NORTHAMPTON — A 6-foot-tall cedar sign may soon be installed outside Bridge Street School.
The Ward 3 Neighborhood Association is raising money for a school sign they hope to install by September.
The group also plans to honor Gerald “Jerry” Budgar — a lifelong city resident who died in Janurary 2019 — with a community board that can hold messages and with a nameplate commemorating Jerry near the school’s playground.
“He was an advocate for the ward, for the city, for the schools,” said Deb Henson, president of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association. “Jerry would love to have something nice for the school.”
Budgar was passionate about Ward 3. “He thought of Ward 3 as its own country,” then-City Council President Ryan O’Donnell said last year.
The group’s goal is to raise $8,000 for both the sign and community board. So far, they’ve raised nearly $4,000 in donations — including a donation from the Bridge Street School’s outgoing fifth grade class.
“We hope the installations will be part of a community rebirth after this year’s pandemic,” reads a letter about the fundraiser from the group.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.