Blackstone‑Millville leaders present FY22 preliminary budget emphasizing learning recovery, one‑time grants and targeted hires

Blackstone‑Millville Regional School District leaders presented the FY22 preliminary budget at a joint meeting Jan. 27, outlining a 3.44% overall increase over FY21 and a strategy to use one‑time COVID grants and other non‑recurring funds to pay for temporary intervention positions aimed at remediating pandemic‑era learning loss.

Dr. DeFalco, who led the presentation, said the district anchored the proposal to its district improvement strategy and stressed maintaining as much in‑person learning as possible during the pandemic. "The numbers are hot off the press," Dr. DeFalco said after staff updated Cherry Sheet figures that afternoon. He highlighted that the district's high‑needs population — students who are low‑income, English learners or have disabilities — has grown from about 10% a decade ago to nearly 40% now, a shift that drives program and staffing needs.

The budget proposal targets math and literacy recovery through a package of temporary positions described as two‑year "return and recovery" hires: two elementary math interventionists (one for each elementary complex), a high‑school math interventionist, a high‑school ELA interventionist, and increases in reading specialists. Staff said much of the work would be supported by approximately $550,000 in new COVID‑19 funding the district expects to receive and by ESSER/CVRF and circuit‑breaker reimbursements spread across FY22 and FY23.

"We have served our community at no charge over 264,000 meals," Dr. DeFalco said, noting the district's expanded food‑service and community supports during the pandemic. Officials also described several grant wins: a three‑year, $100,000 middle‑school career exploration grant (about $33,000 per year) and a $75,000 grant that funded a new biomedical pathway at the high school, plus other smaller safety and technology grants.

Matt Aaronworth, the assistant superintendent, said the presentation used the day's updated state revenue estimates; he warned that charter reimbursement and transportation aid were lower than desired. He said over $1.2 million of the district's budget is already committed to school‑choice and charter tuition. Aaronworth also described prudent use of E&D (free cash) and noted a planned $50,000 initial contribution to the district's OPEB account charged to E&D rather than annual assessments to towns.

Officials described several positions removed from the proposed budget to manage cost — a 0.5 custodian, a PE/wellness position, a district social worker and a 0.5 early‑childhood coordinator — and said they would reconfigure roles where possible (for example, replacing an associate principal with a planning/teaching‑and‑learning coach at the elementary level).

During Q&A, town finance representatives pressed staff on sustainability and comparisons to nearby districts. Joe Gatchell of the Blackstone finance committee asked why per‑pupil spending appeared higher than some neighboring districts with better test scores. Dr. DeFalco and Aaronworth noted differences in demographic mix (BMR's high‑needs share is roughly 38%) and said the district has recently standardized curriculum, added instructional coaches and changed assessment metrics — including a shift to MCAS 2.0 cut scores that affected reported proficiency rates.

Officials outlined next steps: continuing to update state revenue numbers as the House and joint budget figures change, meeting with town finance boards and selectmen to review assessments, and holding a public hearing and school committee adoption in March (presentation listed a March 11 public hearing date).

Votes and motions: the meeting closed with a motion to adjourn moved by Tara Larkin and seconded by Tammy Lemieux; the committees adjourned by voice vote.

Why this matters: The FY22 plan prioritizes short‑term, targeted instructional staffing and one‑time investments in curriculum and recovery supports designed to address measurable learning gaps created or worsened by the pandemic while limiting recurring budget commitments to towns.

Sources: Presentation and discussion led in the Jan. 27 joint meeting by Dr. DeFalco, Matt Aaronworth, Jill Pilagalarani and town finance and select board members.