NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The McCann Technical School Committee approved the fiscal year 2026 budget of $12,653,337, which increased 4.63 percent over fiscal year 2025.

 

After a brief review Thursday, the school committee unanimously approved the budget, which increased $560,451 over fiscal year 2025.

 

"We don’t step back; we don’t stand still," said Superintendent James Brosnan.

 

Adams representative Daniel Maloney Jr. said the main drivers of the increase are mostly out of the school’s control, specifically health insurance and contracted salary increases.

 

"This continues with the tradition that there is not a lot we have control of," he said. "There are so many fixed costs in just about everything…Jim [Brosnan] has done a great job preparing what we have and making something we can live with."

 

Health Insurance increased in total from $1,684,118 to $1,837,378, but this was expected.

 

Berkshire Health Group, of which McCann is a part, instituted a 16 percent increase on health insurance costs for employees in the 25 towns and six regional school districts within the group.

 

"That increase represents 29 percent of our total budget increase from fiscal year 25 to fiscal year 26," Williamstown representative David Westall said. "So, for this budget to be a total of only 4.63 percent higher than last year is amazing. It's outstanding."

 

Contracted salaries increased from $5,544,983 to $5,872,488.

 

Maloney also noted that a general decline in enrollment has contributed to the increase.

 

"I know Jim and everyone are making an effort to make sure we maintain our enrollment, but there's a slight dip in enrollment, which is a cycle," he said. "We see this from time to time. It did affect some of the numbers on the income side of the budget."

 

Total enrollment has gone from 553 to 529 students with the more significant drops in Adams,143 to 132 students, and North Adams, 163 to 150 students. Lanesborough also saw a drop from 31 to 20 students. There was a general shuffling among other towns.

 

But Principal Justin Kratz reported that they are expecting a larger Freshman class of 140 to help level things out.

Overall numbers show slight increases with Chapter 70 increased slightly from $7,034,602 to $7,070,377. This is an increase of $35,775.

 

Transportation funding increased from $380,612 to $420,664, representing a $40,052 increase.

"That is good, and it really has been increasing so that has helped us," Brosnan said.

 

Tuition revenue jumped from $314,979 in FY25 to $564,732 in FY26. This is an increase of $249,753. Brosan acknowledged the increase appears larger, but noted it remains lower than previous years.

 

"What I had to do was increase the amount of money, but if you look at fiscal year 22 we had close to $750,000," he said.

 

The Municipal Minimum Assessment increased from $3,905,500 to $4,022,649, an increase of $117,149. This number is based on enrollment and is calculated by the state.

 

The over minimum municipal assessment increased from $270,589 to $412,188, representing a $141,599 increase. Brosnan said the school makes a point to keep this number low for the member towns.

 

"We have seen this increase going up a little,…and I think that is just being good stewards," he said. "We keep the over the minimum number low over those years when the state money is coming in. Our goal is always get more of the state money."

 

Other revenue increased from $15,743 to $29,922, an increase of $14,179.

 

There were some decreases in overall numbers. The transportation assessment decreased from $155,756 to $132,805, a decrease of $22,951, and the capital assessment decreased from $18,260 to $15,105, a decrease of $3,155.

The school committee went through the actual budget. There was a general discussion on increases in testing and assessment, which jumped from $35,270 to $54,130.

 

Brosnan said students simply have more needs and the school must accommodate.

 

"It's no secret, everybody here is well aware of what students' needs are, but also, we have to reevaluate IEPs [Individualized Education Program]," he said. " …We are responsible to have that piece. The more students you have, the more on IEPs, the more expensive."

 

He said as the country emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these costs were supplemented by Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, but this funding is now gone.

 

Brosnan did ask for $14,000 to budget for oil, although the school has not burned oil in 20 years. He said one of the natural gas burners is currently down and needs to be repaired. Although both burners will be replaced, he wanted to have some oil in the tank in case of emergencies.

 

Other line items were level funded or slightly decreased or increased.

 

The budget will not go out to all member town’s for approval.

 

In other business, the school committee approved increases to the district’s post secondary program fees that have not been altered in 12 to 15 years, said Brosnan.

 

The most substantial change was for the Practical Nursing program, rising from $3,500 to $6,000. For out-of-district students, the tuition would jump from $7,000 to $9,500.

 

Other programs, including Cosmetology, Dental Assisting, and Medical Assisting, would see more modest increases. In-district tuition for these programs is proposed to rise from $1,500 to $2,000. Out-of-district students in these programs would see a similar increase, with tuition going from $3,000 to $3,500.