East Longmeadow Schools Cut Six Positions to Hold FY27 Budget Increase to 3 Percent

EAST LONGMEADOW — April 27, 2026 — East Longmeadow schools propose a $38 million FY27 budget that eliminates six positions to close a $456,000 gap. The joint School Committee and Financial Oversight Committee heard Superintendent Gordon Smith present a plan that holds the town funding increase to 3 percent — down from a level-services requirement of 6.24 percent, or $2,301,218 — by freezing professional development reimbursements for 650 union members ($130,000 saved), cutting personalized learning software ($51,000), rolling over $150,000 in school choice funds, expanding school choice by 25 slots, and prepaying $225,000 in vocational tuition to the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative. A late-March notification that Title I federal funding will be cut by at least $23,000 pushed the remaining deficit to $456,368, requiring the elimination of positions at Meadowbrook, Mountain View, Maple Shade, and East Longmeadow High School — including a health office clerical role that drew public pushback from ELHS nurse Tia Mazza, who reported 530 health-office visits in March alone and described the $38,000 salary as roughly 0.001 percent of the district's proposed budget. The town's budget process is not expected to conclude until May; Smith warned the committee that any appropriation below 3 percent would force additional cuts.