AMHERST — More than $1 million in spending cuts, including approximately 15 staff layoffs, may be needed to bring the regional schools’ budget to a level that the towns of Amherst, Pelham. Shutesbury and Leverett are able to pay.

At a four-towns meeting Saturday, Douglas Slaughter, the school finance director, said 15.44 full-time equivalent staff, including administrators, teachers and paraprofessionals, would need be cut to get spending down to the 2.5% increase in Amherst’s assessment for the regional schools mandated by the Town Council.

The meeting brought together elected and appointed officials from the Amherst Town Council and town select boards and finance committees.

Slaughter’s presentation showed spending would have to be at $34.76 million to provide level services, an increase of $1.78 million, or 5.7%, over this year’s $32.98 million budget.

But the schools are aiming to bring in a $33.61 million budget that, accounting for state aid, various reimbursements and school choice money, would lead to $21.78 million in assessments spread among the four regional towns to educate their 1,230 students, with 372 at the middle school and 858 at the high school.

A funding “guardrail” system for the schools, the same as used last year, limits the increase in the assessment for any town to 4%.

Under this plan, Amherst would pay a $17.68 million assessment, which is $428,974, or 2.5% higher than this year’s $17.25 million.

Shutesbury would see the smallest increase, at 0.31%, or $4,731, keeping its assessment at $1.55 million.

Both Pelham and Leverett would see 4% increases. Pelham’s assessment would go up by $38,668, from $966,706 to $1.01 million, while Leverett’s would increase by $59,264, from $1.48 million to $1.54 million.

A public hearing on the budget plan is scheduled for Feb. 28, at which time Superintendent Michael Morris said budget reductions would be presented in greater detail, and the community will have a chance to offer feedback.

“And I imagine they will, given the significant amount of positions that are being reduced to make this budget work,” Morris said.

Slaughter also gave details about fiscal year year 2025, beginning July 1, 2024, calling it a “difficult budget year” and where strategies may include offering early retirement incentives, using a budget “frost” next year that would limit spending to only essentials, and using more of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund money.

“It’s likely that future years are going to be pretty difficult in the near term,” Slaughter said.

Contract negotiations

The meeting provided an opportunity for officials to weigh in on the status of ongoing contract negotiations between the school district and the Amherst Pelham Education Association. Amherst School Committee Chairwoman Allison McDonald said that with open contracts, the budgets could be affected depending on the terms that are reached.

Considering many residents say they would like to see the union’s demands met, McDonald asked whether adding $2 million to the fiscal year 2024 budget, rather than trimming $1 million, would be palatable.

“So, our ask of you, can you support increasing funding for the regional school district?” McDonald said. “Not just to prevent the projected $1 million in cuts, but even more to enable us to commit to significantly greater increases in compensation for paraeducators, teachers, and staff?”

At the same time, McDonald noted, “We currently offer our teachers, paraeducators and staff compensation that’s among the highest in our area, as well as tremendous support to help teachers and paraeducators advance their careers.”

Amherst School Committee member Peter Demling said the public needs to understand what the four communities can afford and get clear direction about support for the schools this year and in the years going forward.

“The School Committee is being told that we’re not fighting hard enough, we are not making the case clear enough, we’re not asking you directly enough, for more money for teachers and education,” Demling said.

Representatives from all four towns seemed to offer consensus that sustainability long term is a worry, which would be compromised by an exorbitant contract with the union.

“The millions increase is probably going to be very problematic for Leverett,” said Leverett Finance Committee member Ann Delano, adding that it is not sustainable to have bigger jumps.

Pelham Finance Committee Chairman John Trickey said that statistics already show the Amherst staff are well compensated compared to neighboring peer communities.

“Pelham could not stand another $2 (million) or $3 million increase, our portion of it, in our budget,” Trickey said. “It just wouldn’t be there.”

While he appreciates the regional schools and supports the budget as presented, Shutesbury Finance Committee member Ajay Khashu said any significant increase related to salaries likely wouldn’t be well received. “It’s hard to imagine how we could accomplish that with the constraints we have,” Khashu said.

Similarly, Bernie Kubiak, a member of the Amherst Finance Committee, said there should be an understanding that budgets aren’t flush.

“I’m urging the school committee to understand that the 2.5% increase that the town of Amherst is saying it can afford is really what we can afford,” Kubiak said.

Town Council President Lynn Griesemer, too, outlined cautions. “Amherst is not in a position to support any more increase in salaries in the negotiations that are going on,” Griesemer said.

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