School Committee Approves Six Items, Debates Budget Say
School Committee · Meeting of September 22, 2026
Belchertown School Committee presses town on who sets the real school budget number. Vice Chair Hope Guardenier ran the meeting in Chair Heidi Gutekenst's absence, and the committee unanimously designated Gutekenst sole signatory for school warrants and accepted a $5,000 Playful Engineers grant for Chestnut Hill Community School. Members spent much of the meeting debriefing a joint "tri-board" session with the Select Board and Finance Committee, raising concern that new town financial policy language could let a Finance Committee-recommended number reach town meeting voters without clarifying it differs from the school committee's own approved figure, citing Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 34.
Members also said schools were excluded from discussion of a $340,896 surplus the town identified for appropriation, breaking from a historic 70-30 split practice. Superintendent Brian Cameron separately previewed a banner-advertising program for athletic fields, 60 spots at $1,000 a year, to get a second read next meeting.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,332 words
Source: the School Committee meeting of September 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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