SUNDERLAND — After an initial draft of the Sunderland Elementary School fiscal year 2027 budget projected a 18.3% increase of $657,899 over the FY26 figures, the School Committee convened this week to discuss cuts to teaching positions as a way of reducing the increase to just 10%.
“To say that this is a hard budget year is an understatement,” School Committee Chair Jessica Corwin said at Tuesday night’s meeting.
In an email, Shelley Poreda, the director of business administration for the Frontier Regional and Union 38 school districts, said “natural budget increases to maintain level services and programs,” along with higher costs for special education placement outside the district, grant changes and the addition of two new instructional assistants led to the 18.3% growth in the initial budget draft.
To rein in the budget increase, administrators recommended combining the two kindergarten classes into one class and the two fourth grade classes into one class, which would lead to one kindergarten teacher, one fourth grade teacher and an instructional assistant being cut. By combining the classes, it is anticipated there will be 19 students in the kindergarten class and 25 students in the fourth grade class.
“This is the plan as it stands at the moment with what we know about enrollment,” Poreda explained. “We know Sunderland is a more transient community than our other districts. … We have this conversation regularly as part of the budget process, and we’re just being forced to make the decision sooner rather than later about this.”
In addition to the position cuts, the administration also recommended reducing the physical education teacher’s hours and not pursuing several financial requests. These requests would include $15,000 in non-wage expenses like general building repairs, special education contracted services and curriculum supplies, along with a $70,000 request for two new instructional assistants.
“We are actually eliminating something from the budget that the school needs, our students need, so we are going to have to shift resources around,” Poreda explained, referring to the request for two instructional assistants. “The need comes from [Individualized Education Programs], which we are required to meet by mandate, so it means that resources are going to shift. We will still have to provide that one-to-one coverage for those students.”
Meanwhile, the school is implementing a “soft budget freeze” for the current fiscal year “to help manage the financial uncertainty” and offset financial pressures in FY27, Poreda explained over email on Thursday. During the soft budget freeze, “spending is evaluated carefully,” but Principal Benjamin Barshefsky can still approve purchases “when there is a clear programmatic, operational or student need,” according to Poreda.
Other recommendations included using $47,000 in rural school aid and $7,000 saved from the FY26 freeze for the FY27 budget. Combined, the freeze and position cuts would reduce the increase by $298,580, dropping the general fund budget to $3.95 million, which represents a 10% increase of $358,646 from FY26.
Poreda said the reductions focus on “balancing that fiscal responsibility and maintaining educational excellence while protecting student learning and our key programs and services, and minimizing our impact on staff.”
“However, with a budget reduction, there is always going to be some impact on these categories,” Poreda added. “The recommendations that we’re making tonight have that goal of creating a balance where there’s as minimal impact to students and staff in the building.”
Corwin said the Selectboard and Finance Committee have made it clear that the reduced $3.95 million budget is the only affordable option, with the town not being able to fund the 18.3% increase. She stressed that even the reduced budget hinges on voters passing an override this spring.
“If the override fails, we will have to come back and consider an even more reduced budget,” Corwin said.
She encouraged School Committee members and residents tuning in over Zoom to advocate for the override.
Poreda stressed that the budget “is still a moving target.” The School Committee plans to vote on a budget during its March 26 meeting before residents weigh in at the April 24 Annual Town Meeting.