Hoosac Valley subcommittee finalizes FY2026 budget plan with proposed staff reductions and special-education funding shifts

At a March 4, 2025 meeting of the Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee Audit & Evaluation Sub-Committee, Superintendent Aaron Dean presented the subcommittee with the final FY2026 budget and detailed recommended reductions and funding shifts to balance the plan.

Dean reviewed line-by-line changes in projected expenditures, highlighting several key increases and decreases: employee health insurance up $275,000 (12.5%), retiree health and life insurance up $175,000 (16.3%), a decrease in special education instruction ($(145,348), -5.0%), and a $300,000 (100%) increase in special-education tuition to other districts. School building operations were listed down $(85,156) (-6.1%), and technology spending was up $36,654 (7.4%). The minutes record these line items as presented with no change from the prior meeting.

To meet budget targets, Dean presented a set of potential staffing changes the district would recommend to the School Committee. Those included proposed reductions or reassignments of 1.0 FTE positions for a special-education teacher, an elementary classroom teacher, a middle-school exploratory teacher, a middle-school RISE teacher and a high-school ACE teacher; additional proposed cuts or reassignments included four paraprofessional FTEs, a secondary-level Student Assistance Coordinator (SAC), a high-school reset coordinator, and a secondary-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). The minutes note that some positions were proposed to be moved to Rural Aid funding, and that math intervention would be moved to Title I.

The superintendent recommended specific alternative uses of one-time or restricted revenue to address out-of-district (OOD) tuition and severe-needs programming: applying $275,000 from Circuit Breaker funds to OOD tuition, applying $500,000 from school choice to OOD tuition, and applying $215,000 from school choice for severe-needs programming. Committee members discussed those proposals and, according to the minutes, expressed concern that their member towns might push back on the overall increase; despite that concern, the group reached consensus that the reductions and revenue recommendations were required to meet the budget numbers and were comfortable moving the plan forward to the full School Committee.

To reduce reliance on expensive OOD placements, the subcommittee reviewed recommended partnerships and program options the district has explored or is pursuing. The minutes list Walker Education; Behavioral health Integrated Resources for Children (BIRCh) Center; Partnership for Advancement of School Service Providers; New England Center for Children; and One8 Foundation (PLTW and applied learning curricula) as potential partners intended to bolster in-district capacity for severe-needs students and, over time, reduce out-of-district tuitions.

During other business, members asked about the insurance increases and the fiscal impact; the minutes note a 16% increase was discussed and report an impact figure written as $493,484. The committee also revisited out-of-district special-education costs and asked how the district might mitigate them; the minutes state the district is investing in a partnership with the New England Center for Children to strengthen programming and reduce future tuitions.

A procedural motion to approve the minutes of Feb. 11, 2025 passed by unanimous approval (mover: Robert Tetlow; second: Erin Milne). The subcommittee adjourned at 8:30 p.m.