Okay, we need both. I I think you need I think you need to have your priorities, and then you need have Rob have to say what his priorities are, cuz he is the admin. He is the person that really should be deciding, but if you want to point him in a direction, I think we need to be I don't think the numbers the math is mathing for Yeah, and but then again, if if the decision with admin is that the ELA coach at the elementary school is more monumental than other things, then maybe taking the 0.2 away from the nurse can give 0.2 to the >> I think we've heard from the admin that the ELA is monumental. It was it was a No, we heard from the entire administration team by putting it under the priority one number, and then we discussed it on March 10th as a school committee priority.
So, it felt like because we didn't understand it, maybe it wasn't happening, which sounds like we were just wrong. I was wrong. Um So, I I think I am in support of budget number three, which I know is not what I said before, but after having this conversation and hearing some more information, which I am really glad that we have been able to have such a long conversation about all of this. That feels like the the best the best budget to me and that $10,000, what I'm understanding, sounds like a placeholder and not necessarily a final number. So, could potentially be $4,000 less. But a placeholder and a maximum. A placeholder at the max. Right, that's how that's being presented max placeholder. So So, may I ask you a question? Sure. So, I'm confused now because you said you feel like registration and school choice ought to stay where they are, right?
On March 10th, right, but they didn't know we were cutting things from their standard. >> they did. What? Well, we should Well, no, we did know that they were cutting because you even said that the order of cuts in the past You didn't know the number of cuts, right? Or specifically what they were going to cut. So, let's So, let us let's talk to Rob. I'm being respectful to Rob, not putting him on the spot. He's not making this decision in isolation, right? He's talking to his staff, he's getting input from his teachers, and making the decisions about what what what he needs to look at in terms of of the adjustment counselors and the paras as well, too. So, that's a conversation he's going to have. Let us work with this. Let us work with the conversation with Boylston with Boylston, and we can get back to you in the next couple days.
And yet budget three has that in it. Yes, but that is for Amherst to continue doing that registration. That's Amherst. So, it stays where But it it now Pelham is now paying for it as we should have been. All right. That's how I That's how I see that. It's It's a service that we And we ask for $35,000 in free cash from the town. And and 1.25 1.25 >> of that 1.25 we pay the additional Amherst school expense. Yes. Because it increases our base budget. So, next year So, we don't have to have someone say to us when we're building our FY28 budget, you figured it out last year without any more money from the town, do it again. Because I feel like that could be a real Yeah. conversation and I don't want to set a precedent that says we'll do it ourselves. Right?
We can schedule a school committee meeting on Friday, right? We can pull that off, um and not Friday afternoon, I know I wouldn't do that to you on on the volunteer schedule you guys are happy. Maybe a new time, and we can get that out there, make the final decisions, but the number of voting line will be that number. We just got some play with the ELA coach, nurse, para, and adjustment counselor. Yes. All right. That work for everybody? Yeah. Mhm. Even adjustment counselor 0.6, that would be three days of the week, hypothetically. >> I think that's what we're going to look at. It might not be able to So, we can't bring them all back, right? Cuz the math doesn't work to Beth's point. But let us have some conversation. And by the way, our our admin team is willing to have any conversations, but they also want to be respectful to have the process they have to go through talking to their staffs as well, too.
Like we are educating all of our students and children, we should you know, we do a good job. Let's help support doing a good job. I um I also would support three because I think it is kind of splitting the difference. I think we are in fact we have to pay more for these registration services one way or the other and so we are accounting for that. But we're also not saying and we want you to pay the full freight of the second charter student. The one thing I would hope could happen is that if it turns out that we don't end up paying that $10,000 we end up paying closer to like the 6800 that that difference could be applied to like using less of our school choice money. Okay. I mean that would be a decision that would be made later. I mean yeah.
So, I don't want you to think by being quiet they're just waiting to No, and I don't feel like if if the collective feels the ELA coach would be more effective at the ES, I don't want them to feel like they have to get rid of that for there's others. So, like I want the educators to make the decisions, >> Yeah, um and thoughtful decisions, right? So, you have some time As it always is, but I you know, you're operating under the assumption that those were non-negotiable. We were We were thinking that that's what you wanted on top on top of that as well. We also haven't really discussed it, but we got multiple emails today. Um some from educators at the school, and we heard from multiple educators here tonight that were in favor in favor of the [clears throat] adjustment counselor over the reading specialist.
But I mean like if we ask the school for the town for the whole amount and the town says, "Yeah, you can have the whole amount." Then we're not giving them back the money if it costs less than 10,000, but we could end up like pulling less from our school choice. >> Right. If the board wanted to say I was wrong. No, you're fine. So on budget three on the idea of keeping it or moving it to Pelham, the registration and how we tell that or keeping it at a district office my perception would be that like if I'm going to have my hip replaced, I'm going to go to someone who does it 70 times a year and not someone who does it 20 times a year. So, I think that if we house it in Pelham, the person's going to be registering someone 20 times a year, where if we move it to the district office or keep it at the district office, they're going to be doing it 100 times a year.
>> they're in favor of I assume I assume I didn't hear anyone offer what they something in lieu of. So, I don't want to like jump that far ahead of it. And what I don't want to do, and I'm being respectful to you guys about it, I don't want to start all of us getting a million emails We're supporting the adjustment counselor. No, we're supporting the kindergarten paras. Cuz that doesn't put us in in It's a even more difficult decision, right? If it's not These are all tough cuts we have to make, but we have to make something that that are are in the best interest of our our kids. And this is being voted in the hypothetical assumption that we're going to be working towards a two and a half probably all right for fiscal year after this, and hopefully reinstating Getting back what's been lost.
Um so, I I don't think it's because I don't think Pelham can do the work. I think it was just smarter to have it fall underneath someone who does it a lot more often. So, they get better at the process. Um so, I don't think it's a reflection of of Pelham not being able to do it. I think it it it just makes more sense to have someone do it more often, which is why we have a bigger central office and why we have shared services is it gets done. I wouldn't say better, but I think better anyway. It's you know, you get stuff done better. >> over effect to you like >> So, I'm in favor of budget three. I guess I want to ask You we had maybe this was Shannon or maybe it was Dr. Z, I can't remember, but our request for the town to pull the 35,000 out of free cash.
And and Christine's [clears throat] message is right. There's this whole message that felt there were people saying it's never going to pass, it's not going to pass. I heard it here, I heard it at the the town meetings. We have to change that mindset. Like there's a reason why we have to do this work to make sure it does pass. Yeah, I mean, two years ago it did, right? We got the support, and we pushed the limit for that the towns gave us. The landscape is changing. Like it's >> absolutely is. There was a motion that failed in Boylston last year, so this would not be the year I feel that it will very very pass, but perhaps next year would, you know. >> And we have to look at all these priorities these principals and directors put in. All of them should be in place if we want to be a competitive school district where new families are looking at us and going through Aaron's last slides, they'll all right, and they're deciding what where they want to move to.
How was that request presented? Because we I heard tonight that that request may not be honored or might be honored. So, how is there a possibility for us to present budget three, but or to pass it budget three, but also ask for 70,000 in a separate request. And could those be are those two different warrant items or one can be voted up and one can be voted down? So, you're asking you're saying we could ask the town for two different things. We could either ask them we could ask them for 35 and then we could also ask them for 70. Well, I just I don't understand how we're asking If I don't understand how the request for free cash gets made because in all these other budgets, it's assumed that they're going to pay the 35,000. And if we don't like how are we actually putting that request in versus the 70,000?
It really is based on where how well the schools are doing. We know that, right? The majority of you moved here because of the school system that you're in. My oldest is doing that as we speak, right? He's He's looking at a home. The next conversation will be, "What's the school district like, Dad?" Right? So, that's what we do. So, we have to make sure our school districts are being successful. Agreed. All right. Uh so, this is a budget vote, so we'll do a roll call vote. Uh Lisa? Uh wait, is there Do we were we going to amend the motion, or we're just We're going to vote the number. >> We're voting the number. Do you want to change the number? And you don't want to change the number. But what about having a meeting on Friday? All right. Should we Do we need to put that in the motion is the question.
I'm just asking for process. So last year, and I'll just hand it over to Shannon, it happened, you know, we consult with the town and the finance committee around different things. And so one of the things that comes up is the cost for um charter. Shannon, you want to explain? Yeah, so so last year we just voted the total bottom line budget with the understanding that I had the conversation with um people from the town and and hey, could do you think you could cover this from charter? They said yes, we built it into the budget, we voted the budget, they see the sheet. But it wasn't formally written out in specific language. And this is the first time in a few years in '26 that we had to budget for charter. So did our budget that we voted last year, did it the budget that we approved, did it have the town paying for the 35,000 within the budget?
I don't think we need to put that in the budget motion. They know what's going to happen. We know what's going to happen. >> [clears throat] >> For purposes of the budget, we don't need to, but you know, and this school committee can acknowledge the direction separately. That's fine. It was difficult not having a meeting two weeks after when we thought we were, so that's just kind of my motivation for putting in an amendment. So, I I I I understand that it was tough. Did you just Had we had that meeting, it all would have been wasted because the number changed 15 times between then and now. Lisa's like nodding her head like crazy. Yeah, go ahead. I I think that if this is so very complicated because We didn't have numbers. We didn't actually have a number until this morning from Boylston. So, we were working on assumptions of non-reality.
26,742, yeah. So that was baked into the numbers already. That was So if you look at any of any scenario um on there in FY26, you can see exactly how it was presented, the total budget and then the budget support. Um and it was broken out just like that. >> So the town to cover charter. Yeah. Okay. And so that would be how we would request what we want to request for charter. Yeah, I guess there's the option to make it I mean, this year feels a little bit different than last year. Um so I I guess there's the option to formalize it in the voting language that you choose to use. And not just be here's we're voting the bottom line budget of 2.8 million um for FY27. It could be um moved to approve a budget of 2.8 million with XYZ coming from charter.
And I think that that is such an important thing. So, in order for us to And I And I keeps resonating. Christina said we we keep saying we can work within the budget that they're The towns are telling us what our number is. It doesn't work anymore. It does not work anymore. And that that is as plain as day. And you know what? Everybody has to feel a little pain in order for the towns to understand that we need more money. If that is what is happening, because they think that we can make do. They think we're lying, or whatever they think. But they're giving us these numbers at the very last minute, and say, "Work with it." Well, there's nothing to work with. If we don't do that, we're cutting a teacher. We're cutting a fifth grade teacher. So, then now at fifth grade, you have 33 or 35 in a class.
Oh, go ahead. I don't think we can tell someone else how to plan but it we can't hear them with the technical mumbo. Yeah. I I was going to say that and and I the the thing that I wanted to say is again what Shannon said was the 26,742 came from again in our consultations and conversations around the charter cost and and those things and it was a simple ask from the district like do you think like this is our budget? We can't push any more. Do you think you can cover this? And you know, it became a recommendation on the warrant for free cash. The same conversation um kind of happened this year. We asked, "Hey, can you cover the 70?" Like that was the push. Like the push was like, "Can you cover the 70?" We were not giving any guarantees that we could cover the 70 or not cover the 70.
Or we're we're cutting a second grade teacher. I mean, what have you? There There nothing to cut at Boylston, nothing. Or at Berlin, or at Tahanto. And really at Central, there is nothing to cut because I talk to people all the time and I'm filling out grant applications and they're saying, "So, list the members of your team." Me. This is the team. So, I I think we really have to understand that this is no longer acceptable and the towns have to understand that and it's painful. This is painful. But, it's not going to change if it's not painful because they're going to continue to think that we can make do. And it it it it's we can't. Bending ourselves into a pretzel is not going to suit our case for next year. So, be careful of how much bending you want to do right now.
We didn't go in on the 35. That's why that's why everything says this is an assumption. We went in asking, "Can you Do you think you can cover the 70?" We were not say said yes, no, I don't cuz the FinCom the whole FinCom has to vote on what that is. For us, we created you know, based on the knowledge and what we were asked to do, we created the scenarios where the assumption is there. When we send forth this budget, they'll see just like they saw last year where we have the assumption of what they may or may not cost. They may not even cover the 35. Right? Like they may say they may say, "Well, if we're if we're going to appropriate this to the full budget and looking long longevity, why is they may not do the 35? Free cash is a one-time cost and it it doesn't affect on the operating the way it does and so for me the school what I'm hearing from the school committee is we don't want to level.