Budget season rolls on at the Frontier Regional and Union 38 school districts, with Sunderland, Deerfield and Conway elementary schools recently sharing their fiscal year 2026 budget proposals.

Sunderland Elementary School

Administrators presented Sunderland Elementary School’s $3.59 million budget proposal Tuesday evening, which represents a 3.71%, or $128,626, increase over the current fiscal year due to general wage increases of $46,626 and a new instructional assistant position to the tune of $30,000. The district is also requesting $8,000 for building maintenance, repairs and general supplies.

Director of Business Administration Shelley Poreda said the elementary school had previously discussed a higher budget request, but with Sunderland facing some “financial hardships this year,” the district determined it could merge its two small fourth grade classrooms into a class of 21 students to reduce a teacher position, which was lost due to attrition anyway.

“After looking at the class composition and knowing some factors about staffing, we could reduce the fourth grade, which was two sections,” Poreda said. “This year, it’s a perfect opportunity, knowing we have a chance to reduce a teaching position without having to let someone go.”

While the school was able to reduce a teaching position, it is required to add an instructional assistant to address an Individual Education Program (IEP) for a student requiring one-on-one support. The school is unable to shuffle around current instructional assistants, as no students currently receiving one-on-one support have left the school.

Poreda noted 83% of the budget is dedicated to staff wages, while 79% of expenses are related directly to instruction/teaching and learning.

In the context of the last several budget cycles, the FY26 budget proposal falls in the middle. In order from FY20, the budget increase requests were 13.62%, 0%, 2.75%, 3.59%, 6.63% and 5.05%. The 0% request represents FY21, in which the district presented level-funded budgets at all schools due to the pandemic.

“Historically, Sunderland has had the most change in their percentage points from year to year for various reasons,” Poreda said. “We’ve added staff positions, we’ve had other revolving fund issues.”

On top of the budget, the school is also required to pay $60,000 in sick leave buyback, but that will be a separate warrant article at Sunderland’s Town Meeting.

The Sunderland Elementary School Committee will vote on the presented budget at its March 27 meeting. Sunderland’s Annual Town Meeting is slated for April 25.

Deerfield Elementary School

Poreda also presented Deerfield Elementary School’s proposed FY26 budget on March 5.

The school is requesting an approximately $5.5 million general budget, which is a $160,238, or 3%, increase, over the current year. The proposed budget is strictly a level-services budget, with growth coming from wage increases only.

In total, 79% of expenses are related to teaching and learning staff, Poreda said.

Deerfield Elementary is also contending with declining enrollment in both its resident student and School Choice populations. The school had 386 students in 2020 and currently enrolls 301. Projected enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is 286 students.

“Over the past several budget cycles, the School Committee has made personnel changes to accommodate this enrollment loss, reducing from three sections to two in many grade levels,” the school’s budget narrative states. Only sixth grade is planned to have three sections next school year due to the large class size, which is expected to have 58 students.

School Choice revenue is also expected to decrease, as the number of students choosing to attend Deerfield Elementary from other districts has decreased since 2022. When families use School Choice to bring their kids to a school outside their home district, the school they are attending receives $5,000, plus any additional special education claims

In the past, Deerfield Elementary School has used its School Choice revenue to fund nine instructional assistants’ salaries and wages that amount to approximately $250,000, out-of-district tuition and special education transportation. It has also been used to offset capital project costs, such as heat pump installations and playground renovations.

With a level-service budget requested for the upcoming fiscal year, Deerfield Elementary is continuing its trend of steady budget increases. From FY20 to FY25, budget increase requests were 2.4%, 0%, 2.31%, 3.09%, 3.26% and 4.65%.

The Deerfield Elementary School Committee will vote on the FY26 budget during its March 25 meeting and voters will decide on the matter at Deerfield’s Annual Town Meeting on April 28.

Conway Grammar School

Wrapping up the elementary schools’ budget hearings Thursday evening was Conway Grammar School, which is putting forward an FY26 budget request of approximately $2.33 million.

It is a level-service budget representing a 5.25%, or $115,977, increase over FY25 driven by wage increases, the cessation of $30,000 in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) money and $27,000 in non-wage increases, which includes stipends, software and utilities, according to Poreda.

She acknowledged the request is fairly large for Conway, as it is the largest request in the last six budget cycles, but the town is seeing savings from Frontier Regional School, where the community’s assessment plummeted this year, and Franklin County Technical School.

“We know the town is seeing some savings in the education department from Frontier and from Tech, so hopefully the 5.25% increase — I haven’t heard otherwise, at least — is not an issue,” Poreda said. “If it were a typical budget year, we’d probably be talking about making different decisions.”

Enrollment has continued to steadily rise at Conway Grammar School, too, with the school growing from 133 to 152 students since 2020. Many of those students, though, are School Choice students, who make up 43% of the total enrollment at the school.

As is the case with the other elementary schools in the district, much of the funding goes directly to teaching and learning, which accounts for 74% of expenses.

“As our budget should be: needs-based, student-centered,” Poreda said. “Instruction pops out as the primary driver.”

The Conway School Committee will vote on the proposed budget on March 27, and Conway residents will wrap up the Frontier Regional and Union 38 school districts’ budget process at the June 7 Annual Town Meeting.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.