Regional School Committee Asks Town To Fund Repairs on Middle School Roof. Affirms District Bullying Policy

Report on the Joint Meeting of Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committees, January 27, 2026, Part 2

This meeting was held at the Amherst Town Hall due to the snowstorm and was simulcast over Amherst Media Channel 15, and recorded.

Present
Regional School Committee: Sarabess Kenney (Chair, Pelham), Anna Heard (Shutesbury), Bridget Hynes (Amherst), Deb Leonard (Amherst), Sarah Marshall (Amherst), Jennifer Shiao (Amherst), William Scherr (Pelham), Tim Shores (Leverett)

Amherst School Committee: Jennifer Shiao (Chair), Bridget Hynes, Deborah Leonard, Sarah Marshall

Pelham School Committee: Margaret Stancer (Chair), Jenny Bradbury, Rachel Figurasmith, Sarabess Kenney, William Scherr

Staff: E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi, Superintendent of Schools)

Before the lengthy discussions and public comment concerning the future of Pelham Elementary School, the Regional School Committee (RSC) unanimously approved a motion to request that the town of Amherst pick up the full cost of repairing the auditorium roof at Amherst Regional Middle School (ARMS). They also approved a motion agreeing to provide the Amherst Finance Committee with information they requested to assist them in their deliberations on whether to recommend to the Amherst Town Council that the $1.6 million required for the repair be allocated.  

At their January 13 meeting, the RSC declined to take a position on whether repairs should be made at this time or whether to request full funding from the Town of Amherst. The three smaller towns in the region stated that they could not afford to pay their shares of the auditorium roof replacement. 

In a memo from the Amherst Finance Committee, Chair Cathy Schoen outlined the information they would need to determine whether the town should pick up the full cost of repairing the auditorium room at ARMS. The Finance Committee asked for specific information about the state of the roof and the repairs required, as well as a formal request from the Regional School Committee for the $1.6 million, identifying the roof as a “high priority.” 

RSC Chair Sarahbess Kenney stated she will craft a memo in response accepting the aid to help the Finance Committee make a decision.

The reports and information requested will be ready by the February 2 deadline, according to School Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi).

Full Support for the Anti-Bullying Policy
The school committees unanimously voted to affirm an anti-bullying policy previously approved in December 2024, which aligns with the district’s Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan, and to direct the administration to focus on its implementation.

Despite the late hour, the committees decided to continue the meeting to ensure the anti-bullying policy was addressed. William Scherr, Chair of the Policy Subcommittee, stated that this vote affirmed the student protections as policy rather than subsuming protocols and expectations under procedures, as proposed by Dr. Xi. Procedures can be changed administratively without public input. 

“This committee (the RSC) explicitly placed those protections in policy to ensure clarity, consistency, transparency and accountability for families and students. Removing them from policy does not strengthen protections; it weakens them,” Scherr said. 

Because the policy had been reviewed by legal counsel four times and found to comply with Massachusetts law, the committee members agreed that the policy did not require additional legal review or attention.

“This school committee and the shape that it took, and all the work that we did to pull it together, really felt like this policy was one of actually our core responses to what had happened (in 2023), and is important for us to have in place,” Bridget Hynes said.

During public comment, multiple community members shared their support for the 2024 policy, which was labeled Policy JICFB. 

Ellen Guidera, representing the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC), said “I want to urge you all to keep the bullying policy as is…We don’t want to see it changed. The subcommittee did a great deal of work. There’s a lot of community input. It’s a good job, and watering it down and taking away all that good work, I think would really have an impact on our students.”

Budget Planning
Regarding the budget, the Regional School Committee presented its budget priorities, outlined in seven themes, for the administration and the Superintendent. 

1. Protect student-facing resources. Maintain high-quality, differentiated instruction in high-value courses and tiered systems of support to promote student achievement and graduation.
   
2. Teacher-driven instruction and innovation. Prioritize authentic engagement, including educator feedback, on best practices for high quality, differentiated instruction and investigate partnering with local resources to support the broad range of learning and educational needs and aspirations
   
3. Student safety, social-emotional and mental health support.
   
4. Prioritize program continuity. Continue programs like Welcoming Schools and professional development to improve school culture and reduce bias and discrimination. Maintain multi-modal, hands-on, project-based, and differentiated instruction that fosters innovation and competency across subject areas.
   
5. Educational outcomes supported by administration and compliance.
   
6. Equity, support students with different academic needs.
   
7. Student outcomes and achievement (4 committee member responses) Offer a course of studies (academic, vocational, arts) that supports student readiness for various post-graduation endeavors and distinguishes our Regional schools from competitors. Ensure all students have the resources and support necessary to successfully complete competency determination (CD) requirements and graduate.

Each suggestion addressed student needs and resources, while also prioritizing teacher-driven instruction and innovation and program continuity with support from the administration. 

In addition, they briefly outlined the next steps for the fiscal year 2027 budget and the budget timeline. 

While the deadline for the RSC’s vote on the budget is March 30, the committee plans to vote on March 10 and pass their budget on to the Amherst Town Council and Select Boards of the other towns to discuss.

District Retains Attorney Marc Terry
The committees  approved unanimoujsly motions to keep Attorney Marc Terry as legal counsel for the district, following his move to Stoneman, Chandler, & Miller, LLP in Boston . 

Soon after, the committee quickly unanimously approved the 2026-27 School Year District Calendar.

On the agenda, the committees were also set to vote on the Superintendent Evaluation Tool based on the Superintendent Evaluation Goals 25-26, but tabled the vote to create a rubric defining the standards Dr. Xi will be graded on. Several members were unsure of the meaning of expectations “exceeded,” “met,” “significant progress,” “some progress,” and “not met”, and requested clarification.

Midyear Superintendent Update
This portion of the meeting was dedicated to Dr. Xi explaining the progress made on four broad goals, including instructional leadership evaluation, implementation of the 6th-Grade Academy, program review for Pelham Elementary School, and bullying prevention and intervention (Midyear Superintendent Evaluation Update).

The majority of the discussion focused on goal three, which included planning for the future of Pelham Elementary School and a hot topic during the public comment (see Part 1 of this report here) given the suggestion at the most recent Pelham Select Board meeting that the town  might have to close the school due to budget shortfalls. Dr Xi told the committee, “My recommendation for Pelham is first to use school choice [money], but to be mindful that it’s also their contingency funds. And be mindful that once we do that, we have to have an adequate and fully sustainable plan for FY28.”