As members of the Northampton School Committee, we are in unanimous support of the Proposition 2½ override ballot question on March 3. Please join us in voting yes on this important question.
A yes outcome will allow us to maintain a level-service budget for the Northampton public schools, while a no outcome will require us to make projected cuts of $600,000 from our school budget beginning next year. The following year, an additional $780,000 would need to be cut, and another $1.7 million in the year after that, to keep up with rising fixed costs and insufficient state funding.
We wish our city were not in a position of having to ask community members, many of whom are struggling to get by financially, to commit more in the way of taxes. As a School Committee, we are committed to working with our state and federal representatives to change the way our schools and city are funded. In the meantime, passing the override is our best option.
Our educational system must ensure that Northampton’s children are college and career ready, as well as prepared to be engaged citizens in an ever more complex society. Each year, and largely without additional time or resources, our educators find creative ways to teach academic subjects to students from all income levels, backgrounds, and with all types of learning needs, while simultaneously supporting our students’ social and emotional journeys to adulthood.
Yet, we are still recovering from devastating cuts from the last time the district was faced with large budget deficits. Even with an override, we won’t be able to afford librarians in all schools, physical education classes for most high school students, robust music and arts programs, transportation systems that enable all students to participate in after-school activities, and more.
A failed override will necessitate additional cuts, including the elimination of teacher positions, increased class sizes, a decrease in essential services and course offerings, and more. And once programs are cut, it’s very difficult to bring them back.
Please vote yes on March 3 so we can continue to provide a quality education for all of our students!
Northampton
School Committee
This letter was signed by Mayor David Narkewicz, Susan Voss and Roni Gold, at large; Rebecca Busansky, Ward 1; Laura Fallon, Ward 2; Emily Serafy-Cox, Ward 3; Sean Condon, Ward 4; Dina Levi, Ward 5; Lonnie Kaufman, Ward 6 and Kaia Goleman, Ward 7.