AMHERST — Optimizing staffing and reviewing programming at the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools are among strategies for confronting a likely deficit in next year’s budget, which Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman is anticipating even under the most optimistic funding scenario.

In advance of a four-towns meeting that will bring together officials from Amherst, Pelham, Shutesbury and Leverett at the middle school Saturday at 9 a.m., Herman told the Regional School Committee Tuesday that the projected level services $37.54 million fiscal year 2026 budget could have between a $1.2 million and $2 million deficit.

Herman said she is hoping to leave the Saturday meeting with a clear understanding of what is being planned for the budget for the 2025-2026 school year to adequately prepare teachers and staff and programming, as well as to have School Committee members fight for the budget.

“We definitely need to come to a consensus, so that we can know what we are planning for,” Herman said.

To maintain current services, Herman has crafted a $37.54 million budget, a 6.4% increase, or $2.27 million, over this year’s $35.27 million spending plan.

While that is down from $38.48 million fiscal year 2026 budget presented at a similar meeting in September, it is still a $1.2 million deficit, with $36.28 million in total revenue available, based on what is being called the 6% base budget with a 4% increase in assessments from each of the four towns. Herman said she also expects to present a 6% base budget and a 3% increase in assessments.

“Our singular goal is to collaborate with the four towns to establish agreement on the FY25 base budget and FY26 assessment method, to ensure the district can build a sustainable educational model that addresses the budget gap and serves students effectively,” Herman said.

Herman outlined strategies to deal with possible cuts. One is what she is calling staffing optimization, with hopes to avoid as much as possible student-facing positions being eliminated, and optimizing staffing without impacting programming.

This may include looking at use of one-to-one educators, delving deeper into special education and examining the Summit Academy program. “My purpose is to make sure we have good programming for our students, and as many student-facing jobs can be saved,” Herman said.

Program review, design

Another strategy is program review and design. “This includes looking at our start times, looking at our schedule, looking at our implementation plans for different things that are happening at our schools,” Herman said.

Even though the secondary schools now start later than elementary schools, absenteeism isn’t getting better with this shift in time, and Herman said no less than 50 students each week are dismissed early from the regional schools so they can play sports, meaning they are losing time in school. But she understands that there will be pushback if she recommends changes.

Other strategies include transportation savings possible, such as using the district’s own drivers, finding alternative revenue streams through procurement, operations and facilities management, including how much the district charges for use of venues and pays for deferred maintenance of buildings.

Since a September meeting of the four towns, Herman said there has been progress on the Hampshire County retirement assessment, which came in at a lower cost, and staff consolidation and attrition this school year has been favorable. But there are persistent unknowns, such as health care costs, where she is projecting a 13% increase. “Just a little decrease would give us a little bit of ease in positioning,” Herman said.

Transportation costs will be better known when bids for a contractor are received in January, and by next spring salaries will be precise when contract negotiations with the Amherst Pelham Education Association are complete.

The middle school consolidation, bringing the seventh and eighth graders to the high school, floated at the September four towns meeting, is still on the table, but with an invitation to the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s accelerated repair program for fixing the middle school roof, Herman said there could be risks to that funding if consolidation proceeds.

Leverett representative Tilman Wolf said the four-towns meeting needs to ensure that each town understands the budget includes a 6% base, even if Amherst officials considered their assessment increase a gift last year that shouldn’t be included in the base. “It was voted for across all towns, end of story,” Wolf said.

Amherst representative Deborah Leonard said that seems a reasonable starting point.

Amherst representative Bridget Hynes said she would like to see a budget model that is fully funded and doesn’t describe the deficits, so each town can understand what it’s obligations might be under that scenario. Wolf supported this as the “ideal ask.”

Amherst representative Sarah Marshall said she is not sure the schools can expect to get commitments from the four-towns meeting. Amherst representative Jennifer Shaio agreed, noting that for the Amherst Town Council, in particular, that wouldn’t be realistic.

But Amherst representative Irv Rhodes said it wouldn’t hurt to get a commitment from Amherst officials.

“I believe that the support is already there, we just need to ask,” Rhodes said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.