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Date: 5/2/2023
AGAWAM — Following an April 25 public hearing on a nearly $50 million budget for fiscal year 2024, the School Committee voted unanimously, 7-0, to approve the budget that was recommended by School Superintendent Sheila Hoffman. The total budget — which increases school spending by 2.46% — is $49.96 million.
The current budget for the 2022-23 school year is $48.7 million. The difference between it and the budget for 2023-24 is $1.23 million.
Hoffman explained during her presentation that the budget includes additional fixed costs, such as contractual salary increases, degree change bonuses, stipends and increases in transportation costs, special education tuitions as well as out-of-district regular education tuitions.
There is also an increase in technology spending to make up for the decline in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, funds. The past two budgets relied heavily on this coronavirus pandemic-related aid, which ends after FY24.
To ensure the budget is fiscally responsible, the superintendent said all areas of the budget were reviewed for possible reductions. Decreases in non-school based items reduced the total budget increase by $18,040.
Mayor William Sapelli, who chairs the School Committee, said at the public hearing that it does not increase any existing fees and does not add any new ones. The hearing took place prior to the committee’s regular meeting.
At the same time, he said it maintains all services as well as appropriate student teacher ratios while providing quality and affordable in-house professional development for school staff.
City Councilor Paul Cavallo, a former principal at Agawam High School and a former School Committee member, was the only person to speak at the public hearing. Cavallo, who chairs the council’s School Budget Subcommittee, called it “the kids come first” budget. He said the school superintendent and her leadership team “went and looked through the budget to make sure students were a priority.”
The FY24 budget includes some additional positions that had been funded by ESSER funds that the district now will make permanent. In addition, the budget recognizes the need to focus on student learning gaps caused by the pandemic.
“You did a good job on this budget where you took your ESSER money, and you looked where there was duplication and so forth, and you helped to alleviate the increase this way. This was a good move,” said Cavallo.
He said the recommended budget shows that the School Committee and the superintendent are being proactive.
“You’re thinking ahead,” said Cavallo. “The budget decision didn’t end tonight, or when it’s approved by the council. This is an ongoing thing, because next year, the ESSER money is not going to be there as much as it is this year.”
The city councilor said after all of the problems the district had dealing with the pandemic for the past three years, schools are finally getting back to normal. He added that as he travels around the town, he’s heard from a lot of people who are “pretty happy” about what’s going on in the schools, now that the pandemic has eased and students are fully back in school.
Cavallo’s subcommittee worked with the school superintendent and the School Committee’s budget and finance subcommittee on the budget for the 2023-24 school year. Work to develop the budget began in December.
Thanking Hoffman for allowing councilors to attend the budget meetings, Cavallo assured the committee that it would pass at the City Council’s May 22 meeting.
“We are definitely going to approve your budget,” he said. “There should be no questions. It is a darn good budget.”
The FY24 budget can be viewed by residents on cable Channel 15. A copy of the approved school budget also is available to the public at the Agawam Public Library, the clerk’s office at Town Hall and the superintendent’s office at the junior high school. It’s also posted at agawamed.org.