Hoping to restore jobs lost last year on top of fully-funding the district, school committee members in Northampton, Massachusetts, have approved a so-called “strong budget” – one the mayor says even increasing city revenues couldn’t cover.
Once again, communities across Hampshire County and much of western Massachusetts are dealing with budget gaps and deficits that could mean cuts, big and small, for schools.
And once again, the school committee in Northampton has recommended a budget that attempts to avoid cuts – and even add positions.
In a meeting carried by Northampton Open Media, committee members passed a “strong” budget proposal Thursday night, recommending the city spend $46.6 million dollars on Northampton Public Schools – a 13.24 percent increase over last year for the 2,500-student district.
It would translate to NPS adding jobs, like reading and math interventionists at five schools and paraeducators at four – the kinds of roles on the chopping block last year when the final budget resulted in about 20 jobs being cut or reduced to keep the city’s spending plan balanced.
Later appropriations would allow NPS to restore some of those jobs, but with education expenses still rising, state aid not keeping pace, and other factors, a budget season similar to last year’s has returned.
Citing how the city has experienced surplus revenue and unspent budget dollars in the recent past, Ward 4 Committee Member Michael Stein was among those advocating for the strong budget.
“We have to find ways to meet these needs, and I think it's possible within the fiscal constraints, by reimagining policies, by reimagining budgets - and I would ask, what other areas in the budget are more important than serving poor children?” Stein said.
Three budget options came before the committee this year – the strong budget, as well as a level-services budget coming in around $44.3 million.
There was also the “City’s Fiscal Target” budget, endorsed by the mayor. The $42.6 million proposal would increase NPS funding by 4 percent, but lead to staff reductions similar to last year’s in pursuit of a required balanced city budget.
It’s a fate strong budget advocates like Leeds Elementary Principal Chris Wenz want to avoid – given some of the effects it had on interventionists alone.
“At Leeds last year, 24 students received math intervention in grades 1-3, while this year, due to cuts last year, no students are receiving intervention,” the principal said during public comment. “Through the appropriations, we hired two math tutors who will provide services to 27 students in grades 1-5: eight weeks is not sufficient time to close the gaps in skills for most students.
Erica Caron, a Hatfield resident and educator at JFK Middle School, called out the mayor for supporting a proposal Caron says only adds more strain on a system still feeling the pain of last year’s budget.
“The 4 percent budget increase endorsed by Mayor Sciarra is offensive to all stakeholders in this school district, cutting another 20 positions district-wide when we have pleaded, time and time again, month-after-month, to get back the positions that we've lost, to make the public aware of the struggles in our building as a direct result of the budget cuts last year,” Caron said. “[It] is insulting to educators, parents and students alike. To continually expect us to work harder with less and less in a time where things cost more and more is not only inappropriate, it's untenable.”
2024’s budget talks ultimately saw the Northampton School Committee recommend what was considered a level-services budget of $42.8 million, with Sciarra abstaining.
However, in Northampton, it’s ultimately the mayor and city council that decide on the budget – featuring the mayor submitting her budget proposal and the council weighing in, voting on amendments and, ultimately, passing some form of spending plan.
Last year’s NPS budget ended up being $40.7 million.
Throughout that process, as well as this year, Sciarra has stressed that drawing from various city sources to cover school system deficits that seem to only be growing is unsustainable.
On top of that, she says, there’s the prospect of a recession, ongoing union contract negotiations in the city and the fact that even if much of the city’s increased revenue was used for schools – it still wouldn’t cover the largest budget proposal, the mayor says.
“The entirety of increased revenue for the city is a little bit over $4 million: that doesn't even cover the strong budget - it's short by over $1.2 million, and it leaves nothing for fixed increases like health insurance $1.4 million … or state assessments like charter, sending and school choice sending, not to mention anything else for any other city department … so to be able to balance the budget, which we legally have to, it would require a $6 million override for FY 26 which begins July 1,” the mayor estimated.
Sciarra pledged that her upcoming budget, to be released next month, would “provide every possible dollar” for Northampton Public Schools, but that they would have to be “sustainable dollars.”
She was one of two “no” votes as the committee passed the strong budget.
