SOUTH DEERFIELD — After an early draft of the Frontier Regional School District budget projected a nearly $1 million increase, the School Committee discussed shrinking the initial estimate by $400,000 with position cuts and rural school aid.
On Tuesday night, Director of Business Administration Shelley Poreda outlined a draft of the approximately $14.2 million fiscal year 2027 budget ahead of the March 3 public hearing. According to Poreda, the numbers represent a “level-service” budget with existing programs and staffing. Although the budget has grown by an average of 2.67% over the past seven years, the initial numbers Poreda presented included a 6.95% increase of $923,460.
“This year is truly an outlier,” Poreda said.
After budgeting for an initial 18% increase to health care costs heading into fiscal year 2026, the Frontier Regional School District and other members of the Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust faced another 20% increase in October.
Heading into FY27, the draft of Frontier’s general budget accounts for a total 40% increase, coupling the 20% Oct. 1 bump with a placeholder of an additional 20% increase for anticipated premiums, Poreda told School Committee members at the Jan. 6 meeting.
According to her presentation on Tuesday, Frontier will receive nearly $3.09 million from the state to help shoulder the budget, $35,250 more than last year.
“We’re talking about a $923,000 growth in our budget and we’re only going to get [an extra] $35,000 from the state,” Poreda emphasized.
The district’s member towns would cover the majority of the remaining cost, with their shares depending on residents’ enrollment. For FY27, Whately will cover 11.02%, Sunderland will cover 26.11%, Conway will cover 15.97% and Deerfield will cover 46.89%.
To trim the projected increase before the March 3 public hearing, the committee voted to put forth a $13.8 million budget instead, a $400,000 drop from the earlier draft that would bring the increase from the current fiscal year to 3.94%.
The $400,000 reduction would come from using $100,000 in rural school aid and from cutting six to seven positions that equate to about $300,000, which is recommended by the Budget Subcommittee. According to Superintendent Darius Modestow, these cuts would fall within teaching, support and “non-teaching” positions. Modestow clarified that any decisions regarding cuts would consider attrition, eliminating positions held by employees who already plan to resign or retire, but would also likely include cutting current positions.
During discussion, School Committee Vice Chair Olivia Leone asked if cutting positions could dim Frontier’s appeal to School Choice students and risk shrinking this funding.
“Losing six to seven positions, is that going to make us less exciting?” Leone said. “I didn’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot. We’ve been doing such a great job moving in this direction.”
In response, Modestow said the cuts would not affect clubs, activities and other offerings for Frontier students.
“The goal is to not change students’ experiences as much as possible,” Modestow explained. “I say this to my principals all the time: in a leadership position, you have to say I can come to you and ask for more money to increase positions. I also have to be able to make a decision that says we have to reduce positions, and I know people’s livelihoods and we control a lot of that. … Nobody wants to see anybody lose a job, but it is part of the business of things.”
Poreda advised against drawing from the nearly $1.65 million of School Choice funding that is expected by the end of FY27 to cover the budget hike. She described funding recurring expenditures like salaries with this pool of money as a risky move when it fluctuates from year to year.
“The more we stack recurring expenditures, the harder it could be in future fiscal years,” Poreda said, adding that she feels a responsibility as the director of business administration to consider the long-term impacts of budgeting decisions.
School Committee member Damien Fosnot suggested presenting the highest number projected for the budget as a starting point, which Modestow advised against.
“We’re in cooperation with our four towns who are trying to figure out their budgets, so they want to know where we’re going to land and how much do they need to put pressure on us if they can’t afford the assessment that is coming [their] way,” Modestow said. “I think if you go in with a high number, you’re not having an honest conversation.”
Deerfield Selectboard Chair Trevor McDaniel and member Blake Gilmore, along with Deerfield Finance Committee Chair Julie Chalfant, attended the meeting.
“I appreciate you looking at staff cuts, not that we want to ever, but where you can get attrition, where we can reduce those areas to make sure we still can fund the arts and walk that fine balance of making sure kids want to come here,” McDaniel said. “It’s going to be a tough year. Cuts are never fun, but I appreciate you doing that and trying to come in at a number that we can handle this year.”