SOUTH HADLEY — Over the past four years, South Hadley High School’s wrestling program has been rebuilt “from the ground up,” so much so that the team has gone from nearly nonexistent to a 14-1 overall record.
But with the town facing a $3.3 million deficit in fiscal year 2027, this program and many others at the high school are on the chopping block.
“I’ve watched this sport change the lives of so many men and women, which, as a result, has changed mine,” assistant wrestling coach Mike Cody said a special budget listening session last week. “I’ve watched them create a brotherhood and sisterhood unlike any other. To see it all disappear would be a disgrace.”
Over 120 people packed the Senior Center at 45 Dayton St. on Jan. 22 to comment on the town’s structural deficit and to weigh in on proposals being considered by the South Hadley Budget Task Force for Proposition 2½ overrides in the amount of $3 million, $6 million or $9 million to help close the gap.
“While it may not appear when you’re looking at large numbers, the school department is at bare bones.”
Superintendent Jennifer Voyik
Most of the speakers at the session, some wearing South Hadley High School regalia, expressed the detriment of further cuts to the school department. Some people lobbied for an even larger override to the tune of $11 million to fully fund the schools and eliminate the $1.5 million budget shortfall in the school budget.
Without any override, the school department may be forced to eliminate all sports programs, all optional extracurricular activities, 20 student-facing positions and three administrative positions.
“We’re at a stage that this community was at 293 years ago when they made a decision to secede from Hadley,” Robert Sklarz said.
Other attendees set their sights on a long-term goal, such as petitioning the state for more funds or establishing a payment-in-lieu of taxes (PILOT) program for tax exempt properties like Mount Holyoke College. Skalarz said the Sycamores and Rawson House Committee, a subcommittee of the South Hadley Historical Society, voted to establish their own PILOT payment last week, hoping to inspire other organizations to follow suit.
“I don’t see people who can barely afford the trash pickup fees or the taxes that they’re presently paying. I don’t see them voting to tax themselves at a higher rate before we ask a billion dollar corporation to contribute more,” Town Meeting member Rudolf Ternback said.
Why an override?
Budget Task Force Co-Chair Kevin McAllister explained that the committee has looked at long-term solutions, while at the same time concluding that an override is the best short-term solution to slow budget cuts.
“We’ve had quite a few people email us about PILOT programs. The issue is that we haven’t done this yet in the past, other than the one that Lisa mentioned with with [South Hadley Electric Lighting Department],” McAllister said, referring to Town Administrator Lisa Wong. “So to build this program out, it is going to take some time. We’re not necessarily going to see a huge benefit in this coming fiscal year ’27.”
A $3 million override would not prevent the current cuts, but would limit cuts in fiscal year 2028. A $6 million override would avert some of the service cuts for three years, while a $9 million override would enable the town to avoid most of the service cuts currently on the table.
Unlike a debt exclusion, an override permanently raises taxes. Right now, the average single-family home in South Hadley valued at $417,000 has a tax bill of $5,639.
Schools make their case
Educators from South Hadley schools, some with children of their own in the school system, recalled the repeated rounds of cuts to the school budget in recent years. Last year, the department lost 19 positions. The year before, the town laid off 20 paraprofessionals.
“While it may not appear when you’re looking at large numbers, the school department is at bare bones,” Superintendent Jennifer Voyik said. “There are a lot of people on the school level (and) at central office that are doing two or three jobs.”
Voyik calls school choice a “chicken-or-egg situation” because fewer teachers increases class sizes and decreases school choice seats. The town currently pays $2.5 million in school choice funding to other communities for students from South Hadley who opt out of attending the district. Many speakers argued that budget cuts would likely increase this number as parents would choose to send their children to schools that offer sports, music and rigorous classes.
“Last night at the School Committee meeting, we heard that some of the proposed cuts are a first grade teacher and a kindergarten teacher,” said Sam Sabbs, a first-grade teacher at Henry J Skala School. “That means 28 6 and 7-year-olds in one classroom.”
Only a $9 million override would give the schools level-service funding in fiscal year 2027, Wong said. Raising $2 million more, for a total of $11 million, through taxation would possibly expand school resources and bring children back to the district, school employees argued.
“We want students to come back to our district, and the way to do that is to put the money where our mouth is,” said Andrea Allees, a speech and language pathologist at Skala School.
Resident Brenda Warren agreed that the schools in South Hadley should be funded, but does not view the override as an answer. Rather, she says the state should step in and provide more aid. An override, traditionally, has only a 40% chance of passing, and increases in state aid over the pass few years continue to shrink.
“And I would challenge everybody to pledge your legislators [and] your governor with letters around the aid coming to the states and the suffering that we’re all feeling,” Warren said. “We’re all kind of fighting with our own pet projects, but I feel like we’re spinning our wheels.”
All for one
The schools are not the only town department facing sweeping cuts. President of the Gaylord Memorial Library Association Katie Van Winkle said closing the historic branch would cut off services to town residents who need it during difficult financial times.
Nurse Practitioner Karen Sander-Buscemi said South Hadley is reducing Senior Center hours at a time when other towns are opening their Councils on Aging an extra day.
“It’s [The Senior Center] not a place where people just come to play bingo anymore,” Sander-Buscemi said. “There’s a social worker, there’s a tax prep. You get a meal.”
While many emphasized public services as the bedrock of South Hadley’s community, some commented on the community’s need to save their foundation.
“It’s a daunting task to try and bring all of this stuff together,” Sklarz said. “I don’t have all the answers. Nobody has all the answers. That’s why it takes a community.”
The Budget Task Force holds their final meeting on Feb. 9 before presenting the Select Board with their findings the following day. If the Select Board decides to pursue an override vote, Town Meeting will meet at the end of February to vote before it goes to the ballot on April 14.