Easthampton School Committee approves $922,603 budget cut after override passes

EASTHAMPTON — June 16, 2026 — Easthampton School Committee votes to cut $922,603 from its FY27 budget even as the community celebrates a successful operating override. The committee voted 6-0-1 Monday to amend the level-service budget it had approved in March, with committee member Eric Stein abstaining because a family member is employed by the district. Superintendent Michelle Boulch said the override reduced the required cut from roughly $2.77 million to $922,603, with $713,509.50 coming from personnel — enough to eliminate between five and six positions — while preserving athletics, after-school clubs, and a planned middle school curriculum overhaul adding world language, STEAM, band, chorus, and new civics and digital literacy courses. The committee also unanimously renewed the district's food service contract with Chartwells for a fourth year and accepted $44,307.26 in We the People program donations. Chair Salem Derby was blunt about school choice as a revenue fix: "That is not on the table for this fiscal year."