Sheffield regional school panel delays budget vote a week
School Committee · Meeting of March 17, 2026
Sheffield's regional school board delays FY27 budget vote by a week amid data gaps. The Southern Berkshire Regional School District School Committee, chaired by Julie, split 4-5 against a motion to convene finance committee members, consultants TMS and Open Architects, and Superintendent Brian Ricca to reconcile figures before an April 30 assessment deadline for the district's five towns. Member Kim warned the panel was being asked to accept an 18 percent assessment jump "with not all the information there," versus a typical 2 to 3 percent annual increase.
On an 8-1 vote, the board postponed budget adoption to March 26, with the finance committee to recommend numbers March 24. Resident Sarah Sickett said a former superintendent's transition stipend, at $827.70 a day for 30 days, totaled $24,831, "more than what some of our paraprofessionals make... in an entire school year." Officials said $1.1 million sits uncertified in the district's excess-and-deficiency account.
In the full story:
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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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