AMHERST — Some Amherst Regional School Committee members are pushing back on ongoing work by school administrators that could lead to high schoolers starting classes about 30 minutes earlier this fall.
Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman told the committee Tuesday that officials are trying to figure out how to adjust the current schedule, which was previously changed for the 2025-2026 school year due to a complaint to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
That complaint led to a finding by the state’s Problem Resolution System Office that the high school fell nearly 100 hours short of the required 990 hours of structured learning time.
Herman said the possible changes have been outlined in a school day and start time caregiver survey and a questions and answers sheet. Herman said many community members weren’t clear about what was lost during the current school year.
“What we’re trying to gain back is student choice, student opportunity to engage in different student supports,” Herman said.
The changes have meant the high school day could no longer end with what was called Flex Block, meaning that students lost out on what had been used for both academic support and opportunities to participate in after-school clubs.
Teachers currently arrive at 8:15 a.m. for the 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. schedule, which has been in place since fall 2021. One idea for adjustment has been to create an 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. schedule, with extra academic help and clubs offered from 3 to 3:40 p.m., sports to start at 3:45 p.m., and four late buses to run to each of the four member towns three days a week.
But for some of the regional panel, trying to implement this for the next school year is too difficult a task.
Amherst representative Laura Jane Hunter said administrators are already trying to figure out getting sixth graders into the Amherst Regional Middle School for the fall, even though she appreciates trying to get Flex Block and the enrichment programs restored.
“My feeling about this whole discussion is that it should be put off for another year,” Hunter said. “I don’t understand why we’re adding so much more transition and change at this time.”
Shutesbury representative Anna Heard said she questions how this will work systemwide, and how it affects elementary schools, and the idea that late buses would run for each town could be costly. “It doesn’t seem financially doable,” Heard said.
Leverett representative Tim Shores said change needs a long runway and perhaps the schedule change shouldn’t happen before the fall 2027 school year.
“It does feel like we need to be more economical with how much change we’re going through,” Shores said.
A detailed memo from Herman states that she is aware of the possible complications: “As superintendent, I am focused on ensuring that we are building an educational system that works for all students, not just in theory, but in practice. That means paying close attention to how transportation, arrival times, staffing, and family logistics intersect with student learning, student well-being, and access to supports.”
With Amherst sixth graders to attend the Chestnut Street Academy inside the middle school in the fall, the committee did approve a change in the regional agreement that will allow for the leasing of instructional space to the Amherst elementary schools, which is a separate entity.
Herman explained that this change will need to be approved by Town Meetings in the smaller towns of Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett and by the Amherst Town Council. “Advancing a focused amendment allows us to remain responsive to legal and procedural timelines while maintaining momentum in our work,” she wrote in a memo.
Herman said the change allows the committee to manage the property and lease without any restrictions on a per-classroom price, and also align the regional agreement with state general laws.
Representatives from DESE were on hand to explain the process.
Christine Lynch, management consultant for the Office of Regional Governance at DESE, explained any amendment requires approval from the DESE commissioner. Lynch said staff has reviewed the amendment and forwarded it to the legal office with hope for a positive recommendation, waiting for a response from Amherst’s attorney.
DESE officials are also making recommendations for other areas of the regional agreement that could be improved to get into compliance with current state law.
“We would hope that after this targeted amendment is approved, as time permits, you would spend some effort and time to review the agreement in total and work with us to provide a general update,” Lynch said.
