AMHERST — A full team of five teachers at Amherst Regional Middle School, who provide instruction in English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and special education to seventh and eighth graders, would be eliminated as part of at least 18 staff cuts, saving around $1.39 million, at the regional schools if a proposal under consideration is adopted for next fiscal year.

For middle school students, the elimination of a team will mean no longer having regular team meetings and access to an advisory program.

“I am here to express my annoyance, let’s say, at the plans that are going through,” seventh grader Jonah Spitzer told the Regional School Committee Wednesday. “Thinking about getting rid of a team is preposterous.”

Spitzer said classes are already packed enough, with 20 students sometimes in rooms with just 17 desks.

For Cora Fernandez Anderson, a parent of a rising seventh grader, it will be disappointing for her daughter not to have access to the advisory period that brings students together outside regular classes.

“I’m really disappointed my rising seventh grader won’t be able to experience this if this proposition is in place,” Fernandez Anderson said, adding that the public schools should be showing the value of education, and not making cuts.

The current $36.5 million budget proposed for fiscal year 2026 is below the $37.89 million needed to maintain level services and is based on the amount of money coming in from the assessments for each of the four towns, Amherst, Leverett, Shutesbury and Pelham, and a 2.51% increase in revenue, up $302,509 from $12.08 million to $12.38 million.

Interim Middle School Principal Michael Sullivan said with the five teacher cuts, saving $350,0000, remaining teachers would be assigned more sections to teach, requiring a change in scheduling and a move away from the traditional middle school model. “It’s really about the least bad decisions for kids,” Sullivan said.

Under the plan, the existing two grade 7 and two grade 8 core teams, each with five teachers, would be reduced to three teams: one grade 7 team, one grade 8 team and one team split between the two grade levels. Teachers would end up teaching more sections and more students. “Teaching a class five times a day is really hard,” Sullivan said.

Mick O’Connor, a 19-year teacher at the middle school, urged against the cuts. “It is a mistake to cut core teaching positions,” O’Connor said. “These are the positions you should cut last, not first.”

Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman said the schools have to reimagine themselves within the budgetary restrictions. “We’re still looking through the region to determine how we provide at least the basic programming, but programming that will allow us to provide students what they need,” Herman said.

Herman said she would like to see more discussion by the School Committee on March 11, with Chairwoman Sarahbess Kenney observing a vote on the budget could be set for March 25.

Amherst Regional High School Principal Talib Sadiq expressed frustration at the lack of funding. “It doesn’t seems to me that again the town values education as much as they proclaim,” Sadiq said.

At the high school, one clerical staff member would be lost and three paraeducators would be cut. “We won’t have as many people to support our students,” Sadiq said, explaining that education quality will suffer because of bigger class sizes.

The high school will no longer offer Level 1 language instruction in Chinese and Latin; the number of counselors would be reduced from 10 to 8, meaning their caseloads will have to increase; and the prep academy for students who are struggling, currently taught by English and world language teachers, will be scaled back.

“Every single person we lose makes all the responsibility and the job a lot more challenging for all us, and the students don’t get the service and education they deserve,” Sadiq said.

The school is also trying to find savings elsewhere, such as again renting the Fine Arts Center for graduation, which is $8,000 to $10,000 less than the rent at the Mullins Center.

Jennifer Curiale, speaking for the Special Education Parent Advisory Council steering committee, said the changes will impact the most vulnerable students and estimated that 70% of the cuts proposed $3 million or so in cuts at the regional and elementary schools, including three paraeducators lost at the middle school, are related to special education services.

“When the majority of the cuts come at the expense of our special education programs, we as parents and caregivers of students with disabilities have to ask about the message this sends, and what we can hope for for our children in the near future,” Curiale said.

How the School Committee will resolve the budget challenges is uncertain, with the possibility of seeking a budget with no cuts.

Amherst representative Bridget Hynes said the committee should be able to say no to teacher cuts, especially the five teachers who could be lost at the middle school.

“This cannot go on,” said Amherst representative Irv Rhodes. “This year, especially, needs to be challenged in terms of the amount of money allocated from the town for their portion of this particular budget.”

Danielle Seltzer, an English teacher at the high school, read a statement on behalf of her department explaining that 20 years ago there were 14 English teachers for about 1,400 students, Now, there are the equivalent of six English teachers for about 800 students, and the budget proposal will mean losing two sections of reading support and two sections of prep academy.

Seltzer said that teachers, paraeducators and other staff will stand with the School Committee against another year of cuts that she said would devastate students.

“We implore you, the School Committee, to say no and reject this proposal,” Seltzer said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.