Updates from Public Meetings

On Monday June 16, 2025 the Amherst Town Council approved the FY26 Budget. It includes the 4.81% increase in funding for the Regional Schools and a 5% increase for the Elementary Schools, 1% ($269,704) of which is being considered as one-time funds which will not be included in the calculation for next year. As a reminder, the Elementary School Committee actually voted a 6% increase, so this is less than the Elementary Schools asked for.    At the last minute, Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke attempted to claw back $269,704 in funding for the Elementary Schools. Her motion was seconded by Councilor George Ryan who joined Councilor Hanneke in arguing for withholding this money from the Elementary Schools. Ultimately, only Councilor Hanneke voted for her motion and the motion failed. During the meeting itself, Councilor Pat D’Angelis also argued for withholding money from the schools.    The stated objection to allocating these funds to the Elementary Schools...

Lots of info – Show up June 16 for budget vote; YOU can run for open seats this fall on Town Council & the School Committee Quick recap: The budget for the Regional Schools has been approved by all four member towns. See the SOS post here for a refresher on that budget and what we know about positions lost/restored, etc… It seems as though the Amherst Finance Committee will recommend the 5% increase for the Elementary Schools, but will send a letter asking for acknowledgement that $269,704 of that is “one-time” money and won’t be included in the base for the increase calculation next year. More details regarding positions lost/restored available in our post here.  The full Town Council will take up the budget on Monday June 16th at 6:30pm, with a possible vote that night – this would be a good meeting to remind Town Council that we are still paying attention, still care about school funding, and are disturbed by the Town...

    While the final budgets for the schools don’t provide everything the school superintendent requested for next year, there are fewer student facing cuts than there could have been. There continues to be a long overdue need for an overhaul in town council to change the culture to full transparency and enthusiastic financial support for excellent public schools.    We will keep trying. Take good care of yourselves and each other. – SOS Amherst ————————————————————————————————————–   Regional Budget – On Monday 5/19, the Amherst Town Council approved Amherst’s portion of the Regional Schools budget, becoming the third town to do so.Town Council meeting recording here. The Amherst Finance Committee, wrote a Memo to Town Council regarding the Regional budget –...

On May 5, 2025, Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman gave his presentation of the FY26 Budget. Recording here. Presentation here. FY26 Budget here. FY Capital Improvement Plan here.  Today, Dr. Xi and the District Finance Director, Shannon Bernacchia appeared at the Finance Committee meeting to answer questions about the budget requests (Video recording here). A longer summary is after upcoming action opportunities that need your support.    ACTION – PUBLIC COMMENT at upcoming Meetings: Friday May 9th 8:00-9:30am – Cuppa’ Joe with Town Manager Paul Bockelman – The topic is the FY26 budget. Location: Bangs patio or inside Room 101 if raining. Monday May 12th, 6:30pm – Finance Committee Public Hearing on the Budget -The meeting will be virtual only. It would be great if we had a good showing at this public hearing – this is the last significant opportunity to speak publicly on behalf of the budget. Zoom...

The Town Manager’s budget book is out and includes a 4.81% increase for the Region and a 5% increase for the Elementary Schools, as recommended by the Town Council. The amount for the Elementary Schools is less than the 6% increase voted by the School Committee.    The budget is here: https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/78496/FINAL-BUDGET-BOOK–5-1-25   Where are we with the school budgets right now?  It is worth pointing out that despite this misleading headline from the Gazette, the Town Manager’s budget really doesn’t even come close to granting what the schools actually need.  While the Budget does meet the voted request of the Regional Schools, the Region will still cut 12.1 positions. This additional money avoids cutting even more but the Region was still forced to eliminate $812,126 in spending and 12.1 positions. We are still waiting for news on votes on the Regional Budget at the three Town...

 Town Council Meeting – Monday 4/28 There was a lengthy discussion of two separate proposals to form committees/working groups related to the long-term fiscal stability of the school districts. One was submitted by Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier and the other by Council President Lynn Griesemer and Councilor Cathy Schoen. Discussion starts around the one hour mark of the video. Here are some of quick takeaways:  We already have two bodies responsible for discussion and coordination of budget needs – and they are not being well used by the Town Council. The Council should try to use these existing avenues first before creating a whole new body.  Four Towns meetings are opportunities for leadership from Amherst, Shutesbury, Pelham and Leverett along with leadership for the Regional Schools to discuss budget needs of the Regional Schools as well as the resources available in the four towns. The Amherst Town Council has...

What’s next and Thank you! Thank you so much to everyone who came out on 4/13/25 to the SOS/LWV Community Conversation on School Funding – we had some great energy and lots of ideas for how to move forward and will have more to share on that soon.  Save the Date – Monday May 12th 6:30pm will be the Town of Amherst Public Hearing on the FY26 Budget We wanted to send out an update on where we are right now with the school budgets and what comes next. The School budget requests have been made. The Elementary Schools are asking for a 6% increase over last year which would require $539,408 more than the Town of Amherst has said it would like to give. The Regional Schools are asking for a 4.81% increase, which would require 152,136 more than the Town of Amherst has said it would like to give. The Town of Amherst’s Financial Guidelines suggest a 4% increase for all sectors of town (schools, library, municipal services). The Region is asking for 4.81% and the Elementary...

Reminder that tomorrow (Sunday April 13th), we will be holding our Community Conversation on School Funding in conjunction with the Amherst League of Women Voters. 2-4pm at Crocker Farm. Please enter via Shays Street Entrance (see attached map for parking location). Over the past year, we have been told “NO” a lot No – The schools can’t have more money No – The Town can’t change anything about its budgeting process No – You can’t say that you feel Councilors don’t care about our kids because that’s “uncivil” No – You can’t say that education should be prioritized because that’s pitting one need against another No – You can’t have more than two minutes to make a public comment On Sunday, we hope to move past some of these “NOs,” to talk about why we bump up against so much resistance, and how we can move forward. Join us! Bring a friend! Bring your kids – we will have kids...

Update on School budgets At the 4/10/25 Town Council meeting, after a lot of convoluted and confusing discussion, the Council took three votes relevant to the schools’ budgets. Video here. Details below but it seems like there is a fairly broad consensus that the Town Councilors want to give a 4.81% increase to the Regional Schools (this is the same number the Regional School Committee voted) and 5% to the Elementary Schools (this is less than the 6% increase that the Amherst School Committee voted). All of this, though, is just a recommendation and the Town Manager ultimately can decide what numbers to include in his budget, which is due May 1st. The Town Manager is claiming that allocating this money to the schools would be a hardship for his own budget, but presented no details.  What happened at Town Council? First vote – The Town Council voted 7-6 against a motion to amend Ana Devlin Gauthier’s proposal to say that the FY26 Financial Guidelines should be changed to...

What: Town Council Meeting When:  Monday April 7th, 6:30 PMWhere/How: In person at Town Hall or via ZoomAnd/or email your Town CouncilorsWhat to ask: Change the budget guidelines to direct the Town Manager to include the amount requested by the schools in the FY26 budget and vote yes to the Regional Schools budget as passed by the School Committee. These budgets restore the most essential positions and still require deep cuts – they are a fraction of what our schools need and the Town can afford it.  On Monday April 7th, Town Council will continue its discussion of Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier’s proposal to increase the percentage for the schools for FY26 by amending the budget guidelines. As far as the Elementary School budget goes, unless the Council amends the guidelines, the Town Manager can give the schools a lower budget amount than requested, and the Council can’t increase it. So, this is important. Please see the awesome attached graphic Geneva made to illustrate...