NORTHAMPTON — Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget would preserve current Northampton Public Schools staffing and services, but school officials said this week that roughly 40 desired positions would remain unfunded.
That information, presented by Superintendent Portia Bonner to the City Council at the first of several budget hearings this week, prompted many questions from councilors as they began to dig into next year’s budget.
The positions are part of a $56.3 million “strong budget” approved by the School Committee in April and include additional science teachers, special education staff, student support personnel and expanded after-school programming. Bonner said the mayor’s proposed spending plan provides funding for level services but falls short of supporting those priorities.
Sciarra’s proposed budget allocates about $47 million to NPS for next fiscal year — an increase of $2.96 million, or 6.79%, from the current year. A strong budget, meanwhile, would mean the city’s contribution to the schools would amount to about $53.3 million.
“The strong budget emphasizes a direct investment in instruction, targets support for diverse student populations, new after-school programming, and addresses the growing social-emotional needs of students, while also aiming to improve core academic areas and safety level services,” Bonner explained. “The city-targeted [budget] prioritizes the continuity of essential operations, while adjusting for the moderate, modern realities of inflation and mandated student needs.”
While outlining the district’s priority positions, School Committee Vice Chair Alena Bartoli acknowledged the size of the committee’s request and asked councilors to find “creative” funding solutions to support additional staff, if possible.
Bartoli explained that John F. Kennedy Middle School needs a new science teacher, Northampton High School needs a dean of students, primarily to address behaviors taking place in its bathrooms, and all three elementary schools need of an extra special education teacher.
“We know that on the surface it appears that the money is not there,” Bartoli said. “At the same time, we’re hoping that we can all be creative and find the money that we need, so that we can really give our students support beyond the stability of the level-services budget.”
Councilors then took turns asking Bartoli, Bonner, Business Administrator Roberta “Bobbie” Jones and Sciarra questions about the school budget.
When City Council Vice President Deborah Klemer asked Sciarra how she funded the additional $565,000 needed for a level-service school budget, the mayor said she largely maintained personnel budgets across city departments while trimming operations and maintenance spending. The reductions came from departments including the Assessor’s Office, Human Resources, Planning and Sustainability, Dispatch and Fire Rescue.
“With all of that that I just named, we are still needing to use $1.9 million from the Fiscal Stability Stabilization Fund to balance the budget,” the mayor said.
Klemer asked Bonner about NPS’ request to fund approximately 40 new positions and whether those positions would become more expensive in future years if funded. Bonner confirmed that the positions would likely become pricier in future years due to contractual obligations. The superintendent added that with enrollment expected to continue declining over the next decade, future reductions might be necessary.
“It’s a recurring cost, so you would have to think about those positions … it is a constant cost that would always be added to your budget,” Bonner said. “Thinking about consolidation, or thinking about long-term solutions and what that’s going to look like —Eventually, you’re going to be at a point where you cannot sustain a budget, and so then it comes back to … a reduction in force.”
Bonner added that the district prioritizes experience and high quality instruction over cost when it hires educators.
“When we hire, we want the best. We want the most qualified, so we’re never going to downplay getting something less just to have a cost savings,” Bonner said “On occasion, we might get a new teacher who’s fresh out of school, or maybe someone who has one or two years in experience, but that’s rarity.”
Ward 5 City Councilor Aline Davis asked Bonner about the future of the city’s after-care program under the proposed FY27 budget. The superintendent explained that NPS currently has a revolving fund to manage and maintain that programming, which the district is working to avoid depleting that money.
Further discussing the school district’s revolving account for after-school programming, Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Stratton asked how much funding it would take to ensure that those programs remain open, should the account be depleted.
“We hope [the fund] becomes self-sustaining. The recommendation was to start small by starting one program at a time,” Bonner said, estimating that it would cost roughly $200,000 to keep all the school programs open. “The concern is that we are going to deplete those funds, without restoring them.”
Wednesday evening’s hearing also featured discussions over the city’s IT Department and Department of Health and Human Services.
Councilors are expected to hear budget presentations from the Fire and Police Departments, Department of Public Works, Central Services Police Department and Central Services/Climate Action and Project Administration (CAPA) at the next Council budget hearing scheduled for June 2.
