By Allison McDonald and Alex Cox  ||theamherstcurrent@gmail.com || coxalexj@gmail.com

A report on the meeting of the Amherst Town Council on Monday, March 24. 

Amherst-Pelham Regional School District Regional Assessment Method

The Town Council rejected a proposed change to the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District (APRSD) assessment method at its Monday meeting (9 voted to reject; 4 voted to accept). The vote followed a public comment period where over 30 residents, including teachers and students, expressed their concern over the school budget – both elementary and middle/high – and asked the Town Council to increase funding for the schools (although this topic was not directly on the agenda for the meeting). 

At its March 14 meeting, the Regional School Committee (RSC) voted to approve a budget of $37,077,171 for Fiscal Year 2026 (a 5.13% increase over the previous fiscal year) and to amend the Regional Agreement assessment method that would distribute the cost of this budget between the four towns. (Read about regional school budget assessment methods, here.)

The 5.13% budget increase requires a 6.5% overall increase in funding from the four towns. The RSC recommended an amended assessment method that applies a 6.5% increase to each of the towns’ assessments. This requires Amherst to contribute $20,062,830 to the Regional Schools budget.

Under the existing Regional Agreement Method, the FY2026 budget would be divided in a manner that requires a 4.81% increase from Amherst, roughly $300,00 less than what the RSC recommended. and a larger percentage increase from each of the other 3 towns (see breakdown, below). 

For the other towns, the proposed amended method greatly decreases the percentage increase for Pelham and Leverett (from 22.97% and 14.10%, respectively) and moderately decreases the percentage increase required from Shutesbury (from 7.65%). 

Under both the amended and Regional Agreement assessment method, the overall school budget (if adopted by the towns) increases by the same amount.

At the request of the Town Manager, the Town Council voted on a motion to reject the proposed assessment method on Monday. 

“If the Town Council rejects the amendment swiftly, there will be time for the Regional School Committee to revise its votes on the budget and/or amendment to the assessment method prior to the start of the annual town meetings in the other three towns,” wrote Town Manager Paul Bockelman in a memo to the Town Council. 

In a conversation with the Town Council prior to the vote, Bockelman explained that the proposed alternative assessment method basically subsidizes the other towns in the district at the expense of Amherst taxpayers. Under the regional agreement method, the Town contribution would be a 4.81% increase over the previous fiscal year – a number that Bockelman said the town could “work to get to” and might be possible to achieve in a balanced budget for FY2026. “If this [revised] assessment method is adopted,” Bockelman said, “it makes it very difficult for me to present a balanced budget.” 

Many councilors agreed with the Town Manager, claiming that the proposed assessment method unfairly burdened Amherst’s already-strained budget. “Rejecting the proposed shift and asking the regional school district to come back to us is appropriate,” said Councilor Cathy Schoen (District 1). “It’s time for Amherst to basically say, ‘we’re not paying your share’,” added Council President Lynn Griesemer (District 2). 

Other councilors, however, were not convinced that rejecting the proposed assessment method on Monday was the correct course of action. Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5) asked her colleagues why the vote was being called less than a week after the assessment method was proposed. Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman (“Dr. Xi”) stressed the importance of Amherst accepting or rejecting the assessment in a manner that left the RSC and the other towns time to react appropriately, saying that “timeliness is of the essence here”. Ultimately, said Herman, “we now need all four towns to come to a place where they commit to funding our schools.” 

Councilor Ellisha Walker (at-large) asked for further clarity on the process and timeline, to which the RSC Chair Sarahbess Kenney was called forward. “If this assessment method is rejected by the Town Council, then we are back to square one,” said Kenney, “there’s nothing. We’d have no budget”. 

Councilor Patricia De Angelis (District 2) provided further clarity to Kenney’s answer, explaining that the budget was not technically on the agenda – only the assessment method. Even if Amherst rejected the assessment method, it was still possible that the budget might pass. “If the (other) towns want to destroy the budget, they can- but that’s not what we’re asking them to do,” said De Angelis. “If the other towns care about those reductions (that would occur if the budget failed), then they could step up.” 

Some councilors, however, took issue with the view that the assessment method rejection would not impact the school budget. Councilor Devlin Gauthier said that she “didn’t see a world where other towns agree to that (the regional agreement assessment method)” and asked her colleagues if they were prepared to “sink the budget over that amount ($300,000).” Councilor Heather Hala Lord (District 3) added that the process felt rushed and poorly timed. “I just wish we would have found a way to talk about it before the end of March,” said Councilor Lord.

Ultimately, the council voted to reject the proposed alternative assessment method (9-4). Councilors Jennifer Taub (District 4), Ellisha Walker (at-large), Ana Devlin Gauthier (District 5), and Heather Hala Lord (District 3) made up the opposition vote. 

Library Project Update

The Town Council also heard updates on the Jones Library Renovation and Expansion Project at its Monday meeting. As previously requested, Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Town Capital Projects Coordinator, Bob Peirent, who has been serving as the interim Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) prepared written answers to councilor questions about the status of the $46+ million project. 

After numerous delays and claims of fraud, waste, and abuse by vocal opponents of the project, the low bid on the project (submitted by Fontaine Bros, Inc. and which was $1.6 million below the maximum bond authorized by the Council) is now over 4 months old. Councilors questioned the accuracy of the project financing, including fundraising pledges and project costs, citing tariffs and increasing costs as major concerns for the viability of the project. “The world has changed since December of 2023,” said Councilor Schoen. “I question if many of the pledges… will still hold.”

The Town Manager said that these were “very valid concerns” and that the Town was working on evaluating the best path forward for the project. “All in all, we have a budgeted amount that we have to stick to,” said Bockelman, explaining that any increased cost would need to be covered by the contingency – currently 10% of the budget. 

This contingency would also need to cover the cost of any unexpected issues uncovered during the project and any changes made during the construction phase. Several councilors expressed concern that the contingency might not be enough to cover increased costs and unexpected expenses. “This contract… is way beyond a risk I’m comfortable with,” said Councilor Robert “Bob” Hegner (District 5), “(but) I understand the alternative is also risky.” 

The alternative, which involves returning grant funds plus interest and internally funding an extensive renovation to the building, is projected to cost more than the complete expansion now being discussed – a fact that Councilors Ana Devlin Gauthier and Andrew Steinberg reminded their colleagues of. Further, Councilors Devlin Gauthier, Greisemer, and the Town Manager stressed that the Town funds committed to this project are not eligible for use in other areas (such as funding school operations). “The money that we allocated are CPA and capital monies… that’s not how we fund operations,” said Bockelman. 

Other Business and Early Adjourning

The Town Council also authorized the Superintendent to sign a 10-year transportation contract, heard a presentation about a Proposition 2 ½ Override and the mechanisms by which the Town might increase revenue, discussed the proposed University Drive Overlay which would allow higher density development between the UMass campus and the Big Y, and passed a variety of proclamations and actions related to the ongoing work of the Charter Review Commission. 

The Town Council stopped short of fully considering changes to the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget guidelines as proposed by Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier and related amendments brought forth by Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke when Councilor Andrew Steinberg motioned to adjourn and the majority of council voted the meeting closed at 11:52 pm (7-6). The proposed budget guideline changes and the related proposal for the creation of a Long Range Fiscal Impacts Task Force will be carried over onto the agenda of the next meeting. 

The next Town Council meeting will be April 7 in Town Hall at 6:30 pm. Town Council meetings are also accessible via Zoom, livestream, and Amherst Media broadcast. Meeting details, agendas, and access are posted on the Town Council webpage. If you’re interested in knowing more about upcoming Council meetings, you can subscribe to text and email updates from the Town. If you want the Current’s coverage of the next Town Council meeting delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe using the field below. 

Allison McDonald has lived in Amherst since 2002 and has two sons who attended Amherst public schools. She served on the Amherst School Committee 2018-2023, and as chair 2020-2023. She volunteers as managing editor of The Amherst Current.

Alex Cox (he/him) is a current graduate student at UMass- Amherst studying Regional Planning (MRP) and Public Policy and Administration (MPPA). He currently serves on the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust Fund and as the Graduate Director of the Student Union Art Gallery. He has been a member of the Amherst Current editorial board since 2024.