Amherst School Committee approves cost centers, requests budget scenarios

Board of Education · Meeting of June 16, 2026

Amherst School Committee approves 22 cost centers and directs budget alternatives. The committee unanimously backed the administration's cost center structure and voted to request two new FY27 budget scenarios: one at five percent increase to restore library paraprofessionals and adaptive specials funding, and another showing fully funded costs with no student-facing cuts. Public comment focused on concerns about reductions to adaptive specials, the bilingual reading specialist role, and intervention staffing; administrator Tonya McIntyre clarified that intervention group sizes would still flex based on student need despite proposed reductions in math coaching (from three to one FTE) and 0.5 FTE direct intervention.

Committee member Laura Jane Hunter challenged the proposed sixth-grade placement map at the regional middle school on equity grounds, while Superintendent Dr. Xi responded that the process is iterative and no final decision has been made. Elementary enrollment dropped from 812 students in January to 791 by late March, driven primarily by housing costs.

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Source: the Board of Education meeting of June 16, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.