Amherst School Committee Approves FY27 Budget with 5.87% Increase

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst School Committee, March 31,2026

This was a hybrid meeting held in the high school library. It was recorded.

Present
Deb Leonard (Chair), Bridget Hynes, Sarah Marshall, Laura Jane Hunter, and Andrew Hart

Staff: E. Xiomara Herman (Superintendent), Shannon Bernacchia (School Finance Director)

The Amherst School Committee (ASC) voted unanimously to approve a $29,981,529 operating budget for FY27 at its March 31 meeting. This represents about a $1.1 million, or a 5.87%, increase over FY26. It does not level-fund services but does preserve positions for math and reading interventionists and specials teachers (art, library, physical education, music, and technology), which will permit the schools to offer adaptive specials for those students with special needs. It also added a sixth preschool classroom at Crocker Farm Elementary School and reduced the central administration budget by 1%.

The total exceeds by about $572,000 the 3.85% increase authorized for all departments by the Amherst Town Manager. However, the ASC, staff members, and parents found the austerity of that budget unsatisfactory. The committee noted that Amherst’s share of the budget approved by the Regional School District came in $70,000 under the amount allotted by the Town Manager, so that additional money could be applied to the elementary school budget.

As decided previously, the budget items are listed, not by school, but in 22 cost centers grouped under the headings: Payroll Accounts and Expense Accounts.

In addition to the budget they ultimately adopted, the ASC evaluated three other budget scenarios: one that preserved all positions and led to a 9.11% increase, one that adhered to the 3.85% guidelines, and one that attempted to hold the increase to 5%.

 The first scenario was criticized by Sarah Marshall, who said that it did not take into account the restructuring required by the opening of Amethyst Brook Elementary School for grades K through 5, and the relocation of the sixth graders to the Chestnut Street Academy at the Middle School. In addition, it was unlikely to be accepted by the Town Council. The other ASC members agreed.

The draft budget with the 3.85% increase involved too many unacceptable cuts to educational services. The draft with the 5% increase was developed by Deb Leonard and Bridget Hynes, but was not vetted by the schools’ finance department and was missing data. 

The ASC was required to present a budget to the Town Manager by April 1. It will then be evaluated by the Finance Committee in May and voted on by the full Town Council, along with the entire operating budget, by June 30. Unlike other parts of the budget, the council is permitted to increase education funding above that recommended by the Town Manager, but must then decrease funding in another area to balance the budget. 

Leonard stated that since FY27 will be the first year under the reorganization of the elementary schools, the school committee should be conservative in cutting positions. It may find in future years that additional savings are possible due to the consolidation, but noted that the class with the most upheaval is the sixth grade, and those students were the ones in kindergarten during the COVID shutdown.