School Committee Struggles to Agree on Regional Cost Sharing

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Regional School Committee, March 25, 2025

This meeting was held in person in the Amherst Regional High School library, was simulcast on Amherst Media Channel 15 as well as on Zoom, and was recorded.

Present
Sarahbess Kenney (Chair, Pelham),  William Sherr (Pelham), Jennifer Shiao (Amherst), , Bridget Hynes (Amherst), Anna Heard (Shutesbury), Sarah Marshall (Amherst), and Deb Leonard (Amherst). Staff: School Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman. School Committee.

Participating over Zoom were school committee members Irv Rhodes (Amherst) and Tilman Wolf (Leverett), and Interim Finance Director Shannon Bernacchia.

Public Comment
The meeting opened with public comment, which focused on the school budget conversation that had taken place the prior evening at the nearly five-and-a-half hour Amherst Town Council Meeting. Community member Vincent O’Connor said he had gotten home after midnight from the town council meeting the night before, and expressed frustration, saying that he found it “…ridiculous to have knowledgeable School Committee members sitting in the back of the room while members of the council made comments that were demonstrably inaccurate.” 

Cathleen Mitchell, a parent of two children in the district, thanked the school committee for their efforts to secure money for the schools. She said that she’d seen the large group of Amherst middle-and-high school students and staff marching to UMass Amherst Campus Center on Monday (3/24) to greet and join the Joint Committee on Ways and Means for their hearing on municipal and school aid. She said that although it was sad to see students and educators in a position where they had to advocate for themselves in this way, it was also incredibly moving, noting that her daughter’s middle school teacher even made the trip to UMass on crutches. 

Michelle Prindle, a parent of three children in the Amherst district, one of whom has autism, said that she is concerned about what the budget deficit will mean in terms of cuts to staffing and to music programming. She described how important music is for students like hers who have challenges with gross motor skills and aren’t able to participate in sports, saying music is a place they can find meaning, companionship and emotional expression. She closed her comment saying: “The Town Council needs to do better.” 

Superintendent’s Update
In the Superintendent’s update, Dr. E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi) gave a brief recap of the Town Council meeting and their rejection of the regional assessment method, saying it was outside the budget guidelines for the town. Shutesbury and Amherst have requested a four-towns meeting, and Amherst has asked  Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) representatives to attend this meeting, where they can speak about their role. DESE will have the final say over any amendment to the regional agreement.  

Jennifer Shiao pointed out that the Amherst Town Council has historically been unwilling to make agreements at four-towns meetings, and suggested that Sarahbess Kenney, as RSC Chair, reach out to the Town Council with a “pressing request,” urging them to do whatever they need to ahead of time on their end to prepare to make a decision. 

Dr. Xi began reviewing a timeline of the budget process, and was interrupted with a point of order from Deb Leonard, who said, “It’s not feeling like an update. It’s feeling like a discussion of the assessment method,” but Dr. Xi countered by explaining that “I’m providing an update about the FY26 budget process…I need to provide an update so the community is aware what happened; I’ve received emails and phone calls. I think it is only right that I use the time to update on what has happened, so I’m doing a recap, and I’m bringing things forward.”

Director of Operations and Facilities Michael Gallo O’Connell gave an update on the status of the Regional Middle School. Now that the snow has melted, workers have been able to repair some of the leaks in the roof and those spots will continue to be monitored. A damaged roof drain over the central offices was also identified and a repair has been scheduled. Several ceiling tiles have been replaced and none of the tiles that have fallen inside the school have tested positive for asbestos. The roof replacement project is moving forward in the Massachusetts School Building Authority grant process, and, if funded, is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2026.  

Anti-Bullying Efforts
Dr. Xi also gave an update on the district’s anti-bullying and harassment platform, Bullying Reduction Intervention Monitoring (BRIM). She said preliminary data were shared with the community in February 2025, and district-wide policies and protocols are being developed and implemented to help streamline the reporting process and increase consistency and accountability. Dr. Xi emphasized that BRIM is a tool, and one that needs to be thoughtfully integrated into school culture and practices to maximize effectiveness and impact. William Sherr reminded the RSC that the district is also participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s “Welcoming Schools” program, an evidence-based anti-bias and anti-bullying district-wide professional development opportunity. 

Sherr asked the RSC to recognize March 31 as the National Transgender Day of Visibility, and affirm its commitment to fostering an inclusive environment for transgender and nonbinary students, staff, and community members. As part of this recognition, he encouraged the district to engage in age-appropriate activities that foster awareness, respect, and understanding of transgender experiences. He also requested that the superintendent communicate this recognition to the school community and explore opportunities to collaborate with students, staff, and local organizations in celebrating and uplifting transgender voices.