Overview:
Officials from Bernardston, Leyden and Northfield have indicated they will recommend voters reject the $18.2 million Pioneer Valley Regional School District budget at Annual Town Meetings. The officials are concerned that the budget is too expensive, and that passing it would require a Proposition 2 1/2 override in Bernardston. The officials are urging the district to consider additional action to reduce spending, including consolidation and collaboration with other towns.
BERNARDSTON — Selectboard and finance committee members from Bernardston, Leyden and Northfield indicated they would recommend that residents vote down the Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s proposed $18.2 million fiscal year 2027 budget at their spring Annual Town Meetings.
During a joint meeting of the three towns on Thursday, officials said the FY27 budget, which was approved by the Pioneer School Committee on Feb. 12, is too expensive. The budget represents a 4.47% increase over FY26’s figures and an 8.99% jump in town assessments.
Bernardston Finance Committee Chair Jane Dutcher said passing the school budget would require a Proposition 2½ vote in Bernardston.
“We are just under $300,000 in the red. So something has to give — probably lots of things have to give — but even with reducing everything I can think to reduce, we’re not going to get down to zero,” Dutcher said. “So we’re looking at an override at the very best. … Unless the town’s been buying lottery tickets that I don’t know about, that’s where we are.”
Representatives for Leyden said the town is still reviewing budget requests for FY27, and they are not yet sure how the budget will shake out and if the town can cover educational expenses within its levy limit. They said they are concerned with the increases in the school budget, particularly with so few students from Leyden enrolled.
“I feel the same way I’ve always felt, which is that it’s just a ridiculous budget for the number of students we have,” said Leyden Finance Committee Chair Ginger Robinson. “This is just the hole we’re gonna be in until we change it, and change the whole thing. This is where we’re going to be.”
As of Oct. 1, 2025, Leyden has 48 students enrolled in the Pioneer Valley Regional School District and 12 students at Franklin County Technical School. During FY25, educational expenses made up 41.04% of the town’s budget.
“You’re trying to fund your entire town with 50% of your budget,” Leyden Selectboard Chair Erica Jensen said. “It’s a hard pill to swallow each and every year.”
Officials said this year’s senior class at Pioneer has 16 students, seven of whom are from Northfield, one is from Bernardston and the rest are School Choice students from other towns. Officials feel that School Choice revenue does not fully cover the cost of educating those students, leading to further impacts on the member towns’ assessments.
For FY27, the total operating and capital assessments for Pioneer will be $5.03 million for Northfield, $1.02 million for Leyden and $4.06 million for Bernardston.
For Franklin Tech, operating and capital assessments will be $1.65 million for Northfield, $160,837 for Leyden and $342,266 for Bernardston.
Northfield Finance Committee Chair Gail Weiss said Northfield will be able to cover the expenses, but she’s concerned that increases to school budgets will require cuts to other departments.
“Every one of our departments is impacted,” said Northfield Selectboard member Dan Campbell.
Northfield Finance Committee member Bernhard Porada said that the financial challenges the towns face are expected to increase in the coming years, as state and federal aid becomes limited. This could get worse if a state ballot petition to decrease the income tax rate from 5% to 4% passes.
“Federal aid is drying up and state aid could dry up,” Porada said.
Town officials said Pioneer needs to consider additional action to reduce spending, beyond advocating for Chapter 70 formula changes and increasing rural school aid. Jensen said the district needs to consider consolidation, at least at the administrative level.
“At some point, you have to stop relying on state aid and figure out a better way, whether that is regionalization,” Jensen said.
Robinson suggested the district collaborate with the Gill-Montague Regional School District to share a business manager, superintendent or other administrative positions to cut costs and find efficiencies.
Members added that they don’t want budget season to be a competition between the schools and the town, but rather a collaborative discussion about what the towns can afford.
“It’s not us against them,” Campbell said. “It’s us thinking about trying to rein in a budget we think is a little out of control.”
The three towns’ selectboards and finance committees plan to meet again on April 2, after individual discussions as to what each town wants to do with its budget, although officials have indicated they are not in favor of the school budget. Ultimately, though, it will be up to the voters if they choose to pass the budget.
“I never want to approve this budget,” Jensen said. “I don’t understand it.”
“We can recommend or not recommend, but the bottom line is, if the residents vote to spend this money, don’t come crying to us about the taxes going up,” Porada said.
Bernardston’s Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for April 29, Northfield’s will be on May 4 and Leyden has scheduled its meeting for June 1.