Chicopee School Committee approves $139.4M budget for FY27

The School Committee discusses the proposed FY27 for the Chicopee Public Schools before approving it during its June 1 meeting.
Photo credit: ChicopeeTV

CHICOPEE — The School Committee approved an approximately $139.4 million fiscal year 2027 budget during its June 1 meeting, an increase from $136.7 in FY26.

The committee hosted its FY27 budget public hearing during its meeting on June 1. Chicopee Public Schools Budget and Finance Director John Miarecki joined the meeting to give a presentation on the proposed budget.

According to Miarecki, budget drivers include salary increases, transportation and special education needs.

Salaries take up around 75% of the budget, or $106 million, and another $35 million is allocated for expenses. The total budget is approximately $142.5 million due to other income sources.
Miarecki called the budget process a journey and one that has been taking place since mid-November. Over the past few months, the finance and administration team discussed the city’s state budget process, the Chapter 70 foundation budget, the city’s contribution and the decrease in student enrollment that affected the budget financially.

While no one lost their jobs, Miarecki said five positions were eliminated because they haven’t been filled for years.

Chapter 70 funding increased by approximately $1.1 million from FY26 to FY27. The total Chapter 70 funding Chicopee will receive from the state is approximately $101.4 million.

The foundation budget increased by only $169,648. At a previous meeting, Miarecki discussed a situation that Chicopee and “270 other districts across the state” are facing.

For FY27, the number of low-income students decreased by 217 students. This caused the low-income percentage to drop to 69.34%, which is below the group 11 minimum threshold of 70%. This moved Chicopee into low-income group 10, and the difference is about $1,071 per student.
According to Miarecki’s previous presentation, $5 million will not be coming to Chicopee because the city went under the 70% threshold when the low-income classification was reevaluated.

City costs decreased from FY26 to FY27, according to Miarecki, who explained that the decrease occurred because the municipal retirement cost went down by $3.3 million.

Miarecki also explained that his team has decided not to allocate School Choice funds for FY27, and they are expected to have a balance of about $1.42 million for next year.

There will be $3.1 million Circuit Breaker funds allocated to the budget in FY27, and approximately $1.4 million left in the account after the allocation.

The FY27 budget includes approximately $8.4 million from the Education Stabilization fund, which means there will be around $65,598 left in that fund.

School Committee member Deanna Rousseau said the allocation helps create a fully funded and balanced budget. However, referring to the Education Stabilization fund, she added, “that might not necessarily always be there, so I think a lot of hard work went into this, but there will have to be continued eyes on expenses as they continue to grow and also be adjusted to meet the needs of our school system.”

Rousseau, who also serves on the Finance and Budget Subcommittee, talked about the final budget proposal after four separate budget workshops shaped it.

“I appreciate all of the needs-based efforts that went into going school by school, line by line to make sure we’re addressing the needs of our city,” Rousseau stated. “There were also positions added to the district to meet the needs of the ever-changing environment.”

Over the last few years, the district has implemented a more “needs-based” budget by prioritizing data-informed allocation of resources and a focus on managing the whole, which allows for all aspects of the district to be goal-aligned and move together in an equitable, mission-focused manner, according to leaders.

For example, School Committee member Jason Dout pointed out that every elementary school in the district will feature more guidance and social work. “I think that that’s a great thing because that comes kind of full circle at meeting our families where they are and understanding family and community engagement, and the efforts we’re putting in that, and then understanding that if we’re opening those doors for communication, that we’re hopefully starting those difficult conversations about the work that needs to be done with our students.”

The School Committee unanimously approved the FY27 school budget. The budget will be presented to the City Council at a future meeting in June along with the overall city budget.