NORTHFIELD — Faced with a $1 million deficit, hard choices from cutting programs like to closing schools face the Pioneer Valley Regional School Committee, which Thursday night put off making those hard choices until next week.
District administrators gave the committee a variety of options to reduce the budget for the coming school year, “none of which,” said Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy, “we recommend as educationally sound or in the best interest of teaching and learning.”
The administrative team was asked to present budget cutting options last week after state auditors discovered the roughly $1 million in accumulated red ink. This includes the school lunch program deficit, previously pegged at roughly $270,000.
Although the plan had been to cut next school year’s spending at Thursday’s meeting, the committee decided to schedule another meeting for this coming Wednesday, by which time committee Chairwoman Patricia Shearer will have spoken to the committee’s contacts at the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state Department of Revenue for guidance in dealing with this unusual and extreme predicament.
The committee will face a need for urgent action Wednesday as district employees must be notified by Friday, June 1, if their contracts will be renewed.
“I know I’m not alone in feeling extraordinarily anxious all day every day while trying to do my best job in the classroom,” said Lynn Hansell, a teacher at Warwick Community School who lives in Northfield. “I feel like families as well are feeling a bit on edge and would like to have some sense of a timeframe as to when decisions will be made as to the future of the schools in the district.”
A number of residents and teachers spoke to the committee Thursday evening to air their concerns about the potential consequences of drastic cuts to school spending.
“I made a lot of quality relationships with some teachers that were let go already,” said former student Samantha Leduc, fighting back tears. Leduc graduated from PVRS last year as a school choice student from Athol. “Watching teachers that we love so dearly leave — and ill be honest, I don’t know all the numbers, I don’t know all the figures — but I know, as a student, it took a toll on everybody involved. I can’t see Pioneer going on if it continues to make those kinds of cuts. It hurt me and I know it hurts everybody else involved.”
The School Committee will reconvene Wednesday to make its decisions. An agenda will be posted today.
Three of the four towns in the district have voted at their town meetings this spring to approve a supplemental appropriation that would correct this lunch deficit. Of the four towns, only Bernardston has not yet held its annual town meeting.
Contact Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261 ext. 261.
Items that Pioneer Valley Regional School District administrators say are underfunded in the approved budge… by Joshua Solomon on Scribd
Options for cuts to Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s budget, as presented by district administrato… by Joshua Solomon on Scribd