NORTHAMPTON — With the School Committee poised to vote on its recommended budget for fiscal 2027 next week, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra on Friday announced that Northampton Public Schools is in line for a 6.79% increase in funding next year.
The increase is enough to fund a level-services school budget of nearly $46.6 million, and represents an increase of more than $2.96 million over fiscal year 2026 and a 5.5% increase over the mayor’s initial budget projections for next fiscal year, which she announced in January.
In recent weeks, Superintendent Portia Bonner has floated three budget proposals for fiscal year 2027: a “strong budget” that would restore and expand services across the district; the “level-services” budget that would maintain the district’s current staff and programs and add expenses for special education compliance; and a “city-targeted” budget that would eliminate all new position and expense requests, as well as keep limited programs for students.
The School Committee will review and possibly vote on Bonner’s final budget proposals on Thursday, April 9, Sciarra said. The mayor also noted that she will submit the city’s full fiscal year 2027 budget to City Council for approval at its May 15 meeting.
“Our schools are at the heart of this community, and reaching a level-services budget was a top priority,” Sciarra said in a statement announcing the funding increase. “At the same time, we have to be transparent about what can be sustained over time with the recurring revenue sources we have. This budget reflects strong support for our students and educators, along with a clear-eyed understanding of the financial pressures facing our community and others across the Commonwealth.”
Referencing estimates that new growth, or newly-taxable property within the city, will raise $875,000 in the next fiscal year, as well as plans to put forth a 2.5% tax levy increase, she wrote that she hopes the changes will generate nearly $2.9 million in new revenue.
Even with these projected tax revenue increases, Sciarra explained that the city will likely still be unable to fully fund the FY27 school budget increase. She noted that amid a projected 6.7% increase in health insurance costs, which is expected to carry a $1 million price tag to the city, as well as increases in retirement of 4.45%, or $357,393, and a $333,547 drop in state aid, the city faces budget pressure during “a time of economic uncertainty.”
“This is essentially the maximum amount of additional property tax revenue the city can generate for the upcoming fiscal year,” Sciarra said in the statement. “But this does not fully cover the level services school budget increase and leaves no new property tax revenue available to support increases in other city services.”
In addition to increasing the local revenue projections, the mayor said that over the course of March, she and Finance Director Charlene Nardi met with each department head to review operations and associated budgets, assessing needs and identifying opportunities to reduce spending where possible.
Sciarra, in an interview with the Gazette Friday, explained that the budget assessment resulted in $615,665 in cuts to non-school departments’ operational budgets. She explained that these cuts are the result of “relatively level-funded” spending plans across the other departments, which leaves room for increases in contractual line items.
The mayor said Northampton Public Schools is expected to receive the largest increase, by percentage, of all city departments this coming fiscal year.
“I really want to thank the other city departments who have really had to shave parts of their budgets,” Sciarra said. “They have had to cut out things that they know their departments need to get to the level-services budget.”
Acknowledging the tight budget year ahead, Sciarra also encouraged voters to support the city’s Fiscal Stability Plan, which can be expended to support increases in operating expenses between periodic property tax overrides.
Over the past three fiscal years, Sciarra said, the city has used $5 million in Fiscal Stability Stabilization Fund reserves to support the school district and city services, closing the gap between revenues and expenses. She stated that in FY27, $2 million or more in reserves will be required to maintain the city’s budget.
It is expected that an override referendum will be needed to fund the FY28 budget in order to avoid significant cuts to city and school services, the mayor stated.
In an effort to better navigate a challenging “economic climate,” Sciarra said that she will convene a committee to dive into the city’s present and long-term finances, as well as its structural deficit. The committee is expected to include public and elected officials, as well as community members.
