District overview
Frontier Regional School District
How Frontier Regional is funded by four towns, what it spends per student, and what's changing for students this year.
How does a four-town regional district pay for one school?
Frontier Regional is a single 7-12 school governed by one 11-member School Committee elected across four towns. The state's Chapter 70 formula sets a foundation budget and pays part of it; member towns must cover the rest, split according to a five-year rolling average of how many of each town's students attend. Because Deerfield has by far the most students, it pays the largest share (about 47% for FY27); Whately pays the least (about 11%). When district costs rise faster than the towns' state-required minimum contributions, as they did this year, towns feel it as a bigger year-over-year assessment increase, and that increase is not the same for every town.
One committee, four towns
An 11-member School Committee governs the single 7-12 school; Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland, and Whately each send elected members.
The cost-share formula moves every year
Each town's share of the budget is recalculated from a five-year average of its resident students at Frontier; for FY27 that was Conway 15.97%, Deerfield 46.89%, Sunderland 26.11%, Whately 11.02%.
Health insurance is the single biggest cost driver right now
A budgeted 20% health-insurance increase for FY27 turned out to be 12.48% once the district's insurance trust set final rates, which freed up money the committee used to lower town assessments instead of restoring cut positions.
The district also serves school-choice students from outside the four towns
About 183 school-choice students are projected for FY27, alongside 423 resident students; school-choice tuition revenue is separate from the town-funded general budget and pays for things like the parking lot project.
This isn't a story of a uniquely struggling district. Rising health insurance and retirement costs are squeezing school budgets across Massachusetts this year, and Frontier's final FY27 budget vote was unanimous even though members had disagreed earlier about exactly which positions to cut.
Where the district stands
Calculated from the two adopted/prior-year dollar figures above; the committee's own documents cite a related but not identical 3.94% figure for an earlier, larger draft of the reduced budget.
Covers the general fund plus revolving funds and grants, divided across resident and school-choice students; this is a draft-budget figure, not recalculated for the final adopted budget.
Down from 429 in FY25 and 428 in FY24; school-choice students (about 183 projected for FY27) are counted separately.
Came in well below the 20% the district had budgeted as a placeholder.
Major projects
2026-27 (FY27) operating budget
Committee-adopted; pending town votesThe committee adopted a $13,761,875 general fund budget, 3.6% over FY26, after a public hearing where 14 speakers, mostly opposing a librarian cut, spoke on $300,000 in proposed position reductions. The committee kept the cuts and used unexpected health-insurance savings to lower town assessments instead.
- First level-service draft: $14,225,092, up 7.12%
- Committee advances a reduced budget with $300,000 in position cuts to public hearing
- Public hearing draws strong opposition to cutting the librarian; committee votes 9-1 to keep the cuts and use insurance savings for town tax relief instead
- Committee adopts a $13,761,875 budget, 3.6% over FY26, unanimously
Funding
State Chapter 70 aid (about 22% of the general fund) plus assessments on Conway, Deerfield, Sunderland, and Whately
Parking lot replacement
Contract awarded; construction not yet scheduled in public recordA parking lot project in planning since 2018 was estimated at roughly $1.1 million as of late 2025. The committee awarded the construction contract to Taylor Davis Landscape Company for $613,560, well under that estimate.
- Capital Subcommittee estimate reaches about $1.1 million
- Committee votes to move forward with the bidding process
- Contract awarded to Taylor Davis Landscape Company for $613,560, with authorization for up to $400,000 in change orders
Funding
School Choice revenue, not a new town tax assessment
International student trips policy (Policy JJH)
Second reading scheduled; outcome not yet publicA proposed policy would stop the district from sponsoring international student trips, instead letting teachers organize them as private citizens outside district liability, citing cost, safety, and equity concerns raised at peer districts.
- First reading presented, citing two other Massachusetts districts that have stopped approving international trips
- Second-reading vote scheduled on the posted agenda; approved minutes confirming the outcome were not yet published as of this collection
Funding
Not applicable; this is a liability and oversight policy change, not a funded program
2025-2030 District Strategic Plan
Adopted; implementation underwayThe committee adopted a five-year strategic plan built around a new "Portrait of a Graduate" set of goals. Staff are now forming Professional Learning Communities to put those goals into practice in classrooms.
- First reading of the plan presented
- Plan adopted 10-0
- Faculty engagement with Portrait of a Graduate goals reported; Professional Learning Communities being formed
Funding
No separate funding identified in the public record; implemented within existing staff time
Built from a chronological review of every document the district's official Google Drive School Committee folders published for the trailing 12 months, plus one additional April 2025 meeting captured due to a filename date-parsing quirk. Figures below are tied to specific collected agendas, minutes, and budget presentations.
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