Gill-Montague School Committee approves warrants, hears $27.5 million budget proposal

GILL — January 10, 2023 — Gill-Montague School Committee heard a $27.5 million preliminary fiscal year 2024 budget and a three-year regionalization study update at its January 10 meeting. Business Manager Joanne presented the proposed budget, which reflects a 4.88 percent increase over the current year and relies on roughly $1 million in ESSER pandemic relief funds supporting 13 staff positions set to expire after fiscal year 2025; the committee must vote a final budget by March 14 following a public hearing February 14. Six Town Regionalization Planning Board Chair Alan Genovese and Vice Chair Greg Snedeker walked the committee through enrollment data showing Pioneer Valley Regional's attending enrollment has declined 42 percent over the past decade against Gill-Montague's 17 percent decline, while financial analyst Mike Naughton cautioned that a combined district would likely see "little or no financial savings." Committee member Christina pushed back on the presentation's framing, saying the board had not adequately confronted "all the risks, all the cons, all the potential problems," a critique Naughton himself largely agreed with, acknowledging consultants came in "with a bias in favor of regionalization." The board recently secured $125,000 in new grant funding to support 18 months of community outreach before any formal recommendation is made to the six participating towns.