Dramatic Budget Cuts Loom Large at School Committee Meeting

Report on the Meeting of the Regional School Committee, and Joint Meeting of the Pelham, Regional, and Amherst School Committees: December 17, 2024. 

The Regional School Committee met in the Amherst High School library. The meeting was live streamed and recorded by Amherst Media. The recording can be viewed here. 

Four Towns Meeting Debrief
The Regional School Committee’s sole order of business was to debrief the December 14, 2024 Four Towns Meeting on funding the region’s budget for FY26. Chair, Sarahbess Kenney (Pelham) said she felt there was good conversation around the budget and planning at the Four Towns meeting, and thanked Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi) and her team for a “great” presentation. Tilman Wolf (Amherst/Leverett) acknowledged that the conversation in break-out groups during the Four Towns meeting was difficult at times: “…each town is thinking about how much they can afford, rather than doing it step by step where we agree on a budget and then figure out how we split it up…so that was challenging.” 

Deb Leonard (Amherst) expressed frustration at what she said felt like both a lack of efficiency and a lack of outcomes, admitting that at one point in the meeting, she found herself mumbling to the Chair, “Is this really how we’re going to spend our time?” but Tilman Wolf countered, saying, “I think the meeting was fine. There was nothing we expected from anyone. The superintendent presented the new situation, showed that we have made progress on cutting the budget, explained the needs…and no town is in the position to make any decision, right? Having the conversation was the important part and that happened.”

“It is my belief that the School Committee and the Superintendent should drive expectations around the budget. Let us drive the expectations, rather than have the expectations drive us.” 
– Irv Rhodes, Regional School Committee (Amherst)

Irv Rhodes (Amherst) wrapped up the conversation, asserting, “It is my belief that the School Committee and the Superintendent should drive expectations around the budget. Let us drive the expectations, rather than have the expectations drive us.” 

2025-2026 Academic Calendar
Dr. Xi reviewed feedback that she and her team had received on several draft versions of a 2025-2026 Academic Calendar. One point highlighted for consideration was that many families and staff find it difficult to continue coming to school in June past the Juneteenth holiday (making a case to end the academic school year by June 19). Additionally, Labor Day falls quite early in 2025 (September 1 is the first Monday of September), which makes the return to school earlier than usual. Dr. Xi is creating elementary committees and other committees to elicit further community input and deepen engagement: Jennifer Shaio (Amherst) expressed appreciation for the creation of a calendar committee and for the other points of community input in the process. Shaio also had a question about the significance of Three Kings Day and why the district routinely observes this as a day off. Dr. Xi responded that she’d learned that there were certain holidays within the district where either staff or student absenteeism (for religious or cultural reasons) were prohibitively expensive (finding substitute teachers, etc.), and so the district had made the decision to close for budgetary reasons on those days. Tilman Wolf cautioned against a public school district closing for any religious holidays other than those that are nationally observed. 

“This isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about collective resolve.”
– E. Xiomara Herman, School Superintendent

Superintendent’s Report of Entry Findings
Dr. Xi presented an overview of her comprehensive Report of Entry Findings from her first six months in her Superintendent role.  The overall sentiment is captured in her quote from the report: “This isn’t about quick fixes; it’s about collective resolve.”

In addition to an accessible breakdown of district demographics, the summary report provides both high-level and detailed data on each school in the district which includes qualitative and quantitative feedback from staff, caregivers, and students, as well as Dr. Xi’s own reflections on strengths, growth areas, and paths forward for each individual school. There are thematic analyses, district office and leadership strategy insights, and macro-level guiding principles grounded in ARPS core values. 

The School Committee expressed deep appreciation for Dr. Xi’s nuanced insight into the district’s entrenched challenges. Xi has been quoted as saying: “We shouldn’t be defined by our struggles, but by how we rise from them.” One of the key takeaways from this presentation was that this district doesn’t need consensus; it needs leadership. As a leader, she doesn’t intend to provide solutions to the district, but rather, strategies, which include: 1) building a unified definition of equity, 2) enhancing educational supports, 3) leveraging data for equity, 4) right-sizing organization and streamlining administrative structures, 5) modernizing systems and procedures, 6) strengthening fiscal sustainability, and 7) engaging families and community partners. The report notes that it was crafted with gratitude towards the individuals and ideals of the district, yet is also unflinching in its integrity and commitment to transparency and accountability. Although this report was a look back on her first six months, it was also a map towards the future: as Dr. Xi said, “Breaking this cycle will require not only building trust but also establishing systems that outlast individual leaders.” 

Budget FY26
There will be $750k of school choice applied to the FY26 budget, as well as $185k from the UMass Support from Strategic Partnership fund. Health Insurance could increase as much as 13% and transportation costs could increase as much as 10%. The current budget assumes a 3% increase over FY25 from the Town of Amherst, and accounts for step and cost-of-living increases associated with union contracts. The FY26 projection is a nearly $2.3 million (8.5%) increase; however the town budget would come in at $27,779,532. With projected needs for FY26 being  $29,257,675, the resulting deficit would be around $1.5 million ($1,478,143).

Dr. Xi reported that she and the interim Finance Director have met with all departments and all school leaders to “consider how to enact some efficiencies to meet the projected deficit.” Some proposed strategies at this point include “staffing optimization” (aka staff cuts), program review and redesign, potential transportation cost saving, alternative revenue streams, procurement and operations, and facilities management. 

Irv Rhodes asked if Dr. Xi had any sense when she would be able to give the School Committee a more concrete number, saying, “The reason I’m asking that question is because this is really not a palatable number.” Dr. Xi explained several limits on her ability to be specific at this time. First, the health insurance increases probably won’t be known until early February. The transportation decisions won’t be made until mid-January, and the union negotiations won’t happen until March or April. “That’s the grim scenario that we’re facing,” she said.

Rhodes suggested that the School Committee advocate for more than the normal budget appropriation. “We need to have an acceptable number…yes, we can take some pain, but we need not swallow that pill whole.” Sarah Marshall responded, “Yes, we can certainly advocate, but I can’t help but believe we’re going to have to make some deep cuts, and even if it’s not that deep, it’s still going to be painful.” 

As the budget discussion concluded, Rhodes made a final push: “Dr. Xi is putting together this budget; however, it does not mean we cannot ask for that which we need…and when we do ask for what we need, it doesn’t mean that the town manager will automatically zero that out [i.e., ignore it]. That’s the wrong assumption. I’m saying that because we…Amherst Schools…are the largest constituency in Amherst, and we have a very large advocacy group…I believe that the kinds of cuts that would be required by what I’m hearing are devastating. So I believe that we need to say, ‘Look, this is what we really need to educate our children, our students, and the current formulations do not work, and we need to go beyond that, realizing that we’ve done all we can do…and the town needs to step forward and fund the schools at the level that the schools deserve.”