School Committee Votes 4-0 to Submit 6.24 Percent Budget Increase Request

EAST LONGMEADOW -- February 9, 2026, East Longmeadow School Committee votes to seek a 6.24 percent budget increase but braces for a $370,000 shortfall. The four-member committee voted 4-0 Monday to submit a level-services budget request of approximately $2.3 million above current spending, while acknowledging the town is expected to fund only about 3.2 percent, leaving a gap that Superintendent of Schools Gordon Smith said could reach $400,000 when factoring in rising Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative insurance costs. Assistant Superintendent for Business Emily Blair said strategies under consideration include freezing an $80,000 curriculum-renewal line, pausing $650 per-employee professional-development reimbursements, and adding up to 25 school choice students above the current 501. Special Education Director Jennifer Sullivan disclosed that 34 out-of-district student placements cost the district roughly $5 million last year in tuition and transportation combined, driving a multi-year plan to build in-district programming. The committee also unanimously adopted a free, state-created sixth- and seventh-grade social studies curriculum, Investigating History, to replace expiring TCI History Alive licenses.