Town Government
School Committee & Superintendent
The Superintendent
E. Xiomara Herman
One educator answers for nearly every public school in Amherst. E. Xiomara Herman has been superintendent since July 2024, when she came to western Massachusetts from St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, where she had led a district of roughly 5,200 students. In Amherst she runs three districts at once: the town elementary schools, the Amherst-Pelham Regional middle and high school, and the union that joins them. She proposes their budgets, sets academic priorities, and answers to the elected committees that hire her. The superintendent is hired by and reports to the School Committee, not the Town Manager.
| Role | Superintendent of Schools |
|---|---|
| In office | Since July 2024 |
| District office | 170 Chestnut Street, Amherst, MA 01002 |
| Phone | 413-362-1810 |
| Website | arps.org |
The School Committee
Amherst is unusual: it has two elected school committees, because it has two school districts. The five-member Amherst School Committee, listed below, is chosen by Amherst voters and sets the budget and policy for the town’s own elementary schools, from preschool through sixth grade. The middle school and Amherst Regional High School are run by a separate and larger body, the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, whose seats are shared among the four towns, Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury, that send their students there. Both committees share the same superintendent.
Deb Leonard
Bridget Hynes
Laura Jane Hunter
Sarah Marshall
Andrew Hart
The Regional District at a Glance
- Enrollment: about 1,183 students in grades 7 through 12.
- High school: Amherst Regional High School, serving four towns.
- Graduation rate: about 92.6% for the most recent reported cohort.
- State data: DESE profile (code 06050000).
Meetings & Participation
- When: the committees meet in the evening, and agendas are posted on the district website.
- Public comment: residents may address the committee. Check the agenda for sign-up details.
- Watch: meetings are carried on Amherst Media and available on demand.
- Subcommittees: much of the detailed work on budget, policy, and facilities happens in subcommittees.
Sources
Amherst school committee (amherstma.gov). Verified July 2026.
Amherst school committee coverage (theamherstcurrent.org). Verified July 2026.
What this seat decides
Your schools
School Committee. Start times, the school calendar, bus routes and stops, the phone policy, athletics and activity fees, and anything in the student handbook. It sets district policy, and the total size of the school budget is voted by Town Meeting, or by your Mayor and Council in a city.
Your principal and your superintendent. The principal for how a school rule works day to day in your building. The superintendent for how the whole district runs. The School Committee hires exactly one employee, the superintendent, so a question about any other staff member goes to the district, not to the board.
Curious how a bill becomes law, or how students can take on a civics project?