BUCKLAND — The Mohawk Trail Regional School District School Committee has approved a proposed $28.9 million budget for fiscal year 2027.
The budget represents a 6.24% increase over the fiscal year 2026 budget, and a 7.53% increase in local assessments, while cutting 6.5 teaching positions and 12 paraprofessionals.
Business Administrator William Lataille said that since last week’s public hearing, enrollment numbers have been adjusted and town assessments have changed slightly.
“There was a slight change in assessment percentages for the enrollments. Once you put the final numbers together, Charlemont and Hawley actually went up by a point on their assessment percentage, so their assessments went up slightly, but under $1,000,” Lataille said. “The rest in the district of Mohawk Trail went down as a result of it. … It doesn’t change the number for the budget itself … it just changes how the percentages are broken.”
In FY27, Ashfield’s assessment will be $3.1 million, Buckland’s assessment will be $3.35 million, Charlemont’s share will be $810,831, Colrain will pay $2.85 million, Hawley will be assessed $251,944, Heath’s assessment will be $1.01 million, Shelburne will have an assessment of $3.21 million and Plainfield will pay nearly $1.22 million.
“This has been a challenging budget year from the get-go,” Lataille said. “But I think everybody is working together and everybody has a common goal so that we can know what our towns need, and we know what our students need and we’re trying to make that match.”
Buckland Finance Committee member Paula Consolo said she appreciated the work that district staff have put into the budget, but Buckland’s assessment of $3.35 million is more than the town can afford. She added that the Buckland Finance Committee will likely recommend voting against the budget at Annual Town Meeting.
Last spring, Buckland voters approved a town budget that was within $5,000 of the town’s levy limit. This year, facing health insurance increases and trying to balance the other needs of the town, a 9.62% increase to the town’s assessment for schools would put the town’s budget over the levy limit and require a Proposition 2½ override.
“The town of Buckland is looking at this budget and realizing that we can’t afford it. It’s not the fault of this School Committee and I don’t think it’s the fault of the administration, but a 9.6% increase is just too much,” Consolo said. “I feel like I should say we feel that the state needs to see us doing this. They need to realize that they’re underfunding the schools.”
The School Committee broke the budget vote into three parts: a nearly $12.99 million operating budget and $177,402 capital/debt service budget for the elementary schools, a $15.93 million operating budget and $118,226 capital/debt service budget for the middle and high school, and $450,000 of the district’s excess and deficiency fund that will be used to offset local assessments.
Committee members in attendance unanimously approved the budget. Ashfield representative Rachel Wang was absent.
The budget will now go to voters for final approval at Annual Town Meetings.
“This was not an easy year,” School Committee Chair Martha Thurber said. “And we will all be working very hard in our towns to get this to pass.”