WEST SPRINGFIELD — Budget season is in full force in West Springfield. On April 2, the School Committee approved a $58.1 million school budget for fiscal year 2026, a $1.7 million increase from FY25.
Adam Tarquini, West Springfield schools’ chief financial officer, told the committee during a March 11 preliminary hearing that around $870,000 of the increase is due to salaries, but that number could change because teachers, paraprofessionals and nurses are currently in negotiations for contracts.
Other proposed increases in the budget include $400,000 to special education out of district tuition, $340,000 to transportation and $120,000 to instructional technology.
According to Tarquini’s presentation, approximately $46.5 million of the proposed FY26 budget constitutes salaries.
“Eighty percent of our budget is comprised of salaries, and that’s pretty consistent among all towns and school districts,” Tarquini said on March 11. “Salaries obviously drive a proportion of the budget as schools drive a proportion of towns’ budget.”
Meanwhile, the $400,000 increase in special education out of district tuition is due to a revamp of the special education department, according to Tarquini.
“We’re currently going through programs and doing what we can to see if there are students in special education places that we can bring back to our schools,” he said. “We also need to make sure we have those programs in place in order to do that.”
The vote for the school budget was unanimous and with little discussion. Mayor William Reichelt abstained and said that the school budget is the only budget in the town that is not level funded, which means it is not the same dollar amount as FY25.
Now that the committee has approved the FY26 budget, Reichelt said he will review it and see how it will fit within the town’s overall budget. According to a recent press release posted on West Springfield’s website, Reichelt must submit his general operating budget to the Town Council by May 1, in accordance with the Home Rule Charter.
The Town Council will begin considering both the capital and operating budgets in May, with public hearings generally in June.
“Just being mindful of sustainability of our school department without having to make significant cuts or closures as we move forward and also being mindful of what that does to the overall budget and the overall taxpayer and making sure that the community can maintain good education, but also affordability for the taxpayer,” Reichelt said during the April 2 School Committee meeting after the vote.
