Letter: Town Manager’s Budget Does Not Meet the Needs of Our Schools

Last Monday (5/5), Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman gave his presentation of the town budget (recording here, presentation here, FY26 Budget here. FY Capital Improvement Plan here.)  On Thursday. School Superintendent Dr. Xi and the District Finance Director, Shannon Bernacchia appeared at the Finance Committee meeting to answer questions about the budget requests (video recording here, summary here.).  At these two meetings, Amherst School Committee members Deborah Leonard and Jennifer Shaio pointed out that members of the Finance Committee were overstepping their roles in sending Dr. Xi an exhaustive, seven page list of questions, many of which strayed from finances and into district management and programming. 

During the Town Manager’s presentation on the budget on Monday May 5th, Town Manager Paul Bockelman said that the requests for increases in the money allocated to the school budgets came very late in the process. The reality, though, is that the Superintendent and members of the School Committees have been raising the alarm about budget deficits since September. That the Town Council and Town Manager chose not to engage in substantive discussions about that reality at Four Towns Meetings or Budget Coordinating Group Meetings is not the fault of district leadership. This issue was only addressed late in the game because Town Council refused to address it at any earlier opportunity. 

A recent article in the Daily Hampshire Gazette gave the impression that the Town of Amherst’s budget nearly meets the needs of the schools, while forcing position freezes in municipal services and vacant positions in the library, and so we want to correct that narrative and provide some important additional context. 

• The regional schools will lose 12.1 positions next year. The elementary schools will lose 10-11 positions. The two districts combined will cut approximately $2 million in spending. These cuts will have real impacts on programs, staff, students, and the future of education in our public schools. 
• The additional money (above the Town Council’s guidance for a 4% increase) being requested by the School Committees is a fraction of what the schools actually need. The budgets passed by the School Committees are compromise budgets. Meeting the requests put forth in these budgets is not equivalent to meeting the needs of our schools or students.
• Contrary to the language in the Town Manager’s budget saying that Amherst’s schools “are recognized as some of the finest in the state,” this is no longer the case. While still a very special place, our high school, once one of the top high schools in the state, has dropped to the middle of the pack. 
• The loss of 22 positions across Amherst’s two School Districts is not the same as the town “freezing” 6.4 positions, especially considering that several of these positions have often been unfilled due to hiring challenges. The Town Manager would have had to freeze these positions to stay within the 4% guidance even without any additional money allocated to the schools. 
• The town has added 16 positions over the last four years while the schools have been cutting positions. 

Ahead of the Finance Committee Public Hearing on the Budget on Monday May 12, members of Support Our Schools (SOS) Amherst are asking members of Amherst’s Town Council to: 

• Approve the budget requests by the Amherst Elementary Schools and Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools.
• Trust our elected School Committee members and our Superintendent to assess the needs of our schools and how best to spend limited resources. These officials, and not members of Town Council, are charged with overseeing our school districts. 
• Focus their attention on aspects of the Town Manager’s budget that are actually under their purview, demonstrating the same curiosity for details and explanations that they have shown for the schools’ budgets. 
• Request greater transparency and detail in future municipal budgets and financial reporting so that true oversight is possible and the community can better see where the town’s limited resources are being spent. 
• Listen to, rather than dismiss, parents, caregivers, educators, and community members who are concerned for the future of Amherst’s schools and thus the community as a whole.
• Remember that the Town of Amherst’s Master Plan includes our public schools as a critical community resource and states, “Adequate funding and staffing for Amherst’s schools is essential to
  maintaining a high-quality education for the community’s children, strong property values, and overall quality of life.”

Members of the public can express thoughts on the FY26 Budget at the following upcoming meetings: 

• Monday May 12, 6:30pm – Finance Committee Public Hearing on the Budget -The meeting will be virtual only. It would be great if we had a good showing at this public hearing – this is the last significant opportunity to speak publicly on behalf of the budget. Zoom link:  https://amherstma.zoom.us/j/84359567949. You can also send a written comment to Town Council. 
• Monday June 16 – Town Council vote on the Budget

Anyone interested in learning more about SOS Amherst can visit our website (www.arpsparents.com), follow us on Instagram (@sosamherst), and sign up for email alerts or connect with us by emailing sosamherst@gmail.com. SOS Amherst is a group of volunteers helping each other to understand issues and get involved in adequately funding our public schools. 

Cathleen Mitchell

Cathleen Mitchell is a resident of Amherst