By Allison McDonald

A report on the Amherst and Regional School Committee meetings on Monday, January 5.

Amherst School Committee

In a brief meeting on Monday, January 5, the Amherst elementary school committee chose Deb Leonard to be chair for 2026. Sarah Marshall, who previously served as chair in 2024, nominated herself as well, but ultimately cast her vote for Leonard to make the decision unanimous. Leonard is beginning her second term on the committee and her first year as chair.

Before adjourning, the committee chose Bridget Hynes as vice chair and Laura Jane Hunter as secretary, also in unanimous votes. The three officers also will serve as the Amherst SC representatives on the superintendency Union 26 committee, which is the body that hires and contracts with the superintendent for the Amherst, Pelham, and Regional school districts.

Regional School Committee

The Regional School Committee (RSC) focused on the FY27 budget development during its meeting on Monday, debating the creation of a set of guidelines for the superintendent to use in building the budget and discussing how to approach the upcoming meeting with the four towns (Saturday, 8:00 am in the library at ARMS).

Budget Guidelines

The RSC debated at length a proposal from the Budget & Audit subcommittee to create guidelines for the superintendent to use in building the FY27 budget. Marshall, the subcommittee chair, presented the proposal, noting that the subcommittee and superintendent agreed that “the regional school committee needs to take responsibility for and ownership of the budget.” Marshall added that establishing budget guidelines at the outset is particularly important when the district is facing deficits so the RSC can provide guidance on making budget cuts.

Several members pushed back on the proposal, questioning the need for annual budget guidelines. Leonard and Hynes noted their concerns about changing the budget development process, and whether the proposal to establish guidelines aligns with RSC legal obligations, the Amherst town charter, and community expectations. (Marshall clarified that the Regional school district and committee are not governed by the Amherst town charter.) Leonard also noted that its difficult to provide guidance on priorities without knowing specific costs.

Tim Shores (Leverett) and Leonard noted that district policies and strategic plan established priorities for the district and questioned whether setting annual budget guidelines would be different. “I understand the importance of the committee owning the budget and owning the direction, but I feel like we are doing that by having policies and Superintendent goals and so forth,” said Shores.

Sarahbess Kenney, chair of the RSC and member of the Budget & Audit subcommittee, and Marshall clarified that the mission, educational goals, and policy are high level and that providing guidance for the annual budget is an opportunity to articulate particular needs for a given year. “It’s our job to articulate what we think our students, our system needs at this moment in time,” said Marshall.

The committee agreed to continue the discussion at its meeting on Tuesday, January 13.

Four Towns Meeting on the FY27 Budget

The RSC then discussed the preparation for the upcoming budget planning meeting with officials from Amherst, Leverett, Pelham, and Shutesbury, the ‘Four Towns’, that is scheduled for 8:00 am on Saturday, January 10.

Dr. E. Xiomara Herman, superintendent, and Kenney proposed that the RSC and district not present the estimated deficit for FY27 at the meeting and instead approach the meeting as an opportunity to get input about how the towns “can show up for” the school district. To date, only Amherst has provided guidance about its anticipated funding level for the regional district.

Several members, however, asserted that the committee does need to share information about the projected $2 million deficit, as well as how spending cuts to balance the budget would impact programs and services.

Anna Heard (Shutesbury) requested that the presentation articulate what would need to be cut, such as an estimated number of full-time equivalent staff, to reduce spending by $2 million, noting that without it “it makes it really hard to place our arguments” for the nearly 12% increase in funding needed from the four towns to balance the budget.

Hynes, Marshall, and Shores agreed with Heard’s recommendation. Leonard also agreed, noting that it will be helpful “to spell out things for everybody what these [cuts] mean without committing to giving away our decision making,” adding that she believes the committee should be prepared to engage with the towns about seeking overrides to the Proposition 2 1/2 limit on tax increases.

Dr. Xi agreed to include this information in the meeting materials and would provide the materials to the RSC in advance of the January 10 meeting. [At the time of this publication, the meeting materials are not yet posted.]

The Regional School Committee meets next on Saturday, January 10 at 8:00 am in the library at the middle school. The meeting is in-person and will not be livestreamed.