GREENFIELD — The School Committee voted 5-0 with two abstentions this week to forward its proposed $24.96 million fiscal year 2027 budget to Mayor Ginny Desorgher, after earlier voting down a proposed $25.46 million budget out of concern that a roughly $1.7 million increase would place too heavy a financial burden on the city.
Committee members debated best practices for drafting the budget. Some argued that the superintendent’s budget should reflect what he believes the School Department needs to operate, while others argued that the mayor and superintendent should collaborate on the budget in advance of its presentation to the mayor.
School Committee member Melodie Goodwin said the $1.7 million, or 7.4%, increase that was presented in the committee’s initial budget did not seem justifiable, given the rising costs seen both by taxpayers and the city itself.
“I don’t agree with putting forward a [$1.7] million increase. I think we have places that we can cut and I don’t think that amount is respectful to the taxpayers,” Goodwin said. “We just had our houses reassessed. A lot of us are paying more taxes than we ever have. Our water bills have gone up and Greenfield is gasping for breath. … I’ve spent a lot of energy in our budget and I can easily see where there can be cuts that are not going to reach our students. They’re not going to reach our classrooms. They’re not going to change our daily lives in our schools. I’m comfortable with going forward with a $500,000 increase, but not [$1.7 million].”
School Committee member Elizabeth DeNeeve commented that the proposed $25.46 million budget was fair, and said the committee does not expect to get all the funding that it requests. DeNeeve noted that she believes a $25.46 million budget reflects a “modest” $1.7 million increase.
DeNeeve also said the School Department has been “consistently underfunded.” The department was level-funded in fiscal year 2026, saw a 4% increase between fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and experienced a roughly 3% increase between fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
“When you’re continuously underfunded every year, you’re not getting what you need and that’s just how it is,” DeNeeve said. “We’re just on this underfunded wheel that’s just going to keep going and keep going until we change Chapter 70 funding and until we get more aid from the state. I hope that we can all be on that project together as we move forward.”
Vice Chair Ann Childs, who initially voted in favor of the original $25.46 budget request, echoed DeNeeve’s remarks, noting that while it is unlikely the district will receive the full increase, the department has to start negotiations somewhere.
School Committee member Jeffrey Diteman expressed concern with the proposed $25.46 million budget, acknowledging that the proposal reflects a significant increase that might result in a Proposition 2½ override.
Desorgher, who also serves on the School Committee, suggested that the School Department cut $520,000 from its Pre-K Revolving Account and $200,000 from its Transportation Revolving Account in an effort to fill in budgetary gaps.
“We haven’t bought the textbooks. There’s $100,000 left in the textbook line. … Are we going to buy those this year? If not, it would be left over,” Desorgher said. “At the end of last year there were a lot of purchases that were made. We didn’t spend a lot on salaries because we had so many vacant positions. I feel that we have an obligation as a group to do something and certainly not to send [a budget] forward with something that I knew was already over the dollar amount.”
The committee’s motion to approve the $25.46 million budget failed 4-3, with DeNeeve, Childs and Chair Stacey Sexton voting “yes,” while Desorgher, Diteman, Goodwin and member Melissa McKenzie-Webb voted against the motion.
Childs then motioned to cut roughly $500,000 from the proposed budget, making the new budget reflective of a 5.53% increase over the FY26 figures. The motion passed, with abstentions from Goodwin and Desorgher.
