Public education is under attack across the commonwealth and the entire country. Simultaneously, the practice and goal of democracy is under attack and being diminished daily. Those threats are linked.
Public education is a bedrock of democracy. If the community and the country want to promote the practice of democracy and the skills necessary to do so, public education is a fundamental requirement. The threat to adequately funding public schools undermines the capacities that support the pursuit of democracy.
For Northampton, the threats to the ability to adequately fund the Northampton Public Schools are myriad. But they are not insurmountable.
The federal funding challenges include: the near dissolution of the Department of Education, declining grants to support students with disabilities, and the promotion of vouchers and “options” for school choice.
The state funding challenges include: funding formulas; unfunded mandates, the biggest of which is charter schools; the unfulfilled promise of the Fair Share tax to support school operating budgets; and the limits of Proposition 2½.
Municipalities in Massachusetts and across the country face the same problem — how can our public schools be adequately funded?
In Massachusetts — the news is replete with stories of threatened staff and service cuts to schools, as well as initial planning for and discussions about 2½ overrides.
Northampton has the opportunity to fill in the funding gaps and to be a municipal leader.
The city is in the fortunate position of having financial resources from its robust revenue generation capabilities — residential and commercial property, as well as the local revenue generated by its attractive, thriving community and culture.
It’s time to recommit to the importance and priority of the community responsibility to educate all its students, acknowledge the fundamental importance of public education, and prepare them for the ongoing defense of democracy. Fully fund the schools. Strongly. Northampton can do it and should.
Tom Riddell
Northampton