Belchertown, Massachusetts
The Belchertown Schools by the Numbers
A snapshot of one single-town district that educates about 1,965 students. Detailed figures come from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
District Snapshot
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, school and district profiles.
High needs is a state count, not a score. It includes every student who is from a low income household, learning English, or receiving special education services, and counts each one only once. The median across all 396 Massachusetts districts is 46.7 percent.
District Overview
| District | Belchertown |
| Enrollment | 1,965 |
| High school | Belchertown High |
| Graduation rate | 89.7% |
Student Population
For the precise current breakdown, see the DESE district profile.
| English learners | 3.1% |
| First language not English | 2.5% |
| Students with disabilities | 21.4% |
| Low income | 22.4% |
| Per-pupil spending (in-district) | $17,886.42 |
| Per-pupil spending (total) | $17,838.71 |
Academic Performance & Context
Belchertown’s four-year graduation rate was 89.7%, against a state figure of 89.3%. MCAS results, graduation rates and accountability data are published and updated each year by DESE. Because these change annually, this guide links to the live state profile rather than reprinting numbers that quickly go stale.
One number here is a civics fact rather than an education one. Per-pupil spending is not set in this building or by the Superintendent. It is voted at Town Meeting, in the same room, on the same night, by the same registered voters who vote everything else, and the town publishes the count for every article. On May 11, 2026 the school department line, article 8D, asked for $36,281,955 and passed 133 to 58, the largest single appropriation on the warrant and the closest vote of the night among the budget articles.
The year before, that money needed a second room. A Proposition 2 1/2 override for fiscal 2026 went to the ballot on May 19, 2025 and carried 2,146 to 2,126. Two residents petitioned for a recount, and on June 11 the Board of Registrars re-counted every one of the 4,284 ballots by hand, moved a single blank in Precinct B into the no column, and certified everything else exactly as it stood. Final margin: 19 votes. That is what a Massachusetts school budget can turn on, and it is why the Daily Hampshire Gazette was able to report in September 2025 that the School Committee had voted to close Cold Spring School as of June 30, 2026, with Superintendent Brian Cameron putting the saving at about $568,500 a year. The arithmetic of a school district is decided by people in rooms you can enter.
Sources
MA DESE, Belchertown Student Profile (code 00240000). Town Meeting figures: Town of Belchertown Annual Town Meeting vote summary, May 11, 2026. Override figures: Town Clerk’s certified Annual Town Election results, May 19, 2025, and the Board of Registrars’ recount minutes of June 11, 2025. Cold Spring School: Daily Hampshire Gazette, September 10, 2025.