Quick summary update
Regional Budget: On 1/10/26, the Regional Schools held a Four Towns Meeting with elected representatives from Amherst, Leverett, Shutesbury and Pelham. The presentation is here. The bottom line is that the cost to operate ARMS and ARHS is more than the towns are able/willing to pay at this time. There is no final number but the deficit is looking like $2-3 million for the Region for next year. Representatives from Pelham have said that they don’t think they can go beyond a 2.5% increase over what they paid last year, and if they stick to this, we are looking at a $3 million deficit for ARHS and ARMS combined which would be somewhere around 30 positions. In this scenario, the other towns would actually pay LESS than they paid the previous year. The situation is not good. The Gazette has a recap here and the Indy has one here.
Elementary Budget: We have only seen an early draft of the Elementary School budget, but it is also looking like a preliminary projected deficit of $2 million. This is likely to translate to approximately 20 positions based on past estimates. The details are here.
What’s next for the budget:
- Monday February 2, 2026 – Amherst Town Council Meeting at which State Representative Mindy Domb and State Senator Jo Comerford are expected to attend. This would be a good meeting to make public comment about the crisis our schools are facing. The meeting will be at 6:30pm and public comment will be possible in-person or via Zoom.
- February – Budgets are in development with updated information (such as state funding numbers and health insurance increases) coming in. There will be another Four Towns Meeting for the Regional Schools, date TBD.
- March – Elementary and Regional Budgets will be finalized and two separate budget hearings will be held (one for the Region and one for the Elementary) – these are important meetings to attend.