Amherst Elementary Budget (Pre-K to 6th): The Elementary Budget process has been much less straightforward than the one at the Region this year. As best as I can follow, here is where we are. There is a final budget meeting on Tuesday, 3/31 at 8pm (details below):
- On 3/3, the School Committee sent budget guidance to the District Administration, but in that guidance, did not specify a funding level they would like to see.
- On 3/17 District Administration initially put forward a budget that adheres to the Town’s 3.85% increase over last year, and takes into account all of the necessary changes and opportunities for efficiency as part of the reorganization of the elementary schools and closing of one school. You can see a summary of the proposed changes in that initial budget here. At that meeting, the School Committee asked the District Administration for quite a lot of information, and the responses to those questions and the information requested can be found here. I would encourage folks to read this document as it contains quite a lot of contextual information regarding the proposed changes.
- On 3/24 the School Committee reconvened to continue discussing the budget and debated various budget priorities and cuts and what they wanted to ask for next. They ended that meeting without any clear decision about what they wanted to ask the District Administration for next in terms of a budget. The discussion seemed to indicate that they wanted to ask the District Administration for a budget that increased Amherst’s contribution from 3.85% to 5% (which would add approximately $300,000) back into the budget, although there was also discussion of a 5.65% increase. They determined that two of the School Committee members would work on a second scenario after the meeting, and that guidance would be sent to the District Administration.
- On 3/26, the School Committee sent guidance to Dr. Xi, asking to see both a budget that restored the 5 Specials Teacher positions and 2 Coaches and 0.5 Intervention Teacher and also made a 1% cut to the Central Office budget AND a level services budget – one that cut nothing. They also asked more questions about the budget and proposed staffing models.
- On 3/27, the District Administration responded, providing answers to their questions as well as the two additional budget scenarios requested:
- A Level Services budget that represents a 9.1% increase for the Town of Amherst, and is $1,490,711 beyond what Amherst said it would pay
- A Budget that restores the 5 Specials Teacher positions and 2 Coaches and 0.5 Intervention Teacher and also made a 1% cut to the Central Office budget. This budget is a 5.9% increase for the Town of Amherst and $572,310 more than what they have said they will pay.
- It is important to note that there is a slight difference in the way that the District and the Town are calculating the percentage increase. Last year, the Elementary Schools received their allocation from the Town (a 4% increase) PLUS an additional $269,704 in free cash (an additional 1% increase). This free cash was supposed to be “one time money” helping to bridge the gap until the consolidation possibly provided savings (whether this would actually be possible was always in dispute). So, the Town of Amherst is NOT including the $269,704 in the “base” for calculating this year’s percentage increase. So, a 9.1% increase is actually a 10.2% increase from the Town’s perspective. Similarly, the 5.9% scenario is actually viewed as a 6.9% increase by the Town. I just wanted to make this clear as there may come a point when folks are advocating for a greater sum from the Town (depending on which budget gets passed) and it will be important to be clear about exactly what is being requested.
- The School Committee will meet on Tuesday 3/31 at 8pm (after the Regional Meeting) in the ARHS Library and via Zoom, to finalize the budget. Per the Town of Amherst Charter, the School Committee must send a budget to the Town Manager by 4/1 so they have to come to a decision on Tuesday night. There is no public comment at this meeting, but the public can always email the School Committee at AmherstSchoolCommittee@arps.
org. The public can follow the meeting via YouTube or join by Zoom. - What’s next? After the School Committee passes the budget, it goes to the Town Manager. He does NOT need to include the full amount requested by the School Committee in his budget. The Town Manager’s budget is due to the Town Council on 5/1 and the Town Council will vote on it in June. The Town Council can increase the amount for the schools, but the overall Town budget must remain balanced. If the School Committee votes a budget higher than the guidance, there will be a period of time where staff and the district are in limbo not knowing if positions will be restored or not. A final decision would come as late as June.
Regional Budget – the Regional School Committee voted on Tuesday 3/24 to pass the Regional Budget as originally proposed. The next step for this budget will be to go to Amherst Town Council and to the Town Meetings in Pelham, Leverett and Shutesebury. This year’s budget is actually below the guidance from Amherst (a 3.5% increase, as opposed to an allowable 3.85% increase) in order to fit within the available funds in the other three towns. Three out of four towns need to pass the budget for it to go into effect.