AMHERST — A $38.8 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, maintaining most student-facing positions at the high school, middle school and Summit Academy, looks likely to get support from the four member towns this spring.
At a four-towns meeting at the middle school Saturday morning, officials from each community told school leaders that they believe the projected assessments that would have to be paid toward next year’s budget can be recommended to their annual Town Meetings, or be adopted by the Amherst Town Council. This budget would mean a .73% increase for Shutesbury, a 3.5% increase for Amherst, a 3.6% increase for Leverett and a 7.8% increase for Pelham.
The Regional School Committee has not yet endorsed the budget, though Shannon Bernacchia, the school’s finance chief, said the spending plan as presented means “no actual person losing their position.”
Amherst Town Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke said that councilors are pleased with the “thoughtful” restructuring done to the budget that will preserve services.
The main worry for councilors, Hanneke said, centers on a strategy used by Bernacchia to keep the assessments for all four towns lower by using $151,620 from the school district’s excess and deficiency, or E&D, fund.
With money coming from what is essentially the free cash account for the schools, Amherst’s assessment would go up by $690,774, or 3.5%, from the current $19.7 million budget to $20.43 million. But school officials will consider Amherst to actually have a $20.56 million assessment, which is is $120,219 higher, for the purpose of building the fiscal year 2028 budget.
John Trickey of the Pelham Finance Committee praised Bernacchia for putting together an in-depth report on school spending, observing that Pelham’s elementary and municipal budgets are currently being level funded, and that the $101,821 in the regional assessment will consume most of the available revenues. That could spell trouble for future years.
“If the increases continue, Pelham will be looking for a partner,” Trickey said.
With an understanding that Pelham can accept the increase for this year, Leverett Finance Committee chairman Phil Carter said he would defer to Pelham, and the town would go along with the proposed 3.6% increase, even though departments throughout Leverett, including the elementary school, are being asked to hold to no more than 2.5% increases.
The assessments need to win support in three of the four towns for the schools budget to go into effect.
Should circumstances change in the coming weeks, though, Carter said Leverett could assist Pelham. “If you say you need cuts, we will support you with that,” Carter said.
Shutesbury Finance Committee member Susie Mosher said she appreciates the thoroughness of the finance director’s report that should reduce the angst from residents about whether there is sufficient financial support for the schools.
Tonya McIntyre, executive director of Student Academy Success, said the budget was put together with close attention to continued enrollment declines, realigning the education to meet increasing student needs, including growing multilingual needs.
The budget shows costs for the central office going up from $307,432 to $453,097 next year, a $145,665, or 47.4% increase that Bernacchia said is “largely due to legal fees”
The line item for substitutes is rising by $57,014, or 29.4%, from $193,996 to $251,010 which Bernacchia said was needed due to growing staff absenteeism.
The regional school budget is also still awaiting a lease payment so the Amherst schools can use a section of the middle school for the Chestnut Street Academy, where sixth graders will be educated.
Besides the operational budget, participants at the session had concerns with the capital budget, showing $10 million placeholder in fiscal year 2027 for a high school roof replacement, and then an $8 million placeholder in fiscal year 2030.
Representatives asked school officials to provide more details about these long-term costs and how they will be paid, including whether Massachusetts School Building Authority accelerated repair program funds will be sought.
