Stop blaming the frontline
As a Northampton public school educator, I am writing about the mayor and the ongoing, contentious budget debates. While I support Picture Main Street, I found the NASE president’s public opposition — driven by school budget frustration — deeply troubling, as it highlights how fractured our community has become.
Messaging matters. Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra has the power to steer this conversation, and I urge her to stop framing school budgets as a sacrifice required by other city departments. This is a false dichotomy.
The real issue is the structural, nationwide failure to fund mandated special education (IDEA). When Congress forces local taxpayers to fill a huge funding gap (87% of special education costs), that is a failure of federal policy, not a failing of the Northampton school budget.
Teachers are underpaid, overworked, and exhausted. Rather than portraying school funding as a drag on city resources, I ask that the mayor name and advocate for the system we need. Please stop scapegoating the people doing the work on the frontlines.
Toni Doherty
Northampton