the district, and ideally each school, would be compensated by Got Books, potentially raising funds for student activities and other events at neighborhood schools.

The company, which requires a 12-month agreement to station the containers, pays sponsors approximately 5 cents per pound of books, or about $175 for a full bin. Got Books is not looking for textbook or library book donations.

School Committee members ultimately referred the matter to a subgroup for more study.

In particular, school officials were concerned about whether the donation boxes would have a traffic impact at already congested elementary school sites, how often the containers would be emptied, and what the exact financial arrangement would be.

During the most recent School Committee meeting, member Dr. John Wells disclosed that discussions were continuing on the matter.

However, he did point-out that one of the boxes had been placed at the high school, without the authorization of the School Committee.

Elia later revealed that no central office administrators had given permission for the donation box, and that he was having trouble identifying who gave that authorization.

School Committee member Patricia Chisholm later suggested that if no one wanted to take responsibility, the education board should just designate that container as the central box for the entire district.

"If no one's fessing up to it, why don't we just make that the central one for all the schools? The elementary [buildings] are my concern, because the driveways [are pretty tight]," Chisholm said.

While not necessarily disagreeing with Chisholm's suggestion, School Committee member Margarette Masotta had no intentions of allowing the box to remain without finding out who authorized its placement.

According to Masotta, if the School Committee turned a blind eye, no one should be surprised when dozens of such drop boxes and other fundraising containers started popping-up all over the city's school properties.

And if traffic patterns were hindered as a result, or a neglected container led to a messy overflow of donated goods, the blame would rightfully rest upon the School Committee's shoulders, Masotta contended.

"I don't really understand that nobody fessed up. Nobody knows how it got there?" said Masotta. "Who's going to be responsible for those bins over the summer?"

"No one is saying where it came from," Elia responded. "Everybody is playing dumb. What can I say? I'm not a cop."

School Committee member Michael Mulrenan later indicated that students who drop-off books at the site were earning community service credits at the school.

According to Elia, now that the misunderstanding has been addressed, he is making arrangements to have the bins placed at both middle schools. Because of the concerns over possible traffic impacts, none of the containers will be left at elementary school properties.

Reimbursements from those two boxes will be split amongst all school facilities — other than the high school, which will keep the money earned from the container at the site.

Elia expects that the remaining school buildings will likely place the revenue into an account meant to help offset new programs or field trip costs.

"[Got Books] is going to put these book deposit boxes at the Kennedy and the Joyce, so they are going to be able to do that," Elia explained. "[Got Books] drops them off and takes care of [all the arrangements]. It doesn't cost us anything."