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Date: 2/16/2021
WESTHAMPTON – The Hampshire Regional School Committee is projecting a $16 million budget for the fiscal year 2022 (FY22), a 4.2 percent increase from last year’s $15.4 million budget.
The committee met on Feb. 4 to discuss and vote on the budget. According to a preliminary budget overview, the district’s total revenue is expected to be $15.4 million with an additional $640,556 coming from grants and other revenue sources.
Chapter 70 funding is expected to remain the same with a projected $3.2 million coming from the state. Chapter 70 is the major program of state aid to public elementary and secondary schools.
“After that vote, the budget may decrease but cannot increase. We expect to get some Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds that may decrease the town’s contributions, but we do not yet know that amount,” Hampshire Regional School Committee Chair Margaret Larson said.
ESSER funding provides resources to elementary and secondary schools to address the impact that COVID-19 has had on them.
The largest monetary increase in the FY22 budget compared to a year ago is a $307,063 bump in instructional spending, which was attributed to changes to teacher salaries and contractual steps, cost of living adjustments and increased stipends; technological expenditures related to 1:1 computing; and professional development.
The district will also pay an estimated additional $247,524 in out-of-district tuition in FY22.
Larson told Reminder Publishing that the committee voted on a proposed Hampshire Regional High School (HRHS) 2022 budget, with an additional $5,000 added to support the musical that was proposed to take place in June, a week after graduation.
At their Feb. 1 meeting, Myka Plunkett, the musical director, and Jenneka Reynolds, an HRHS parent and the president of the Musical Boosters Club proposed to move forward with having a musical only if the committee could financially support it. Plunkett said without additional funding they will not be able to put on the musical this year.
The proposed total operating assessment for Southampton is just short of $5.4 million, a 1.13 percent increase from FY21, while Westhampton could expect a 4.29 percent hike in its assessment at $1.4 million. The other member towns of Chesterfield, Goshen and Willamsburg have estimated assessments of $683,697, $557,824 and $1.6 million respectively.
The final budget vote will take place at the committee’s March 1 meeting.
Assistant Managing Editor Chris Maza contributed to this story.