Northampton’s public schools are deeply impacted by the fundamental flaws in the state’s school funding formula.
This is not new news, but our community’s recent conversations about teachers’ salaries has underscored the deep challenge it presents us. The good news is that we have legislators — Sen. Jo Comerford and Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa — who have very publicly committed to changing it. We need to support them in this effort.
Unfortunately, a false narrative has been created around the conversation about teachers’ salaries — one that suggests an “us versus them” dynamic, “them” being our mayor, our city councilors and our school committee members.
The creation of this false narrative has resulted in very upsetting ad hominem attacks and relentless and unproductive badgering, sometimes driven by misinformation, and in my mind, always driven by misdirected anger.
These people are our neighbors, our friends, the parents of our kiddos’ friends. They are also people who work incredibly hard for our city and our schools (way harder than I acknowledge that I am willing to work) and who care deeply about our teachers, schools and community.
I care deeply about our teachers and our public school community, and I demonstrate this by spending a fair amount of my free time writing grants to support our schools, and by involving myself in Bridge Street School’s wonderful and vibrant PTO.
I trust our mayor, our city councilors and our school committee members. I trust that they are working extremely hard to support our teachers to the extent possible within our fiscal constraints, which are undeniable.
Northampton is a special community that prides itself on respectful dialogue free of vitriol and suspicion. In this conversation, we need to do better.
Jennifer Dieringer
Northampton