AMHERST — A series of fee increases for school-related activities, which cover participation in athletics and parking at the high school, are being considered by the Amherst Regional School Committee.

The committee recently began reviewing the adjustments presented by interim Finance Director Shannon Bernacchia, with the significant change being a 5% increase in athletics fees for the first time in five years.

“The most noticeable increases here are to athletics,” Bernacchia said. Athletics at the regional schools are largely supported by fees and fundraising, although the athletic department ran a $100,000-plus deficit last year

Under the plan, the fees for football, basketball, golf and Nordic skiing would go up from $275 to $288.75; the fees for baseball, cross country, soccer, tennis, track and Ultimate would rise from $231 to $242.55; and the most expensive sports, ice hockey and alpine skiing, would jump from $385 to $404.25.

In response to Amherst representative Irv Rhodes noting the schools must ensure that low-income students and students of color have access to sports, Bernacchia said there will continue to be reduced fees and waived fees.

Bernacchia noted that athletics used to bring in revenue exceeding expenses, with a balance carrying forward each year. But that revolving fund is depleted and not sufficient to cover costs. “At one point it did, now it’s not,” Bernacchia said.

Parking fees for high school would go up from $80 to $82. “We could use these funds to help slightly offset things around our parking lot maintenance, and things of that sort,” Bernacchia said.

Pelham representative William Sherr said a bigger increase might be in order. “It kinds of bothers that me we are not increasing the luxury of having a car and being able to park it at the high school, but we’re increasing the sports at a higher percent,” Sherr said.

Meal costs can increase by only 10 cents annually. The annual bump will bring lunches to $3.35 and breakfast to $1.40, though under the state’s free meals program, no student is charged. Bernacchia said the schools need to be prepared for the price to cover expenses if the free meals go away.

Musical instrument rental fees would go up from $78 to $79.

Support for DEI

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said at a recent Cuppa Joe that because the town relies on some federal funds funneled through the state, there may be economic consequences for continued support in town for diversity, equity and inclusion, but the town won’t abandon its principles. “Our values are our values,” Bockelman said.

There are many unknowns from day to day, he said, so the philosophy is to keep values in place. “We’re unambiguous in this community,” he said.

School bus cameras

The Town Council is not taking advantage of a state law that would give school officials the option to install school bus violation detection systems, cameras positioned outside buses to identify vehicles that illegally pass or possibly capture other traffic violations.

The idea was brought forward by At Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke as an option to pursue.

District 5 Councilor Bob Hegner and District 4’s Jennifer Taub said enforcement of red light violations captured by such cameras have proved to be a challenge elsewhere.

District 2 Councilor Pat DeAngelis said she is totally opposed to more cameras, both from the enforcement perspective and whether schools would be willing to absorb the cost, as well as in the national political environment. “We have an insane man in the White House, with hundreds of people supporting him and backing him up, and I don’t want anything that will surveil my license plate,” DeAngelis said.

There is no need for the council to take any action at this point, said District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen.

Student representatives

Namdol Dorjee and Miles Jeffries are joining the Regional School Committee as nonvoting student members and representatives from the high school Student Council.

Committee Chairwoman Sarahbess Kenney welcomed the students at the March 11 meeting..

While the students don’t have votes, they can offer input. In fact, Dorjee commented on the proposed 2025-2026 school calendar and the importance of the last day being earlier in June. Otherwise, she said, students might not be able to participate in summer programs. “Because of that (late date) we miss out on these other opportunities, so I think we should end earlier,” Dorjee said.

Latino poetry events

The Jones Library is partnering with Restless Books, and using a national public humanities initiative grant directed by Library of America with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Emerson Collective, for a series titled “Songs of Resistance: U.S. Latino Poetry Responds to Our Present Crisis.”

The initiative begins Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Woodbury Room with “Voyage to the Underworld: Selected Latino Poetry from 1523 to the Present” in which Ilan Stavans leads a reading and discussion of selected poems from “Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology,” edited by Rigoberto González, and “Lamentations of Nezahualcóyotl,” retold from the Nahuatl by Stavans.

The series continues April 15 at 7 p.m., also in the Woodbury Room, with “The Chaos Beneath Returns: Public Reading by U.S. Latino Poets” featuring Maria Calima Vera Arias, Magdalena Gómez and Elias Villanueva Gomez sharing their works in an event moderated by Stavans.