Amherst School Committee Rejects Suggestion to Give Money to Regional System

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst School Committee, March 4, 2024

This meeting was held over GoogleMeet and was recorded. It can be viewed here.

Present
Sarah Marshall (Chair), Bridget Hynes, Deb Leonard, Irv Rhodes, and Jennifer Shiao.

Staff: Doug Slaughter (Interim School Superintendent)

56 members of the public attended.

Because the town raised the allowed budgetary increase to each department for fiscal year 2025 from three percent to four percent, the elementary schools are slated to receive an extra $259,000. Interim Superintendent Doug Slaughter suggested that $94,000 of that increase be allocated to the regional school district, which is facing a budget shortfall of $1.6 million. This idea met with unanimous disapproval from the Amherst school committee members.

Slaughter’s memo to the committee recommends reinstating the two special education teachers and one preschool paraprofessional who were slated to be cut when it was thought there was a $500,000 shortfall in the elementary school budget. There is no mention in the memo of the fourth-grade music teacher position that was also eliminated in the earlier proposal. Slaughter said he based his proposal on discussions with the administrators at the elementary schools about what positions they felt were most important to retain.

The public comments were unanimously opposed to ceding any of the money slated for the elementary schools to the region, especially if it meant cutting teaching positions. Many people argued for the importance of keeping the fourth-grade instrumental music program for its benefits to a broad range of students and its importance to the music programs at the middle school and high school (see also here).

The school committee was also unanimously opposed to Slaughter’s proposal. Irv Rhodes said, “I want to make sure that the instrumental music program is not cut.” He said he was also confused, because, at the February 15 school committee meeting, Director of Special Education Faye Brady assured the committee that reducing the special education staff by two would not affect the necessary services to students. Rhodes said he didn’t understand why the special education staff members were restored, but the music teacher was not.

Jennifer Shiao pointed out that, at the February 15 meeting, four of the five ASC members spoke out against cutting the music program, and that the $94,000 budget balance should be used to keep that position. Deb Leonard said she also could not approve Slaughter’s recommendation, especially without knowing how the extra money would be used at the regional level.

Slaughter said that his memo merely reflected his conversations with administrators at the schools about what they felt was most important, but the school committee could decide to do otherwise. The committee voted 5-0 to reject sending $94,000 from the elementary budget to the regional schools and recommended restoring all four positions that were originally cut for the coming year. With the restoration of the positions, there will be about $15,000 left over.

The regional school committee budget will be discussed at the March 6 Regional School Committee meeting and will need to be voted on at the March 12 meeting.