SOUTH HADLEY, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - A public budget hearing was held in South Hadley Wednesday evening, as town leaders discussed and voted on the town’s fiscal year 2027 budget plan.

Town officials said South Hadley is facing a multi-million-dollar budget deficit with major cuts potentially hitting the town’s library, the senior center, and especially the school district if a tax override is not passed in April.

Ahead of the hearing, we spoke with the town administrator and the school superintendent. They told Western Mass News there’s no easy option, but their priority is doing what’s best for the community, and for students, “ideally, we would love to fund the school with a 4 percent increase at least to make sure that we can keep up with inflation we have to cover health insurance costs, right now a balance budget is looking more like two percent, so there’s some difficult decisions that have to be made,” said Administrator Lisa Wong.

“It really is about what is best for our students and what they need to make sure they have the education that they need,” said Jennifer Voyik, the Superintendent of South Hadley Schools

Residents also spoke out during tonight’s meeting, some said they’re unhappy with how the town has handled the deficit, and argued other solutions should have been explored before asking voters for a tax override, “a more responsible would have been to consider a smaller short-term option to stabilize the upcoming school year while engaging the community in longer meaningful dialogue and long-term planning. Right now, the community is divided, and people aren’t willing to support schools, their worried about sustainability,” said resident Georgia Malcom.

Ultimately, committee members voted to pass a $27.5 million budget for the schools’ fiscal year 2027 budget. Residents will vote on April 14th on whether or not to pass the tax override in town.

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