Frontier Regional Committee Advances Reduced $13.8 Million Budget to Public Hearing

School Committee · Meeting of February 10, 2026

WHATELY — Frontier Regional School Committee unanimously advances a trimmed $13.8 million budget to a March 3 public hearing. The committee accepted a $400,000 reduction from a level-service proposal that stood at $14.2 million, or 6.95 percent above fiscal year 2026, driven by a $515,000 health insurance increase that Business Manager Shelly called "certainly an anomaly for Frontier." The cuts, comprising $300,000 in salary and wage reductions affecting six to seven positions and a $100,000 application of rural aid, bring projected assessment growth down to 3.84 percent for Conway, 2.44 percent for Deerfield, 8.58 percent for Sunderland, and 2.45 percent for Whately, compared with double-digit increases under the unreduced budget. The committee also tabled a $110,000 capital assessment for a $1.1 million parking lot replacement until March, and voted 6-1 to defer that decision, with one member saying he would have approved it immediately.

State Chapter 70 aid will increase by only $35,000 against the nearly $1 million budget growth, with member towns covering roughly 75 percent of the general fund.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of February 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.