CHARLEMONT — As they prepare for the upcoming budget season, Hawlemont Regional School District officials are considering the impacts of health insurance cost increases coupled with state funding cuts.
During a Hawlemont School Committee meeting on Monday, members touched on what the district will need to prepare for fiscal year 2027. Additionally, the committee voted to revise its non-discrimination policy and opted to uphold its previous vote endorsing a single-campus plan for additional study as the Two Districts, Eight Towns (2D8T) Steering Committee considers the future sustainability of Hawlemont and the Mohawk Trail Regional School District.
Budget
Business Administrator William Lataille told committee members that the district is about “on par” with where it was last year in terms of revenues and expenses. As he begins preparing the budget for fiscal year 2027, he wants committee members to prepare for difficult conversations, particularly as rural school aid is expected to be cut. Meanwhile, operating expenses and the costs of benefits, including health insurance, are on the rise.
“We’re not in a dire place but we’re gonna have to keep an eye on it, and when we start talking about the budget, we’re gonna have to have tough conversations,” Lataille said. “I don’t think there’s any winners when it comes to health insurance except for the health insurance companies.”
Lataille also expressed concern with the state’s priorities, noting that the state cut funding from rural school aid but found $5 million to fund irrigation system improvements at the Leo J. Martin Memorial Golf Course in Weston.
“To give money to replace irrigation at a public golf course but cut funds to rural aid … that speaks volumes,” Lataille said.
Sustainability
Committee members followed up on the request of member Ashley Sparks to discuss the 2D8T Steering Committee’s ongoing sustainability project. Last month, Sparks had requested that the committee reconsider its previous vote endorsing the “aspiration goal” of consolidating all students in the two districts to a single campus at the Mohawk Trail Regional School site in Buckland.
“I think this is a school closure plan,” Sparks said. “I think it’s worth taking a second look.”
Saying he does not think the committee rescinding or amending its support of the proposal would be in the best interest of students, School Committee Chair Kenneth Bertsch suggested the committee consider whether to hold a revote at all.
“I don’t think we should do this,” Bertsch said. “I think we should stick with it and see this through.”
Committee members said they feel their previous vote does not lock them into closing Hawlemont Regional School and merging with Mohawk Trail; the vote just opted to study the single-campus model further. Bertsch added that the committee will be continuously discussing the topic as more information becomes available and can refocus on other sustainability models at any point if the single-campus option does not seem viable.
Committee members voted 5-1 against adding a revote on the single-campus endorsement to its next meeting agenda, with Sparks being the only vote in favor.
Policy
School Committee members also voted unanimously to revise the district’s non-discrimination policy. Changes included adding references to the student and staff codes of conduct, and changing the point of contact for filing discrimination reports.
Committee member Peggy Travers said the Policy Subcommittee wanted to revise the policy to update contact information for the district’s civil rights and Title IX coordinator, and replace references to former Director of Pupil Personnel Services Leann Loomis with the current director, Julia Lignori.
Travers added that the subcommittee didn’t want to make too many changes to the policy, but wanted to add more contact points to whom students, staff and parents can report concerns, in case conflicts of interest with the director arise.
“We didn’t want to reinvent the policy,” Travers said. “We wanted students to feel they have multiple avenues to go down.”
The policy notes that if parties feel Lignori may have a conflict of interest in reporting, they can report the situation to the superintendent instead.
“It makes sense to me,” Bertsch said. “Overall, the policy is sensible.”