Holyoke schools’ projected FY27 budget reflects a $2.6 million gap

Interim Superintendent Anthony Soto talks about the projected FY27 school budget at the March 9 School Committee meeting.
Photo credit: Holyoke Media

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Public Schools face a $2.6 million budget gap, according to a presentation that was shared with the School Committee on March 9 by interim Superintendent Anthony Soto.

School Committee member Devin Sheehan, who serves on the Finance and Operations Subcommittee, shared that the subcommittee has met a few times since January to discuss the ficsal year 2027 budget projections and timeline.

The initial projections presented a preliminary budget gap of $2.6 million. Sheehan said the subcommittee is currently working with the administration to address the gap.

The preliminary budget gap is driven by anticipated increases in salaries, tuition, health insurance and potentially expiring grants.

Soto’s presentation to the School Committee included key points, budget drivers, Holyoke Public Schools’ five-year budget projection and a timeline for the budget process this year.

Based on the presentation, a FY27 key point is that there is a high level of uncertainty around grant funding, unsettled contracts and availability of other funding sources to cover increases.

Soto talked about the expiring grants, explaining, “I’ve been saying this for a few years now that we have had the benefit of additional federal funding that we had through pandemic relief and ESSER [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund] funding for a few years, and the state has been implementing the Student Opportunity Act over the course of six years.”

Next year is the last year Holyoke will see implementation of the Student Opportunity Act, according to Soto.

Soto also talked about upcoming changes to Title I funding. He said that after meeting with the Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education last week, the department is expecting a 10% cut in Title I funding. The state is recommending that all districts, until they come out with the actual entitlements, budget for a 15% cut, which would amount to $800,000 for HPS.

Soto said he and his team will take a close look at Title I and what the impact would be.

The interim superintendent also noted that future budgets will be impacted by flat revenue, rising costs and a decline in enrollment.

“After next year and future years, what you will see is that our revenue is primarily driven by student enrollment and whatever the state uses for inflation, so it’s going to look a lot like it did prior to the pandemic, where revenue is flat and expenses continue to rise. We’re in a position where every year, we end up having to make some difficult decisions,” he said.

Sheehan highlighted a 5% increase in transportation as a budget driver. “That’s because of rate increases from our providers,” he explained.

Based on the budget timeline, the Holyoke School Department will continue to meet with each chief/department about their budgets and engage in a collaborative development process with school leaders and district leaders.

The plan is to present each department’s budget in April. Soto is scheduled to finalize the budget proposal in May and present it to the full School Committee.

The School Committee will host a public hearing and vote on the FY27 budget in June, and then the City Council will eventually review and vote on the full budget.