Four Towns in Regional School District Balk at Proposed Budget Increases: $2 Million Shortfall Projected

Report on the Four Towns Meeting, January 10, 2026

This meeting was held in person at the Amherst Regional Middle School and was recorded.

School Finance Director Shannon Bernacchia’s presentation of the preliminary FY27 budget for the regional school district was met with sympathetic resistance from representatives of the four member towns. Representatives from all four towns said that meeting the $40,603,818 projected costs for maintaining level services at the regional schools, a 9.5% overall increase over FY26, would be impossible. Even applying the excess and deficiency funds from FY26 to reduce each town’s assessment would result in increases of 11.15% for Amherst, 15.68% for Pelham, 11.18% for Leverett, and 9.54% for Shutesbury. The Amherst Finance Committee recommended a budget increase of 3.5% for all departments for FY27.

In order to meet the 3.5% guidelines put forth by Amherst, over $2 million would need to be cut from the proposed budget, representing a loss of about 29 positions. By the accepted assessment method, which balances how much each town pays according to five-year rolling enrollments, that reduction would still mean an increase of 7.77% for Pelham, which that town’s representatives stated was not possible. Pelham Finance Committee Chair John Trickey stated that property taxes in Pelham were already increasing by an average of $1,000, and that the town could not afford to increase its contribution to the regional schools by more than 2.5%. However, again according to the assessment method, that would limit the contributions of the other three towns.

Although there was agreement that budget cuts should maintain direct services to students as much as possible, Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi) noted that even if the entire central office staff and guidance departments were eliminated, there would still need to be cuts in teaching staff to meet the limitations set by the towns. 

The proposed budget includes an 18% increase in health insurance costs and a 6.8% increase in salaries. Special Education costs are estimated to increase by 13.4% due to several expected out-of-district placements and transportation to special programs. There is also $120,000 budgeted for maintenance of the new track and field at the high school, though some of that cost may be borne by the town of Amherst.

Bernacchia stressed that 36% of the total proposed budget ($14,756,026) was for required costs. This includes health insurance for active and retired staff ($7,259,432); School Committee and school liability insurance ($331,200); charter school, vocational school, and school choice tuition assessment ($3,081,799); special education out-of-district placements and specialized transportation ($1,361,782); regular contracted transportation ($1,638,814); utilities ($737,237); and IT equipment and licenses ($345,762). 

A total of $497,000 in capital expenses was recommended for FY27. These include $40,000 in continued ADA work, $80,000 in high-school heating system repair, $10,000 additional for a study to renovate the high-school girls’ locker room, $100,000 for new hot water heaters at the high school, $10,000 for high-school roof repair, $235,000 for upgrading the electrical service at the middle school, $12,000 for an oil change for the middle-school elevator, and $10,000 for a new wood shop door. Debt service for FY 27 is $944,572, which includes $476,193 for the middle-school roof replacement and $150, 000 for the track and field, as well as $318,379 for interest and loan repayment for other projects.

Enrollment continues to decrease, with 36 district students attending vocational schools and 88 attending charter schools, mostly the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (65%) and the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter (31%). Ninety-seven students from outside the district “choiced in” in FY25. Total enrollment for the region for FY25 was 1,247, with 78.7% from Amherst. Bernacchia noted that a larger-than-normal number of ninth graders chose to go to vocational schools this year, and she will monitor whether some of them return to the regional schools or if this is a trend that will continue into the future. 

Amherst Town Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke asked about other measures to cut costs, such as moving the middle-school students to the high school or expanding the region to neighboring towns. Nancy Grossman of the Leverett Finance Committee inquired what was being done at the state level to support schools, especially rural schools. State Representative Mindy Domb recommended that representatives from the towns attend the Ways and Means hearings when the Governor’s budget is discussed to advocate for adequate funding for education, but she added, “we’ll see what happens at the federal level with the ACA [Affordable Care Act] tax credits, because without those, everything in the budget will be in flux.”

Each town in the region has chosen an elected representative to the Fiscal Sustainability Subcommittee of the Regional School Committee. That committee will continue to work with the school staff to develop a budget that maximizes services but is affordable to the member towns. More reliable figures for benefit costs and school aid are expected to be available in February and March.