GREENFIELD — Although the mayor announced last week that the city could not fund the School Department’s nearly $25.59 million budget proposal with a $1.89 million increase, a key driver of which was redistricting measures, the School Committee voted 6-0 with one abstention to continue with its redistricting plan in September.

According to Superintendent Karin Patenaude, the decision could result in as many as 19 lost positions, including six administrators and central office employees, one facilities employee, two transportation employees and 10 teachers to meet the $1.88 million cost to carry out redistricting.

“Suggesting to close the Greenfield Middle School, make elementary [grades] K-6 and the high school [grades] seven to 12, to close the budget gap, and there’s the suggestion that all programming and services, including all teachers in instructional positions, will stay the same,” Patenaude said, “unfortunately, that is not realistic. In order to reduce a budget by $1.9 million, cuts to programming services and personnel will have to be made.”

Mayor Ginny Desorgher announced her proposed FY26 school budget, which represents a $254 decrease from the current fiscal year, at a School Committee meeting last week, before encouraging the committee to reconsider its plans to redistrict, noting that the city cannot afford to continue running “two massive schools” at half-capacity.

Desorgher proposed a nearly $23.7 million school budget for next fiscal year, which begins July 1. While the School Department’s local appropriation request for FY26 is nearly $25.59 million, the department’s proposed all-funds budget, which includes grant funding, sits at $29 million.

“If we move the eighth grade out of the high school in September as planned, there will only be 300 children in a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building designed for 788 children,” Desorgher said last week. “A plan that puts seventh and eighth grade at the high school utilizes the building better while still being well under full capacity. The fifth and sixth grades could be moved to the elementary schools with the same equity plan that we all strive for.”

The School Committee held a special meeting Monday evening in response to the mayor’s proposed budget. There, teachers and students overwhelmingly spoke in support of redistricting, while some seventh graders voiced their discomfort about studying alongside older students.

The roughly one-hour public comment period preceded three rounds of “round robin” discussions in which School Committee members took turns expressing their disappointment with the mayor’s proposed budget and the cut’s impacts on the committee’s redistricting plans.

“We have a new mayor, we have a new superintendent. This town has been out of control with spending — a new library, a new parking garage,” School Committee member Melodie Goodwin said. “The taxpayers cannot afford what is going on, people are choosing to leave town, our declining enrollment, our under-performing schools … By removing the eighth grade, you would be down to 300 [students at the high school]. ... There may be another way to look at reconfiguring schools.”

Desorgher, who, as a member of the School Committee, abstained from voting on the reaffirmation of the redistricting plan, emphasized that the FY26 budget cuts are inevitable, comparing the decision to having to prioritize buying eggs, meat, vegetables and milk for her children as a mother on a budget.

“This is not an easy decision to make, but tough people make tough choices and these are horrible numbers — I didn’t make them up,” Desorgher said.

In an email sent to Desorgher and School Committee Chair Glenn Johnson-Mussad Tuesday afternoon, Goodwin announced her plans to file a motion to reconsider Monday night’s vote, arguing that the public should be given more information on the details of the redistricting process prior to its approval.

“This important vote impacts the future of our educational program and shouldn’t be made without clear information and thoughtful consideration,” Goodwin wrote in the email. “I am requesting this [motion to reconsider] so we can present to the public written documentation and the details that they deserve.”

City Council is expected to vote on Desorgher’s FY26 budget in April.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.