GREENFIELD — School Committee members voted 4-2 to provide a resolution to City Council requesting that $350,000 be added to the School Department’s fiscal year 2026 budget as Mayor Ginny Desorgher maintains her commitment to a conservative budget amid rising insurance costs and uncertain state and federal funding.

According to School Committee Chair Glenn Johnson-Mussad, the additional $350,000 would bring the district closer to level-services funding next school year.

The city’s proposed FY26 budget, which allocates $23.7 million to the School Department, will be put to a City Council vote next week. The mayor’s budget reflects a roughly $1.89 million decrease from the School Department’s FY26 asking budget.

“As a committee, I find it unsettling that we would be considering that,” Desorgher, who also holds a seat on the School Committee, said of the resolution Tuesday night. “We are in a very precarious situation as a city. … I don’t think it’s the best thing for our schools, because I don’t think it’s necessary and I don’t think it’s the best thing for the city.”

The resolution was brought forward during a special School Committee meeting attended by City Council President Lora Wondolowski, who had, in advance of the meeting, gathered questions from city councilors about the district’s FY26 budget for the committee to answer.

Responding to the council’s request to hear the total budget increase that would be needed for the committee to maintain level services, Johnson-Mussad responded that the department would need an additional $1.28 million over the mayor’s proposed budget.

When School Committee Vice President Stacey Sexton, discussing the resolution, asked Johnson-Mussad why the committee did not request the full amount needed to maintain level services, he responded that the $350,000 request showed a “good faith effort” from the district to “meet City Council halfway.”

Johnson-Mussad also responded to City Council’s previous concerns that the district’s budget was too “top-heavy,” prioritizing administrative positions over pupil services, by stating that the district averages 3.4 administrative positions per school, compared to Palmer and Gardner’s seven administrators per school and Holbrook’s 5.5 administrators per school.

“Greenfield, if anything, has lower levels of administration than similar districts,” Johnson-Mussad said. “The superintendent has discussed …. just how much the state asks of us in terms of administration, how much administration it really takes to educate students well and to meet the demands of the Department of Education.”

According to state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data, Greenfield’s per-student administrative costs in fiscal year 2024 averaged $1,017, exceeding that of Palmer, which spent $860 on administration per pupil. Meanwhile, Holbrook and Gardner spent $647 and $536 per pupil on administration, respectively.

Desorgher, speaking on the resolution, noted that the city is at risk of its bond rating decreasing as it works to pay off $65 million in debt. She also noted the School Department has under-used its revolving accounts, which have grown significantly year-over-year. She said the School Department has used less than half of what was anticipated to be spent in its revolving account this fiscal year and last, while the department’s revolving accounts grew from $2.5 million to $5.2 million.

“To paint a scenario that is not based on what has actually occurred and be asking for something without actually looking at the overall view of the city is concerning,” Desorgher said. “I would tell my children this: ‘Before asking somebody else for a loan, [look] at where you are.’”

Desorgher and School Committee member Melodie Goodwin both voted against the resolution.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.