Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Including Pelham in Redistricting

Question: 
Why isn't Pelham Elementary School considered in terms of redistricting?

Pelham Elementary School actually belongs to the Pelham School District. Although Pelham School District is overseen by the same superintendent as the Amherst School District and the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, it is recognized by the Commonwealth as a completely autonomous school district consisting of the one elementary school.

Freeze on Current Year Spending (Region)

Question: 
Since the Amherst Bulletin has reported that "Surplus cash fills budget hole," does that mean budgets district-wide will be unfrozen?



High School Schedule Change

Question: 
What, if any, is the financial benefit of moving to a semester system at the High School rather than the trimester system?

The financial benefit is derived from reducing the staff, not from the specific schedule, assuming the number of courses students take is the same in a trimester or a semester schedule. 

Grant Availability for Critical Languages

Question: 
Is anyone looking into grant availability to fund world language classes (particularly languages such as Arabic, Chinese and Russian that are classified as “critical languages” by the federal government)?

We are waiting for the government’s Request for Proposals before seeking a grant to support our Critical Languages.   Arabic, Russian, and Chinese are designated critical by the federal government because there is a critical shortage of people with skills in these languages to fulfill government needs.

School Bus Fees

Question: 
Is there any financial benefit to charging for students to ride the bus?

The possibility of charging a sliding scale fee for transportation has been studied closely at both the elementary and secondary levels. The state of Massachusetts requires districts to provide free transportation to students who do not live within 1.5 miles of their school. After extensive research—accounting for factors such as the number of students who live within the 1.5 mi

Budget Timeline

Question: 
What is the anticipated timeline to determine the final budget? When can we expect definitive information on the Governor’s budget and the federal stimulus package?

As of March 10, 2009, we do not know how much of this federal relief will be flowing to the Amherst Schools, but we are hoping to hear within the next two weeks.

Revenue Increases

Question: 
What options are there for closing the budget gap through revenue increase rather than through cuts

 

Elementary Budget Subsidizing Regional Budget

Question: 
Can the Amherst elementary budget subsidize the Regional budget?

No. However, if a position or positions or if services by Amherst are provided to the Region, it is possible for the Region and for Amherst to share costs. 

Curriculum Director Cut

Question: 
Why is the Central Office position of Curriculum Director being cut when it has been represented to the superintendent finalist as a position he will be able to fill?

This year there are two positions supporting curriculum and development; a K-12 Curriculum Administrator and a Director of Curriculum and Professional Development. Both positions were designed as interim, one-year positions that are paid by Amherst and Region. The higher paying Director position was initially recommended as a cut to help support all the district cuts. At this tim

Professional Development

Question: 
What part of the new professional development plan will be cut if the proposed reductions are made to professional development?

The budget for professional development has been carefully scrutinized to identify those items that are absolutely necessary to support the newly negotiated evaluation and development plan. The mentoring program will continue as will support for RBT training. Because we are anticipating fewer new staff next year, we have made adjustments in our projected costs to account for less requ

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