{"id":40,"date":"2024-06-28T00:54:58","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T00:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/?page_id=40"},"modified":"2025-04-09T02:06:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T02:06:37","slug":"community-commentary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/public-commentary\/community-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The following statements were read at public comment during School Committee and City Council meetings.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAt this point, I feel shame on our city councilors. You are supposed to represent your residents. Your residents are supposed to be your priority, not the mayor.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Parent<\/em>
City Council, 4\/3\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“As a Northampton resident and taxpayer, as well as a parent of a child who attends our public schools, it is unconscionable to me that at a time when our city has had regular annual budget surpluses (including 11.6 million dollars of excess cash last year alone, only 2 million of which would have prevented the need to cut any of the 22 staff we lost), that those responsible for allocating our tax dollars would choose to prioritize capital expenditures, climate initiatives, and stashing money in savings accounts rather than meeting the growing educational needs of our children. <\/strong>Personally, I am all for remodeling Main Street and taking steps toward carbon neutrality, but NOT when these choices come at the expense of meeting the needs of underserved children in our community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our schools are the lifeblood of this city; ensuring that we can continue to provide all of our children with equal access to a high quality education is an investment in the future of Northampton, and a concrete and essential means of protecting our fragile democracy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Resident<\/em>
City Council, 4\/3\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“This Saturday starts the week of the young child in Northampton and I want to read something from last year’s statement on the Week of the young Child<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whereas, the first years of a child\u2019s life are the most rapid brain development period and lay the foundation for all future learning, and whereas, children\u2019s cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and language development are built on each child\u2019s positive interactions with adults, peers, and their environments, and whereas high-quality early care and education help build strong developmental foundations for young children leading to positive outcomes for individual children<\/em>\u2026 I, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, encourage all members of the Northampton community to join me in supporting efforts that increase children and families\u2019 access to high-quality early childhood education, in recognizing the complex, valuable, essential, and demanding work of early childhood educators, and in celebrating the week of the young child.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the statement from the Mayor for 2024\u2019s Week of the Young Child. I hope this year\u2019s statement will shift from a 4% increase budget to a strong budget to support access to high-quality early childhood education, and I hope that the council will opt in, have the courage to opt in and support the strong budget as well. Our children deserve it, our educators deserve it, and if we\u2019re going to celebrate the Week of the Young Child, let\u2019s do it by supporting the ONE public institution that covers ALL of their needs. And that\u2019s public education.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Resident<\/em>
City Council, 4\/3\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“Our city is all over the news as a place where ableism, inequity, and hypocrisy run rampant. <\/strong>People across our state can\u2019t believe what\u2019s happening here, at so many levels. Last year, we already made cuts to education that only normally happen in places swimming in debt. Last year you were told we were facing a deficit, and this was why you had to gut the schools. Then, 11.67 million dollars magically appeared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, at the recent School Committee meeting, the Mayor told us the current moment was \u201crecessionary\u201d and so we need to destroy the school budget completely, cutting over 20 unnamed staff from a system that is already broken. You the Council, and we the Public, have no reason to believe her. I know that several of you have already come out in support of her re-election campaign. But at some point, you have to face reality. Mayor Sciarra does not have our children\u2019s interests, or our City\u2019s interests in mind. That should be crystal clear from the preferred budget that she has advanced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our children are suffering. We have been advancing a racist, ableist, anti-poor agenda, in service of non-urgent capital improvements, and a fantasy of an even more exclusionary housing market. Please find the courage to opt in, we don\u2019t need a unitary executive system. Support the Strong School budget<\/a>. Don\u2019t sell our City and our children, for a lie.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Resident<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019m here to speak about this from a different angle, actually as a researcher who does research on learning motivation and persistence, especially in the context of STEM, science, math, and STEM education. <\/strong>So, childhood and adolescence is a critical period in human brain development, in learning, and in acquiring social-emotional skills. Children who get enough time and attention from teachers at younger ages need less support later on, but if their teachers are stretched thin because of large class sizes or disruption in class, both academic learning and social-emotional learning is greatly undermined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For kids who have special needs\u2014whatever kinds of special needs, learning disabilities, English language learners, mental health needs\u2014they’re particularly vulnerable. The thing about human development is that you cannot rewind the clock. Later intervention is much more difficult, costly, and sometimes impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that’s why the midyear appropriation for the 600,000K is far better than waiting till next September. A six-month deficit in learning in an adolescent or early childhood life is a really long gap in brain development. And I\u2019ve heard teachers and principals advocate for the 600,000, but last night I heard the school superintendent advocate for less than 300,000, and that gap just doesn\u2019t make sense to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I want to tell you what I believe to be true based on the data I collected at schools nationwide. When I’ve looked at measured student learning motivation and persistence in middle schools across the country, coast to coast, the best data on student success came from students themselves and from teachers and parents. Because teachers and parents have direct, authentic relationships with students, their insights were significant predictors of how students were actually doing\u2014not higher-level administrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my advice to you is: listen to your teachers. If they say they need 600,000, that\u2019s a sufficient number of teaching staff to support their kids, give them the money. Remember, you cannot rewind the clock. You may be able to repair a street or a bridge or a roof, but you cannot repair a human brain. Give them the money.  Thank you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Resident<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“A previous speaker tonight said a couple of really surprising things.  <\/strong>She was talking about, she said she wanted to talk about context, and she told us that many, many communities in the state are having severe school problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Totally agree with that, that is right on, and I think the point of it was, hey, this is a general problem, it\u2019s not that we are unusual, but I wonder about that.  How many of the towns\u2014and I know that the towns in Massachusetts, many of them, have been having a good couple of years, investments-wise and in other ways\u2014and I wonder how many of them are making a choice to underfund the schools like Northampton is? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then I wonder when that person then… I guess that, to me, is like a fancy way of saying, hey everybody, shush, shush, don\u2019t talk about it. “See, everyone in the state is having it, right? There\u2019s nothing we can do.” And that doesn\u2019t feel like a very empowering message for citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, the speaker said that one group in the town\u2014and I guess it must rhyme with SOS\u2014and that we\u2019re harassing one person.  Now we have a mayor who creates policy. That mayor, in our strong mayor system, is the person who creates policy. That is the person. We\u2019re not a gang of toughs, kind of like abusing an old woman trying to cross the street.  I\u2019m the old woman. I\u2019m not in the gang of toughs. I would love to be, but I\u2019m not. So, we\u2019re just a bunch of nerds, basically, who are willing to work a lot and, you know, look at everything, every budget in the state, everything\u2014such boring stuff\u2014to find a way to educate the kids in this town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And finally, I want to say, many of you are going to the Resist rally, and Debbie and Rachel and I did rallies in resistance.  But aren\u2019t we resisting? Isn\u2019t it okay to resist if it\u2019s in your own town?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Middle School Parent<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ll share part of a letter I recently sent to the council: <\/strong>  Hello, we\u2019re joining many others to ask that you please use your voice and authority to send the full midyear appropriation to NPS. The need is all the more urgent given the recent failure of the DESE to block their charter school expansion and PVPA reduction in funding districts\u2014a staggering blow to our district and to several other districts in Western Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we\u2019ve all been made aware during public comment meeting after meeting, NPS educators are so stressed. We know that many are struggling hard to support our students in the ways they need and deserve, and in the case of some of our most vulnerable students, who are legally entitled to.  Our educators need help. They need more co-workers, and not just for the sake of our town’s kids, but because they, our hardworking teachers and staff, also deserve to be treated with care and compassion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After too long of not getting the relief they need, our educators are starting to quit our district altogether, as we recently saw with the resignation of three special education staff members at BSS and special education teacher Jessica Terry\u2019s announced departure from JFK. All of them provided invaluable support to our students and families, but again, they needed more help\u2014help that city leadership continues to consciously withhold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As parents of an autistic sixth grader at JFK, we are feeling increasingly anxious about both the near- and long-term impacts of remaining in a district whose leaders\u2019 actions don\u2019t reflect a commitment to meeting the needs of its special education students, who are more likely to have other marginalized identities as well, making this an equity issue, compounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We dearly want to keep our kid in our public schools, but the unwillingness to properly fund them when we have the option to do so is making this an increasingly fraught decision. We are deeply grateful to our local elected officials who have continued to advocate for the adequate resourcing of our public schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To those of you who have been reluctant\u2014not because of anxiety or fear of things getting even worse than they are now\u2014please shift gears and choose to make the compassionate and equitable decision to more fully fund our deeply hurting public schools.   We know that $600,000 is certainly not the low amount needed to get us where we need to be, but it will help us work toward sustainable, full funding for the only type of school system our country has known, one that has the power to serve all students adequately.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Middle School Parent<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“At the Curriculum Subcommittee meeting the other night, it was acknowledged that there’s a massive literacy crisis for the kids at JFK. <\/strong>You\u2019ve heard educators and many public comments say that they are rationing reading intervention at the younger grades, and many kids aren\u2019t getting the help they desperately need. Hundreds of these kids who experienced this rationing of resources from the start of the failed WINs model and got no intervention or identification in the early grades are now sitting at the middle school functionally illiterate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no resources being allocated to them, no care, concern, or plan to address these kids. They need your help. They need your action. And as I sit here, I want to thank the city council members who have actively been listening to the public comment. While I heard a prior public comment regarding villainizing the mayor, it\u2019s really disheartening to have kids\u2014my own kids\u2014who have been harmed by these budget cuts and staffing cuts, to have personally experienced the rationing of services and to be sitting behind the mayor and watching her scroll through websites and documents and not listening to any of us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Resident<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“We have a lot to cover in two minutes, so I\u2019ll start with the matter of decorum raised by Councilor Klemer at the February 20th city council meeting.<\/strong>  It is interesting, Councilor, to be chastised for perceived disrespectful behavior in council chambers, considering your support for a mayor who sends emails and browses the internet during public comment. Are you sure this is the moment you want to start setting ground rules for conduct? Why don\u2019t we start right there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I think the question of respect is an important one, so let’s stick with it for a second. It is, after all, a matter of public dignity that our schools have come under attack in this way\u2014in failing to fulfill IEPs, in stranding our ELL students, in defunding essential programs, and the consequent expansion of local charter schools. We are indeed facing a profound crisis of respect here in Northampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This crisis has many facets. It is an issue of respect when decisions on budgetary matters are made in deference to the mayor\u2019s appointed group of technocrats, without once consulting teachers, staff, and paraeducators in our public schools.  It is an issue of respect when the primary representative of the schools in these decisions is a superintendent in whom 96% of NASE members voted no confidence\u2014who advocates against their adequate funding and dares to lecture our teachers on their work attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When working people are excluded from municipal process and our public officials think their emails are more important than our lives, that is an issue of respect.  And you better believe you’re going to feel it come November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I have the floor, I would also like to address the issue of methodology. And I should note that questions of process were never once raised about the $18 million Capital Improvements program that was developed behind closed doors, as Councilor Elkins and Mayor Sciarra can certainly attest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recall that SOS originally saw an appropriation of roughly $2 million per level of services, and while some elected representatives seem to believe we should apologize for it, I am proud of our community.  We\u2019ve been clear in presenting the urgency of the situation in human terms\u2014as a crisis of democracy, racial justice, women\u2019s rights, and disability justice. We\u2019ve also told the truth about how our sky-high budget surplus has come from systematic underfunding of public services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight is yet another chance for our council to take a preliminary step in correcting its course. I urge you to vote yes on the midyear appropriation. As we all know, the struggle for respect did not start here, and it\u2019s not stopping here either.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elementary School Parent<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“I have two kids at Jackson Street, one of which is being affected by the excessive size of the second-grade class.<\/strong>  So, I would say that tonight, you are lucky to have such an easy decision to make. The indication by the school committee is clear, and the need to increase the funding of our schools is clear. You can count on the support of several volunteers in the community who are spending their free time to suggest solutions, right? With no compensation.  But also because they have no other choice, right? They need to spend their own time. We\u2019re not coming here for fun. We\u2019re taking time away from our families, right, with no compensation.  So, pretty much, I would like to ask you to please vote in favor of a $600,000 appropriation and work collaboratively to properly fund the schools and other essential services. Because it\u2019s not an us versus them, right? It takes a village to raise children. It takes a village. So, we have a village so let\u2019s work together to figure out how we can budget all the essential services together.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Resident<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019m coming to talk to you because I\u2019ve been trying to get a hold of you by email and haven\u2019t gotten any responses. <\/strong>I\u2019ve written a couple of times to a few of you who, last year in May, said that you needed more time to learn more about opting into Chapter 329, the 1987 clause that allows you to increase the amount of the budget that the mayor gives you.  I\u2019m just going to read you the letter that I sent to you in case you didn\u2019t get a chance to read it when I sent it to you twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Counselors,<\/em>
<\/em> I\u2019m writing to ask you each to please honor your statements made last May 16th, 2024, in council to review opting into Chapter 44, Section 32, by putting it on the council agenda as soon as possible. This allows you, by a 2\/3 vote, to increase the amount given to you in the budget on a budget submitted to you by the school committee. Each of you stated that you needed more time to review this option last May 2024, but months have passed. Many towns and cities in the Commonwealth have voted to opt into this legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of you told the public last year that opting in would create chaos and bad budgetary behavior for the school committee. One of you read opting in as analogous to not trusting the mayor. You all said you needed more time to study this, and I wonder what that process has been and what you have taken away from those months of inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do not believe that the council has any oversight on school committee behavior, as it is a separate branch of our government in our city. The school committee brings the council a budget that they feel is what they need to do the work of running the schools. Then, logically, the council should have the means to address that as part of a functioning democratic system. Democracy is poorly served when one official holds that sole responsibility.  You and the school committee serve as an integral part of that check and balance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for your attention to this and for bringing this to you for reconsideration. Happy to offer additional information, and I would really appreciate it if you would respond to constituents when they write to you by email.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elementary School Parent<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ve been listening to these meetings for about a year, and I wanted to state my support for the appropriation and also thank everyone who\u2019s been coming to every one of these meetings, doing public comment, and keeping track of what\u2019s going on here<\/strong>. I want to let the City Council know that while it may feel like a small group of people making demands, I can assure you that it\u2019s not a small group of people who want Northampton Public Schools to be a functional, safe place for our kids. It\u2019s just that many of us don\u2019t have the bandwidth to keep up with this saga. Kids\u2019 bedtimes are happening right now, and I just pushed a three-year-old and my kindergartener out of the room to make this comment.  So, I just want you to know there are lots of parents who can\u2019t come to these meetings, can\u2019t stay up till midnight listening to you guys debate things. We also are part of this group that wants you to fund our schools.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Northampton Resident<\/em>
City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019m publicly commenting to reiterate my support that I\u2019ve both written and publicly commented on, to have the city approve the midyear appropriation to the schools.<\/strong> I support all the comments that have already come, I\u2019m just going to repeat the three questions that I asked last night. My questions were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Which city counselor has ever run a classroom, hired a teacher, or monitored recess?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Why can\u2019t you trust our talented principals to make good staffing decisions with the funds that are available?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Lastly, why is our city dismantling its public schools?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    And those are my questions. I really hope that you can approve this midyear appropriation, that\u2019s less than half of what was originally approved by our school board.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Elementary School Parent<\/em>
    City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I’m here as a parent to express how disappointed I am in the council and your committee meeting last night. <\/strong> Councilor Elkins, you\u2019re a counselor at large, you represent me. What does being a \u201cdedicated progressive\u201d mean to you? What constitutes \u201cWorking toward a racially just and equitable Northampton\u201d, as you say on your website?  Does it mean undermining children of color like mine in our school system? Does it mean allowing English language learners little to no chance of learning how to read English because we won\u2019t use our revenue to hire enough school staff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let me offer my expertise to you. Among other things, I am an academic researcher. My scholarship has focused on institutional racism in education and policing. What I see in our schools right now is 100% clearly absolutely,  institutional racism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What do you think happens to children when we take away their opportunities for a decent education? You all may feel good about the reparations committee, but talking about the past doesn\u2019t make up for perpetrating racist harm in the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To Councillors Elkins and Moulton\u2014you all may want collaboration\u2014you say you do, but you refused to meet with the school committee group because you were mad that Mike Stein publicly criticized one of you for saying something flip and callous during an official meeting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do you not understand that it\u2019s your job to run this city?  Do you think your white feelings are more important than our children\u2019s futures?  Than my brown, disabled, son\u2019s future?  More important than the 53% of Bridge Street students who are low-income and disproportionately students of color?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Right now, you all have a chance to address deeply harmful institutional racism and ableism. To correct fiscal decisions that are incredibly harmful to poor and to immigrant children. What so-called progressive would vote against providing money for kids to learn how to read? The city paid for Ninja Turtle manhole covers! We approve medium and low priority capital projects. What are your priorities?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s not too late to turn the page. If you say you\u2019re a progressive, then please act like one and please vote like one so that our city can function.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Elementary School Parent<\/em>
    City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “My 8-year-old just told you what it was like to be in a classroom with 26 kids. <\/strong>We’ve told you the consequences of the decisions that you made at budget time last year. You set our school system on fire. We’re harming children. It’s a crisis. These children are not okay. These teachers are not okay. You set the school district on fire, and now you’re arguing about how to use the hose.  Fund the schools.  Begin to repair the damage that you caused. It’s only right.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Elementary School Parent<\/em>
    City Council, 3\/6\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I have two kids, one at JFK and one in an overcrowded second grade classroom at Jackson Street.<\/strong> I’ve talked to you before about the harm my son is shouldering because of your choices to house him in a room with 26 kids with his dyslexia.  But today, I want to focus on the budget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I’m hearing we don’t have the money now, or we have the money now, but we won’t have the money next year. But I’m confident, either way, we will have to pay by not providing reading and math support for our youngest learners. By not having reasonably sized classrooms that allow kids to learn, by not having Paras to keep the room safe, kids will fall farther and farther behind. Eventually, these kids will need evaluations because they will not be able to access this year’s curriculum.  Some kids will qualify for IEPs, and we will pay. We’re already not meeting the current IEP service grades.  Families will seek out-of-district placements, which are incredibly expensive, and we will pay. Families will sue the district for being out of compliance with their IEPs, and we will pay. Families will fight for contracted tutors because we don’t have in-house supports, and we will pay. Families will leave the public schools for the charter schools at higher rates, and we will pay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It’s not a matter of how much we will pay, but when we will pay. Paying now allows us to foster a supportive environment for the kids, the teachers, and the community. Paying later will come at a higher cost: a slow gutting of our kids, our teachers, our community, a distrust of the city’s values, and continued harm to our children. And to be clear, especially to our most vulnerable kids: our kids with learning disabilities, our poor kids, our Black kids, our Brown kids, our English-as-a-second-language kids, who already are paying such a high cost. So please, support our kids.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Elementary School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I have two kids going to Jackson Street. <\/strong>So, I have a consideration and a question. The consideration is that I tend to agree, unfortunately, with the superintendent’s assessment that now it would become more challenging to fill the positions at this point in the year.  But that’s exactly part of the reason why a large part of the community thought to avoid the cuts that went into effect in the last budget, because we knew it was going to be more difficult and more costly to rectify such a poor decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, here comes a question. I look at the numbers presented by the superintendent and the school committee. The school committee proposed, basically, on average, $241 per student across the district. I see that from the survey, the only two schools that came anywhere close to the $241 are Bridge Street and Jackson Street at $236 and $230 per student. All the other ones came significantly lower: Leeds at $195, Ryan Road at $128, and then Jackson… JFK, sorry, – and Northampton High School\u2014the middle school came in at $78 instead of $241, and the high school came in at $48 per student instead of $241. So, I’m wondering why there’s such a discrepancy between what the school committee proposed and what the needs from the schools came out to.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Elementary School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I have seen, this year, as our first year at Jackson Street School, the incredible work under such difficult circumstances that the teachers and the leadership of the school have done to make this year an incredible year for our second-grade students in particular, who have 26 children in each one of those classrooms.  <\/strong>That puts us in the bottom 1% of Massachusetts state classrooms for second grade. So, I’ve seen what they’ve done and how much they’ve accomplished under such difficult circumstances. Why wouldn’t we give them a chance to fill these positions and make it right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our kids and our teachers are suffering because of a problem that the adults, that the government, that somebody\u2014not our kids and not our teachers\u2014created.  So, why wouldn’t we be protecting them and trying to do the best for them and solving these problems by looking in other places and giving our schools a chance to try to fill these positions, to make it right, to do right by our kids?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Middle School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “There is a quote that says, “Allowing a student with a hidden disability to struggle without the support needed for success or appropriate accommodations is no different than failing to provide a ramp for a person in a wheelchair.”  <\/strong>I know that no one on the finance committee would ever deny a ramp to a child in a wheelchair, even a temporary ramp. So why do you insist on continuing to deny supports for developmentally disabled children like mine?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My son is disabled. He attends JFK. He struggled all year due to understaffing. His IEP has been violated. I filed a complaint with DESE. I’m one of many families with children who have been affected this year due to budget cuts and understaffing in our schools, particularly children with IEPs. The city has the funds to support my child and other children like him. Please do not deny him his ramp for the remainder of this school year. Ten weeks, five weeks, even one week with a ramp is better than no ramp. This is true for my beautiful son and other children like him in the district. They cannot wait for the state. They cannot wait for next year. Their brains and bodies do not have the privilege of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The city has the funds. It\u2019s a choice you’re making to either hoard them for some future potential use or provide ramps for children who need them now. So, in this month of March, which happens to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, I ask the finance committee to please choose disabled children over savings. Please choose disabled children and their civil rights over savings. Please choose children over savings. And also, listen to educators.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    High School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I have three questions, and then I have one statement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My first question is: I would really like to know which one of the counselors on the budget committee has ever run a classroom, hired a teacher, monitored a recess, or taught anyone how to read?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My second question is: Why aren’t our talented principals trusted to make good staffing decisions midyear?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My third question is: Why is the city dismantling its public schools?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And my statement is: I would like to thank all of the teachers who, every day, work their hardest for my son at the high school. I’m not going to name them, but I want to thank them. I would like you to know that despite their best work, my son’s IEP has been violated this year, even though my teachers have worked their hardest. I think you have the power to stop this, and you should use it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Northampton Resident<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I want to speak to Dr. Bonner saying that she was concerned about coming and using money now because she would need to come back for the budget later and she didn’t want to spoil that. <\/strong>It came across as if it would feel like it was greedy to ask for money in the budget or ask for money now, and she had no assurance that the money she would get now would be rolled into the money that would be awarded to her in the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And that is the discrepancy that I think is really in front of us. You, counselors and school committee members, received some projections on the budget from the Supporter Schools group about alternative ways to be able to afford to fund the schools without robbing the city, without losing essential services, without depleting our stabilization funds. And I hope you’ve had some time to look at it and think about it. We would be more than glad to have some discussions with you about it. But the bottom line is, it’s there because we’ve done the work to really think about how we can do this, how we don’t have to have a superintendent who is worried about having to come back and beg for the money to do the work she knows needs to be done in our schools.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Elementary School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I was excited to move here. I was told that the schools were really good.  <\/strong>The teachers are great.  The paras are great.  The administration in the district are a wreck.   My kids are at Bridge Street. I’ve alternately been lied to, misled, and dismissed as a parent with two children there.  My son is eight. He has an IEP.  He deserves a good future, just like all children. That’s much harder when he gets five different paras in eight days, or gets someone “permanent\u201d who’s removed without an explanation or a word after one week, or just doesn’t have anyone for half the day, three days of the week, for months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Most recently, I’m being told a para is with him on some days when there’s noone there most of the day. I’m in the middle of a DESE complaint, like many parents.  These IEP violations are expensive lawsuits waiting to happen.  I don’t blame the administrators for the most part. This is structural. When institutions are gutted, people turn on each other. Though, I think it is despicable for the mayor and the appointed head of the school district to try to lower how much money is being allocated by the school committee to schools that have been gutted. As our only Title One school, Bridge Street is hit the hardest, as so many people have said tonight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At all schools, a lack of funding hurts some students much more than others in completely predictable ways. The current set of funding choices is exactly what Northampton claims to be against: institutional racism, ableism, and violence against children. These choices of violence that the city is making – you all can start to undo at this exact moment, tonight and tomorrow.  Please vote for this allocation to save what is an imploding school system and undo the harm the city is causing to my children, other children, teachers, and families.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Northampton Resident<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “There was an op-ed in the paper this week by the guy Kevin Lake, and it was quite funny.<\/strong> It was about how Support Our Schools does nothing, but he sort of made us sound like toddlers, we give misinformation, disinformation. We don\u2019t know anything. It\u2019s like we\u2019re a bunch of drunk babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, we all kind of thought that was funny, it made us mad, and it\u2019s like, okay, do your best. But you guys have seen what Tyler Barnett did tonight, and I want to tell Kevin Lake, you know, Kevin, I wish we were like that because that sounds kind of fun\u2014being a little bit drunk and being able to do anything you want\u2014but we\u2019re not like that. We work like hell. I don\u2019t know –  these people have jobs, the people in Support Our Schools, and they have kids, and they manage to work all the time. We are meeting constantly, we\u2019re researching, and I just\u2014I\u2019m really proud of that, and I\u2019m really proud of what Tyler did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019ve been trying to get alternative budgets for months. We talked to economists, we talked to every economist professor we know, and Tyler worked with Alex, and that worked out great. Alex helped him understand the modeling, and he did it. He produced something really interesting, and I\u2019m really glad about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The other thing I want to say is that there was a comment made talking about the budget, that the budget we do now would impact the budget for years to come. But what we didn\u2019t talk about is the other entity that will be impacted for years to come by the budget that we make, and that\u2019s the kids in the school. They\u2019ve come up very little. It\u2019s always the impact of the students, and if they have their needs met, what\u2019s that going to do to the budget and our surplus? We hardly ever say, except on this side of the room and some of you, what\u2019s the impact of the budget on kids?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Northampton Resident<\/em>
    School Committee, 3\/5\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I was sitting at home watching this, and when I heard the testimony, I felt the need to come down and be in this room<\/strong>.  A year ago – I was a retired man. I had served my community someplace else for a long time, starting around the issue of public education. I\u2019m actually astounded by what\u2019s going on in this city, a city that is flush with cash but has a  leadership that is blinded by this dogma of an old plan\u2014that\u2019s what, 10 years old now, older, more than 10 years old\u2014and an absolute refusal to consider any modification, despite the fact that circumstances have changed, the needs of the children have increased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Public education is being slowly destroyed. It\u2019s a death of a thousand cuts. It\u2019s impacting children. You all know that. You all hear this. You have to be touched by what you hear going on, and yet there\u2019s no action because you\u2019re worried about this number and that number.  It\u2019s been clear to me for a long time, following this issue, that the city has bitten off way more than it can chew financially, and it\u2019s been focused on things instead of people. You\u2019ve lost focus on the basics of local government. That – what you call the fiscal stability plan, which is actually a capital spending plan in reality-  because that\u2019s where the money goes, has to be changed, and you have to prioritize people instead of things. That\u2019s the only way you will solve this problem.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    High School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I’m a parent of a child with dyslexia who receives services at the high school. I’m part of the dyslexia small committee for SEPAC<\/strong>. I’m not speaking as an officer of SEPAC but as a parent who is part of SEPAC and I’m here to support other parents who will probably be speaking tonight who have younger children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What I’d like to say is that we know – and you know – that Northampton high school is graduating kids that can’t read. And we\u2019re going to do it this year, and we\u2019re going to do it next year, and we\u2019re going to do it the year after that, and we\u2019re going to do it the year after that, unless we change the way we find kids that can\u2019t read, and the way we service the kids that can\u2019t read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This isn\u2019t about somebody else\u2019s curriculum or somebody else’s plan. When we are living among these kids – and you are on this committee and the City Council runs the city – these kids belong to you. And you\u2019re letting this happen and I’m sorry but you ran for an office that put you in that place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So as we go through the rest of this process of budgeting and talking about kids that can\u2019t read tonight, I want you to know that they have a face and they have a name and you\u2019ve met them and you’re going to keep meeting them their whole lives, and now is when we could help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I really hope that what this body does and what this city bodies do is take that to heart and remember in this process that you’re looking at these kids every day. You just don\u2019t know them and when you step up to shake their hand at graduation and they don\u2019t want to shake your hand, there\u2019s a reason why. And if you\u2019re shaking their hand and they can’t read, I think we should all be ashamed of ourselves. All I have to say.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Middle School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I\u2019d like to start with a quote \u201callowing a student with a hidden disability to struggle academically or socially, when all that\u2019s needed for success are appropriate accommodations\u2026is no different than failing to provide a ramp for a person in a wheelchair<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My son is a high needs child at JFK. He\u2019s got an incredible team who are in desperate need of more resources, as is the case for all of our special ed programming because our schools are in crisis, especially for our children with IEPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In fact the number of children in our district with IEPs surpasses the state average. Yet you cut our budget two years in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Those cuts are trauma on the brains and bodies of our children who struggle to access the curriculum, engage with their peers, and feel a sense of belonging, especially during critical developmental stages. And that trauma hits the most marginalized and vulnerable the hardest, reminding us that budget cuts are an equity issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Those cuts have also resulted in numerous IEP violations and DESE complaints. If the district invested in those metaphorical ramps, instead of cutting them, much of this could have been avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some might say a ramp would be an \u201ceasy\u201d request, a one-time cost. But when a request for mid-year hires was put forth by Councilor Maiore in January, to help temporarily mitigate<\/em> the crisis for children and staff alike, the usual suspects voted it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019d like to share some quotes from your elected officials who voted against the hires:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI spent a lot of my life managing people running businesses and I know that I would not be comfortable bringing someone on for a couple of months.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    –          Schools are not businesses. Ask the teachers what they\u2019re comfortable with. A ramp for just a couple of months is still better than no ramp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI am not in favor of hiring staff for a five month period\u2026I don\u2019t think that is a very responsible way to address the current concerns in the schools.<\/em>\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    –          Responsible to whom? And these aren\u2019t concerns, this is a crisis. I know a lot of kids who would want that ramp for five months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mayor \u2013 \u201cthere\u2019s no doubt that this would relieve stress, for now, the key point is unless we can find a way to build this into the budget and have it recur then this will become a deficit.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    –          This is about more than stress, Mayor, this is about access and inequity. It is clear that equity under the current budget is impossible. What will you do to mitigate this, now and in the future? What\u2019s the plan? And it cannot include more cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lastly, \u201cI candidly wonder about the quality of folks who would be available mid-year.<\/em>\u201d This is clearly someone who has never sat on a hiring committee for public schools. This same councilor elsewhere said that she doesn\u2019t think we have a crisis in our schools, she doesn\u2019t agree with that.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These are people who haven\u2019t stepped foot in our schools, who are not listening to our teachers and staff, and they\u2019re denying ramps for our children. There is a direct and calculated attack on public education by so-called progressives in Northampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are you going to do, school committee members, to counter this attack, especially for our children with IEPs and the staff who support them? What is the plan? And it cannot include more cuts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And to the public, as we sit by and watch public education being attacked on the national level too, remember to act locally in November and vote for those who will defend, and not continuously defund, public education in Northampton.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Elementary School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I moved here this past August. I moved to Northampton in part because I heard good things about the schools.<\/strong> I was excited to have my two children at Bridge Street. I’ve since learned the teachers are incredible, really amazing people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My son has an IEP. When we got to Bridge Street, they reduced the services he had at our previous Massachusetts school without an explanation. Why would he need a paraeducator three days a week, but not the other two days a week? They didn\u2019t seem to know either, but they pushed it through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Matt Holloway was very helpful in increasing it back to five days a week in November. So you can imagine my surprise when, last month, I found out they had been violating the IEP – a legally binding  document – every week, possibly every day of the year. They had a para with him 2 days when it was supposed to be 3, and just didn’t have anyone scheduled 30% of every week when it was 5 days. This was what the school and district had agreed was needed for him to access the curriculum. And I was lied to repeatedly by an administrator, who the teachers in the IEP meeting finally had to quietly correct. But I understand it’s a structural issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I thought this was fixed two weeks ago when they finally assigned a full time para to my son 5 days a week. But then, after one week, she was pulled back out and reassigned. With no notice or communication at all. And replaced with a rotating cast of at least 5 different people. You may know that autistic kids depend on consistency and routine – this is about as far from helpful as you can get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Suffice to say, this was only one of many ways the IEP was violated. I have a pending complaint with the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Over the last month, I joined SEPAC and have talked to my neighbors and everyone I could. I’ve learned that my son’s experience is common here. Every day, this district is failing to provide legally mandated services to dozens if not hundreds of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These are lawsuits waiting to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Why? Because the city has cut staff to the bone, and even transferred out a large chunk of the Title I money that was coming into Bridge Street, which is not at all standard (hence the temporary waivers we had to apply for).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We are bleeding more students and money to the charter schools every year. We are taking away futures from students, specifically disabled students, poor students and English language learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When we have the largest surplus of all our peer municipalities – $35.9 million – this is not just absurd. It’s choosing to devalue our children and their future. It’s choosing to move toward a downward spiral where failing schools not only bleed students but also\u2014maybe this will appeal to some of you\u2014bring down property values, which guts future revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We denied $500,000 to schools last month, but added $600,000 to the Climate Stabilization Fund, which is basically just another capital fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I hear students say they are being harmed. I hear teachers say they are being harmed. I am a parent telling you that this district is failing and harming my child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is an election year, and I want to say that underfunding our schools is not in the long term fiscally sound. Most importantly, it is institutional discrimination and violence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Elementary  School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “Over the past year, thousands of hours have been put in asking the City to fund our schools. <\/strong>We\u2019ve been writing letters, making public comments, and organizing protests. Unfortunately, the city has not been responsive to our efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Regardless, Support Our Schools has formed and will continue to advocate for children for many, many years to come. Right now, our students\u2019 IEPs are not being met. We know about some of these violations but not all. Which ones are we missing? Which students do you think are most affected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While our most vulnerable children suffer, we have spent money on pickleball courts, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sewer covers, and overspent by millions on an old building (the First Baptist Church building).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mayor, I think I can see you up there on the screen, your policies perpetuate systemic racism. Your policies and actions promote sexism as you attempt to minimize the voices of the largest group of female employees in Northampton. Your policies harm refugees, English language learners, transgender children, and children of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To any children or teen watching, if you feel unheard, forgotten, or have lost hope, please know that we care. We will continue showing up for you until you get what you need and deserve. You are worth it. There\u2019s still hope. We have an election coming up in November. Vote like your children\u2019s well-being depends on it, because it does.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    High School Parent<\/em>
    School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    “I have three children in the Northampton Public Schools. <\/strong>My oldest child is a freshman at NHS. He has an IEP. Like many residents of our town, I’ve been following the crisis in our schools since last year. Based on the numerous public comments in school committee meetings and council meetings from teachers, parents, and other members of our community, it should be apparent to all that our schools are in trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What does not seem apparent, however, is that the people with the power to do something about this crisis believe that it\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Unless you think the parents who\u2019ve spoken tonight and the parents who\u2019ve spoken during many previous public comment periods are lying, it should be clear to you there is a crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Unless you think the teachers and staff who have come forward to describe the untenable situations in our schools are lying, it should be clear to you there is a crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Unless you haven\u2019t been paying attention, unless you haven\u2019t made an effort to see what is going on in our schools –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • that our children are falling behind,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • that IEP services are not being met,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • that children in dire need of tier 2 support are falling through the cracks,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • that our students largely have not made up the ground lost during Covid,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • that our classes are too large,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • that we don\u2019t have enough paraeducators,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • that our District\u2019s reputation has taken a major hit,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • that parents of children with special needs are not getting the support they need.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Unless your eyes are not open to what is going on here to what is so painfully obvious to so many in our community, it should be clear to you that there is a crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The trouble is our elected officials don\u2019t often act like there is a school crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It is time for you to see what is so plain to so many of us. It is time to escalate this to the emergency that it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Please listen to the people that are in the school district, to the parents that are in the school district, to the teachers, to the staff, who have come bravely forward to tell you what is going on on the ground and represent their interests, our interests, our district\u2019s interests, as you were elected to do, and fight for the funds our children need to give them the education they deserve.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Middle School Parent<\/em>
      School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      “I want to share with this committee the following iReady scores for kids on IEPs from this winter. <\/strong>For all the kids in sixth grade on IEPs, 70% of them are below grade level in reading. Seventh grade at 63% and eighth grade, at 77%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I want to especially draw your attention to the eighth grade class. They went through the failed WINS model, they had the failed Lucy Caulkins and Fountas and Pinnell reading curriculums and then lost almost 2 years of school due to Covid as we stayed closed longer than most of the area school districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There are people that continue to dismiss these iReady  scores, saying the kids don\u2019t try or they aren\u2019t reliable. But why is it only the kids who do poorly are the ones who don\u2019t try? Why is it that this cohort of eighth graders has done this poorly since third grade on the AimsWeb, iReady, and MCAS?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Over and over and year after year, this cohort has told us the same exact story: 52% of the kids on IEPs in eighth grade are three or more grade levels behind in reading. They are functionally illiterate in heading into high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In what professional setting do the leaders, mayor, school committee, student services, and superintendent, get to fail 80% of the kids on IEPs. 80% and respond with nothing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      No answers, no plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Can you imagine flying in a plane and the PILOT coming over the loudspeaker and saying – hey, sorry, they cut our gasoline allotment. 80% of you have to get off the flight. That is how you treat our educators and our kids on IEPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What does it say about you as a governing body and about you as our mayor that you can fail so many kids, continue to keep cutting our resources, keep cutting educators, keep putting the educators in fail-fail situations, keep lying to parents and families while hoarding this money and throwing away the future for these kids, and still keep your job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You have been doing that, you have been doing what the Trump administration is threatening to do with federal money. You have the same exact spending approach and have had a three-year head start over Trump. Take care of the 1% and the rest get nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You have been cutting public education for three years now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You have been laying off public school employees for three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You refuse to put funding in the budget for a quality curriculum or invest in the reading interventionists to catch these kids up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Northampton has done nothing but cut resources and educators for this eighth grade class since they were in first grade. You and your supporters can continue to twist yourself into knots and justify this massive failure in your leadership as Mayor and Head of the School Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You have veered politically so far to the left that you now sit squarely and unapologetically on the right. You, this body, and the District administration, have abandoned our kids and especially and tragically, the kids on IEPs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/em>
      School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      “Tonight we have heard an incredibly powerful speak out by those people who are closest to their children- their parents, their teachers.  <\/strong>The loss of (the autism program special education teacher)<\/em> at JFK is breaking my heart. She’s just one of many, and she’s one of more, who will be people who truly care about our children, who have the expertise, people who will grow old and retire in our district, who will know our children.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Some of you who have taught and worked and lived in this district well know that huge pleasure of seeing those children as young adults making their way in the world with the competencies and capabilities that our educational system has given them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I’ve sat in your chair. I know how you feel, and I know that you care about the children who are in front of you. I also know that some of those who may be present tonight feel strongly about dollars and cents over children and I’m just going to remind you again that our job – or your job as a school committee – is to provide for the children, is to set an example for what is the best practice that will result in those children\u2013each and every one of them\u2013 leaving our system confident and capable to be the adults we will admire and who can make their way through the world.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It’s hard to follow up on what we’ve heard earlier.  You may hear other dollars and cents arguments.  Our budget is about priority, and I know you as a committee will make the right decision about recommending the funds that will support our schools and enable them to thrive against difficult times because those children are the ones who will save us in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We know it’s true.  Each kid who doesn’t make it is going to be a child who sits on our conscience forever. It’s going to be a child we could have saved.  This could be a child who becomes disengaged with learning, who chooses another way to make their way through life and who ultimately we have to support in another way as a culture and a community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I know that you can focus on this and I know that you will work together as hard as you can to recommend a budget that best supports our children in the coming years and makes our public schools thrive.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/em>
      School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      “I used to work at JFK providing special education services and have been following the movement.<\/strong> I wanted to really speak in support of providing more for these students who have disabilities, who are on IEPs, and just the kind of long-building issue kind of correlates with literacy: having evidence-based instruction, having interventionists who are well trained, who know the evidence-based programming, who have the experience, especially with very complicated cases, is very difficult to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If there\u2019s not the funding, if there isn\u2019t the resources being directed to these areas, it doesn\u2019t just affect those kids, it affects everybody. But the most vulnerable students – that\u2019s sort of a reflection of the values of the community, not necessarily the people who are going to be fine no matter what, but how these most vulnerable students and their families are treated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I work as an advocate across the state now, and there\u2019s recently a report in the Boston Globe. I filed the complaint with OEP against the State for being out of compliance with special education law in general and they were just found out of compliance in 10 areas, including child find and that\u2019s a State-wide issue that affects lots of communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I see the same sort of issues pop up all over the place, so I think there should be every effort to bring resources back to the schools, to bring the expertise back to the schools, to get those resources back in the hands of educators and in the hands of students, and get back on track.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      High School Parent<\/em>
      School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      “It\u2019s been more than a year now that I keep coming for the same reason, and it feels like I’ve been pleading into an abyss.<\/strong> It\u2019s frustrating to me that little to no active work has been done by this committee to prevent this sort of Groundhog Day version of the budget season that\u2019s looming ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      While I appreciate the efforts put forth by Members Serafy-Cox, Labounty and Stein to do more, their suggestions have fallen flat into the void.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I’ve reached out independently to some of you and heard promises and in community meetings by Member Agna and Dr. Bonner that you would push for more funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Where is this push?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You\u2019ve heard the voices of struggling students, families, educators and staff of Northampton Public Schools. You\u2019ve heard us pleading for help. Classrooms are overcrowded. Teachers and staff are spread way too thin. There are IEP violations happening. Children with supportive education needs are told they cannot get services unless they\u2019re pulled out of academic opportunities and classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This is illegal. I\u2019ll remind you again that it\u2019s a violation of full inclusion standards and least restrictive environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This city puts forth a sort of fa\u00e7ade of progressive values opening its doors to those seeking sanctuary and promising to support them, yet budget decisions and underestimates have caused harm to the students in our city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The mental health of our children and educators are in crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The constituency spoke up, rallied and lobbied against these cuts. The harms that you have heard about tonight to our students, families, educators and staff were predictable and avoidable. Teachers, staff, any City of Northampton employees, should not be made to feel like their salaries and benefits are a burden to this city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We\u2019ve tried calling you in, calling you out, and we have begged you to put something on your agenda for future budgeting to offset next year\u2019s cuts. Nothing changes. I beg you again to put this topic on your agenda in a future meeting. Some private citizens have been working hard on our own to try to come up with some budget suggestions to prevent this continual cycle of harm to our Northampton residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Please join us. I understand there are Open Meeting Law guidelines, but we can work with a couple of you at a time, just please let us help. It\u2019s maddening to watch irreversible harm happening to our children that could have been avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Would you stand by and watch your own child being hurt as onlookers do nothing, claiming it isn\u2019t really a crisis while city surpluses go up to 11?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What else do constituents in this city need to do to be heard and feel represented?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary School Parent<\/em>
      School Committee, 2\/12\/25<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      “I have three kids, two at Ryan Road and one at JFK. It\u2019s not easy to ask for help and I think everyone\u2019s here today – or almost everyone here is here today – asking for help and so thank you for doing that.<\/strong> It takes a lot of bravery to come up here I think, so thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I like to think about things from sort of a common sense perspective because a lot of times things that I hear don\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Let\u2019s not forget about the big picture that we just went through a pandemic, right? We\u2019re still experiencing the impact of that it really affected our kids a huge burden was put on our kids. You know they were told to stay home for multiple years and sit in front of laptops, right, and there were consequences for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So basically the way that I think of it is – the need for student services has increased significantly over the last 5 years. I think everybody would agree with that, that covid has cause some serious issues for our children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      But over the same time period that we have seen student needs increase, student services have decreased. To me that doesn\u2019t make any sense. The gap between what our kids need and what the city is giving them has grown and I think that\u2019s a problem and I’m really dissatisfied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A lot of times in this city we\u2019re told that there\u2019s not enough money, or the money is not the right kind of money, for us to use for schools or for our children and so that\u2019s why I’m here right now. And I really find that hard to believe especially when the city produces the kind of surpluses that it does every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So one thing, just sort of brainstorming, how can we free up money? There\u2019s so many different ways that we could find more money in this city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I think what we\u2019re looking for is a shift in city priorities. This is all. There are lots of choices here. We\u2019re looking for the city to shift, for example, the city has a goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. What if we shifted that goal? How much money would that free up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We\u2019re often told that the budget that we\u2019re presented with is the only sensible way forward. We hear that often, but I challenge that. There\u2019s many different ways that we can create this budget. There\u2019s many different ways that we can free up money. So I encourage you to do that and try to think outside the box a little bit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Middle School Parent<\/em><\/sub>
      School Committee, 10\/10\/24<\/em><\/sub><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      “Our District is an ecosystem, with interconnected parts. When one part of the system is harmed, the rest is affected. A reminder, that special education is part of the ecosystem of schools in Northampton.<\/strong> When my son was at Bridge Street, I learned that when his para was absent, and they didn\u2019t have anyone to cover sometimes his special education teachers became his para. When they were with my son, that meant that they could not tend to services for their other students. And vice versa. This was a pattern. It was unfair to educators and students alike. And this year it\u2019s rampant across the District due to staff shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Do most families learn about these and other IEP violations from school or the District? No, there is zero transparency. My son is now at JFK and I asked outright if he had received a particular service on his grid. I was told no, not yet. It was weeks of not getting services as per his IEP. That\u2019s against the law. If I didn\u2019t ask? I never would have known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When families do learn about these violations, many don\u2019t complain. The District narrative by the administration and even some families is shame \u201coh they\u2019re trying, don\u2019t be pushy, oh it\u2019s only been a couple of weeks, oh please bear with us\u201d and ultimately we families and our Northampton educators are pitted against one another with fear, division, and silencing tactics. The District has not only allowed this for years, it\u2019s the culture of this District in special education. It dominates. It\u2019s fear based, it\u2019s intimidating, it harms, it divides families and educators, and it needs to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I filed a formal complaint with DESE regarding my son\u2019s IEP violation. For every person like me who complains, there are 50 other families who are in the dark about their child\u2019s IEP violations. There are families who don\u2019t know their rights (I didn\u2019t for years), families who don\u2019t want to make waves, and families who are vulnerable and pushing back to the District or the State is a terrifying option, therefore not an option. The District banks on all of this to avoid accountability.  Instead focuses on band-aids and one off fixes for those families who happen to complain, while further marginalizing other families, keeping them in the dark and ignoring their children\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So to everyone here, including the Mayor, Superintendent, our SEPAC liaison and the rest of the School Committee I ask you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      – Will you fight for our special education families?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      – Will you step up and push for a cultural change in this District to support our disabled children and their rights in Northampton?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      – Will you step up and push for a cultural change in this District to fight for more supports and funding to create positive working conditions for our special education educators? and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      – Will you fight to help nurture a healthier public education ecosystem in Northampton, starting with our special education children?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Will you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary School Parent<\/em><\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/em><\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI have brought this up multiple times before. <\/strong>My daughter next year is going to be in a class of 25 students. That class is doubling, 50% compared to this year, and that is 95% larger than the other classes in Massachusetts for second grade. It\u2019s amazing that fact that you cannot add more money to help these students. The students who do really well will be fine. The students who do not so great, they may not be fine, but they might get some support. The students in the middle, they\u2019re going to get lost. They\u2019re going to get completely lost in a class that big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary School Parent<\/em><\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/em><\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI ask the committee again: what is their plan?<\/strong>  What is your plan for the expenses that will be created by the mayor\u2019s cuts? Because less than a full gut job is still significant cuts. When the increases in special education costs eat up that savings, what is the plan? When no money miraculously appears from the state, what is the plan? When the cost of ethically and effectively running a school system continues to outpace what the mayor wants it to cost, what is your plan?  Because the school system can\u2019t make that plan for you.  We are running on a skeleton crew as it is. There\u2019s no fat to trim. We are already doing more with less. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So, what\u2019s the plan? The city is going to have to allocate the funds when DESE comes for violations. The city could allocate the funds now and prevent those increased costs, but it seems pretty clear that theoretical pet projects are more important to you than actual present expenses and obligations. And I don\u2019t understand. I don\u2019t understand how you have the gall to bring up an override . . . I don\u2019t understand how you can bring up an override, refuse to state that we\u2019ll go 100% to the schools, and expect us to support that override. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary School Parent<\/em><\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/em><\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThere is no deficit, but if you listen to some voices, you\u2019d think the deficit was insurmountable, layoffs and cuts inevitable.<\/strong> The power behind this language and this approach is called the elusory truth effect in psychology\u2014the same concept, in word over and over and over again. Despite evidence to the contrary, people may start to believe you and not challenge you, even though the data is right in front of our faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      And that data shows that there is no deficit. There\u2019s a lack of support to fully fund our schools. There is money to level fund our schools for next year, but we\u2019re being told, \u201cOh, you silly civilians, you don\u2019t understand finance,\u201d even though we do have millions in our account. We can\u2019t use it.  Yes, you can. Eastampton did to save their schools, but you won\u2019t to save ours. Your priorities are shown, and they don\u2019t reflect the priorities of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We know that when budget cuts happen anywhere in the public sector, the most vulnerable suffer the consequences. This is an equity issue, Northampton. We\u2019re talking about children here in our public school system, a population whose poverty rate is three times that of the city, children whose intersecting identities and needs are more complicated than the general population. It\u2019s within public schools where we can best counter this inequity for children. Cut the budget, you harm the most vulnerable. This is fact. We know this, and this aspect of the cuts has been rendered invisible by the continued narrative of deficit. There is no financial deficit. The deficit instead is in the advocacy for our children and for public education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The mayor and city council should and can support our schools by pushing for level services funding for next year. You still have time. You have the money. Use it to show your city that your priorities are truly about justice, equity, children, and public education. I imagine those are the exact same issues you\u2019re all going to campaign on in the next election year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary School Parent<\/em><\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/em><\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI continue to be amazed by the grassroots organizing and civic participation that resistance to the mayor\u2019s school austerity plan has generated. <\/strong> For the first time, we are having substantive conversations about the benefits and drawbacks of the fiscal stability plan as a community, and considering how our policies and budget reflect our values.  I want to share a few things I\u2019ve realized with great clarity over the past few weeks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. The residents of Northampton deeply value public education and want our elected officials to at minimum provide level service funding in the FY25 budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      2.  This process has produced an education voter base that will not disappear after tonight\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      3.  The city of Northampton continually runs surpluses and has no deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      4.  The fiscal stability plan has been wildly successful in generating cash for savings, capital, and special projects at the expense of adequately funding core city services like education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      5.  The fiscal stability plan itself and blindly trusting the previous mayor are what produced the current manufactured fiscal crisis we are in today. Those who retort that we should stop complaining, take our medicine, and simply trust the mayor today have learned nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      6.  It was political choices that locked up our mountain of cash behind invisible fences, and it is political choices that can open those gates and reconfigure those pastures. What we lack is the political vision or will to rethink our policies in the face of their failure to fund our schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      7.  The mayor and a majority of this council do not have a plan to fix, nor do they want to fix, the city\u2019s inability to fund the operations of Northampton Public Schools. Rather, they would prefer to continue generating excessive amounts of cash for other priorities. The dogmatic fealty to the fiscal stability plan outside of all reason and without any critical distance is astounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      8.  Officials who dismiss inconvenient facts as misinformation sound oddly like another US politician who complained of fake news and promoted alternative facts when confronted with the reality of his choices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      For your own sakes, please stop echoing talking points without doing the actual work necessary to understand the data, policies, state law, and basic accounting terminology. It\u2019s embarrassing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary School Parent<\/em><\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/em><\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019ve watched and attended several months of community meetings around these budget challenges, and these discussions have created an environment of anger and mistrust. <\/strong>I\u2019ve seen the majority of public comment advocating, at minimum, for a level service budget for the schools.  Rather than emphasizing new groundbreaking ideas that this city seems to love to be honored for, this budget is barely covering many legal obligations this current year and is already lacking adequate future development days or workshops for students guiding and allowing practices towards innovative ideas. For example, my son\u2019s math class doesn\u2019t have enough desks unless somebody doesn\u2019t show up that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Anyway, I\u2019ve seen fewer folks advocating on behalf of budget cuts to the schools, and as a newer resident of this town, it seems those folks often have a long intertwined history of friendships and connections here. Based on these observations, some letters in the local paper, it does not feel to me that our advocating majority needs are being represented or heard, and that the budget and agendas are being pushed forth anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      As an advocate on behalf of my student and the school community as a whole, I do not appreciate our work being ignored. We would like to see adequately funded schools be a priority in the budget. We\u2019ve all seen disturbing behavior from some of our community leaders in these meetings that have been dismissive, rude, patronizing, and at times deliberately misleading to the community and each other. It\u2019s felt more like watching British Parliament. And I\u2019ve seen whispering and mobile phone checking while students and teachers cry and plea for their jobs or supportive services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      . . . In a community that prides itself on reputation, on striving for a just, equitable, diverse town, I will remind us all that being less classist, anti-ableist, and anti-racist is more than just a lawn sign. These cuts are hypocritical. You heard the brave counselors say this will hurt all students, but especially those who have less means, are Black or Brown, or need supportive services. Stop fighting and do the work to actually properly fund the schools . . . these cuts will have devastating effects on young people of Northampton, and they are watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThere are a 1,000 signatures on a petition. <\/strong>It represents a much broader community than what\u2019s in this room . . . So just like you are representatives of your community here and you get to vote, the rest of us in here are representatives of our community. . . . And we were standing together as union members and teachers and students and all kinds of folks, local business owners, and we were standing in the heat and demanding that you provide level services to our students. That is the bare minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Northampton is such a wonderful community that I\u2019m really proud to live in. But when we say that our students deserve less than what they\u2019re getting now, which by the way is not what they deserve, that\u2019s a real problem. That\u2019s not a progressive value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident, College Professor <\/sub>
      City Council 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThere is a movement among people in town advocating for a fully funded Northampton Public Schools budget, and that maintaining current educational services is one of the most important priorities of the city.  <\/strong>Others have been contesting this demand; the refrain is, \u2018You can\u2019t fund recurring expenditures with one-time revenues, and you should trust the mayor.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I want to address the first of these by focusing on the city\u2019s funding of the schools for the last four years. Just over $4 million dollars of school choice reserve funds was used to support the schools\u2019 budget. In the midst of COVID-19, the federal government established the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) program to assist local governments with reduced revenue streams from the pandemic\u2019s economic impacts. The city received over $5.2 million of ESSER funding. Together, over $9 million dollars of that money was used in the last four years to support the NPS budget. That, my friends, was one-time money. It has been used to support the recurring expenses of the school department. Those funds allowed the city to finance schools with less of the city\u2019s own recurring revenues. That amount was consequently available to support spending by the city\u2019s other departments. That is, to support other priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      But there\u2019s a problem with this, as has been pointed out: using one-time funds to cover recurring expenses is not financially sustainable. Yet, the mayor\u2019s and the city council approved this approach, and in their deliberations about these city budgets, was there a plan to address the problem? Nope, it got kicked down the road. Other city spending priorities were favored, but the dilemma for the schools was unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Last year, when the mayor added $1.2 million to the school\u2019s budget, she warned about the problem and said it would be worse this year and compounded into the future. But nothing was done to anticipate where we are now. The mayor is the chair of the school committee\u2014why no planning?  Why no schools financial strategic planning committee or process? I guess there was a plan: fiscal stability, a AAA bond rating, and the other favored priorities that the mayor and the city council have supported, leaving the schools underfunded and with no plan for correction.  Two weeks ago, I was sad; today, I\u2019m mad as hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cWe don\u2019t have a school deficit in Northampton. <\/strong>We don\u2019t even have a budget problem. We have a representation problem. Many of our elected officials do not represent us; they represent the mayor and her mission to fund projects instead of children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Sure, after an incredible amount of pressure from constituents, some of you have gained a better understanding of what our schools face with these cuts. For that, I thank you. You\u2019ve lobbed some softball questions . . . but you\u2019ve allowed them to skirt the toughest stuff. You lobbied for certain positions to be restored at certain schools. Now you can say, as some school committee members said at the last meeting, that you did something. And for these things, you may pat yourselves on the back while you pass the weight of the twisted priorities of this mayor onto the much smaller backs of children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You say you\u2019re sad. You say you\u2019ve endured lots of criticism over the last months. Well, guess what? Criticism comes with the job. We need representatives who can take the heat, who can hear us and act accordingly. We need representatives who see that our city is blessed with cash and that we deserve a say in where that money will go. Somehow we\u2019ve done the research, but you haven\u2019t. Some of you said that you\u2019re not numbers people. Well, there are lots of numbers people in this community who have lots of questions about how this money will be spent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We need representatives who will ask why future aspirational projects are more important than children right now. The mayor wants to put Northampton on the map. Our schools have already done that. To underfund them will only drive people away. This brings me to my question, which I\u2019ll warn you is not a softball: How does it feel to be a human rubber stamp?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You may see yourselves as the arbiters of logic and reason amongst an emotional constituency, but really you are just her human rubber stamps. We implore you to remember your role, find your curiosity, and stop playing politics. Showing disdain for constituents\u2014toughen up. We need a legacy, not a stain on our city. You may be saying: \u201cthis isn\u2019t so easy – I bet you couldn\u2019t do any better.\u201d   Well, we will, and I\u2019ll say it again, the votes will speak if you don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201c. . . the Special Ed Reserve Fund, which you voted to create and the school committee confirmed, putting $800,000 in, withdrawing $200,000 for F25 is on the table tonight. <\/strong>After this authorization, there is no legal provision for further voter approval as to when or how it is used. The new reserve will be under the joint control of the school committee and the city council, requiring a majority vote by both bodies, taking it out of school district control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The legal purpose is to fund unanticipated special education spending for rare out-of-district placements. This money cannot be used for anticipated special education expenses, which is more than 99% of what we incur and plan for annually. This fund is an accounting mechanism to park a significant amount of taxpayer money in a low-yield return fund. It can only hold up to 2% of the school district\u2019s budget, which would be about $820,000. Seeding it at nearly its cap seems extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The fund is proposed to be annually funded by student Medicaid receipts, taking those monies from school district revenue. . . I\u2019m asking you tonight to use the $200,000 you are going to give the schools as seed money for this fund. Put the other $600,000 in the F-25 school budget where it will do the most good for the most children. Our house is burning; please don\u2019t bring a full bucket of water to the flames. Throw a few spoonfuls on and pull the bucket away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cFirst of all, you\u2019re going to hear the word \u201cdeficit.\u201d<\/strong>  When this happens, I want you to remember that Northampton, in fact, has a surplus. So when you hear \u201cdeficit,\u201d I want you to think \u201cunderfunding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You will hear the word \u201coverride,\u201d even as we have enough free cash to avoid an override. So when you hear \u201coverride,\u201d I want you to think \u201cfree cash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You will hear a kind of fear-generating description of the spiral toward a fiscal cliff that\u2019s going to be created by level service funding. . . The next one is kind of tricky; it\u2019s about tone, because you\u2019re going to find yourself, and others have described this, and your fellow members of the Northampton community being treated with dismissiveness, defensiveness, and disdain. When you experience this, look to your left, look to your right, and say to yourself, \u201cThe people of Northampton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Last, there are some words you are not likely to hear. I didn\u2019t hear them from the city council on Monday. These are some words that you need to hold onto and because they need to fuel our conversation. You need to say to yourselves on a regular basis: children, educators, public education, democracy, values. Our actions should reflect these words. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019ve been listening to public comments on the school funding for a long time now, and the overwhelming voices are both passionate and reasoned for fully funding the schools. <\/strong>If you represent your constituents, I think you will have to listen to these voices and reconsider the budget.  I know there\u2019s only days left, a lot of special meetings, whatever it takes. Monday night\u2019s meeting did not show the council at its best behavior, and I hope I don\u2019t have to vote on the next ballot write in no confidence. No confidence, no confidence, no confidence for everybody in city government. You represent the people or you represent the mayor. Your vote tonight will tell us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI want to start out by saying, don\u2019t underfund the schools.  <\/strong>Don\u2019t cut services. That\u2019s just irresponsible when you don\u2019t have a plan.   I have asked multiple times.  I think everyone else has as well, asking what exactly is going to be cut, what services are going to be cut, what are we losing? And no one seems to be able to consistently articulate what that is. If you cut without knowing, you are making a mistake or you are very liable to make mistakes. It seems very irresponsible to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I also do not see how a city can describe its finances as healthy while also making, again, unplanned, unaccounted for cuts to services across the board, doesn\u2019t matter where it is.   The mayor referenced a plan, a two-year plan, um, to work with the school committee to find out how to address budget cuts or address needs. I don\u2019t think that was done. I don\u2019t know the status of it, but I\u2019d love to hear about that. That seems like a reasonable path forward, but it takes a lot of time. It does not make sense to cut in six months or a few months or even a couple of weeks without doing that work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI  chose to live in Northampton because it was famous for its progressive values, right?  <\/strong> Since I moved here 14 years ago, I never concerned myself about local politics   In spite of having a long history of political activism and serving my community as an elected official, I trusted I was living in a progressively-run city.  So why am I active now? Because I became concerned, and the more I paid attention, the more concerned I became.  I saw a mayor who ran for office claiming a progressive agenda but instead of proposing fiscal conservatism instead.   This is not about being in favor against the mayor. That vote we will take in November next year. All the concerns around this budget are about needs and priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We have a city council who needs to keep the mayor in balance and in check, and ensure oversight based on the needs of the community.   And I felt a lack of action on that front.  The lack of city council oversight means that concerned citizens like me have to step in and ensure the oversight.  And here I am, and here we are, here and across the city.  We\u2019re all putting extra time into this because the kids are worth it, right? We just remember that education means emancipation, right?  We just celebrated Juneteenth, let\u2019s not forget about it.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      As a council please choose the progressive and collaborative path, right. We have 10 more days to work on the needs for this year\u2019s budget and 12 more months to work on the next budget, right.  We can work as a community and get it done right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cAt this point, I feel shame on our city councilors. <\/strong>You are supposed to represent your residents. Your residents are supposed to be your priority, not the mayor. You need to fund our schools. There were several years that teachers took 0% raises. I\u2019m also a Northampton Public School employee. At one point, I took five years with a 0% raise –  for our schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      . . . I want to talk about my taxes. My taxes have gone up seven times what I originally paid when I first bought my home in Florence. My house has not gone up seven times in value. We have the sewer tax, the conservation tax, the water runoff fee, and then the tax increases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There is money there. . . I truly believe there is plenty of money in Northampton. We are supposed to be one of the wealthiest communities here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI have lived here in Northampton for 24 years. I have paid property taxes for 24 years. <\/strong>Every so often, I have to come here because there\u2019s a story that they don\u2019t have money for schools. The same story, and then what happens is that the times that they have given us an override, that money is being used for something else. Because then if it were used for the schools, then they would have had enough. But this is not happening, and it\u2019s not for the teachers, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I have three children that graduated from the high school, and they graduated from college, and they did extremely well in college because those teachers are very well licensed and prepared, and they prepare the children very well, and they cannot be ignored.  And what happened is that many teachers that come in to apply for positions, if they . . . make more than $60,000 and they have one or two or three teacher\u2019s licenses, then they don\u2019t even interview them.   How do I know that? There\u2019s a website for Northampton, and tons of people that live here and pay taxes like I do, and all these people do, they talk about the experiences that they have.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I was really surprised when I read multiple times, I don\u2019t know exactly how many of you agreed to it, but $3 million were paid for a church next to Smith. For months and months and months, nothing is being done to that. Okay.  I know because I drive by there every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I expect people to please look at your finances and take care of these teachers and kids,  because we cannot continue to throw money away and use it for other things . . . pet projects . . . instead of for the schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI want to echo some comments that people have made about the sort of quality of . . . thought . . . that\u2019s gone into what\u2019s happening right now.<\/strong> The only way we have to know the quality of what you\u2019re thinking is your words, right?  So we can\u2019t look into your head, we can\u2019t see that you have a really great process. You are telling us that you have thought about it, you\u2019ve thought about it a lot, but you don\u2019t use words that demonstrate what you\u2019ve thought about, why you\u2019ve rejected it, except for these really just very general statements. It\u2019s not good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cSo, in this educated community, as people stand here and have to give their names and what they do for a living and their backgrounds,<\/strong> I\u2019m not sure whether those things are important. But in this educated community, our kids can\u2019t read.  Look at the data, and you will see that a large number of children in this community cannot read. And of course, our most vulnerable students, our Black and Brown students, are more impacted by this. Watch the \u2018Right to Read\u2019 film, and you know, we\u2019re a perfect example of a community where the White students, their families will pay, and they\u2019ll get that reading instruction, and they\u2019ll learn to read.  And the rest of our students who don\u2019t have those resources will not learn how to read, and they\u2019ll end up in prison. And that\u2019s from a community like Northampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/20\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI am speaking as the owner of local businesses State Street Fruit store and Cooper Corner . . . Northampton Public Schools need to be fully funded. It should not be an option to take cuts from the schools. <\/strong>It\u2019s absolutely necessary to use available funds to fully fund our schools. Our educators are a foundation of the town, and they educate our children. Because of the decades of underfunding, we have your so-called deficit.  Spend the necessary funds to fix this and fully fund our underfunded schools. Consider it a capital expense.  We have to consider those things in the stores, do some unnecessary fixes that don\u2019t make the beautification of the stores. It\u2019s something is necessary to fix, and this is something we need to do to fund our students and our teachers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe schools do not have deficits. <\/strong>What the schools do have is insufficient funding, or put differently, they have a deficit of sufficient funding.  The second comment: budgets reflect public priorities. The city\u2019s balanced budget requirement constrains choices about priorities. Choices have been made that reflect important priorities but that discount the importance of public schools. This is not a new problem. Over the last 30 years, the schools have frequently been required to lay off staff. Last year, the mayor warned there would be issues for the school budget. Some members of the school committee and the public sounded the alarm and cautioned that the school committee, the mayor, and the city council needed to develop a process to confront this problem. But now here we are, with layoffs looming for the schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Earlier this year, millions of dollars of the city\u2019s certified surplus funds were allocated to four stabilization funds: fiscal stability, capital projects, climate, and the general catch-all one. These were choices about priorities. The city has spent over $2 million on planning for the redesign of Main Street and more than $3 million for the purchase of the Baptist Church. Those were choices about priorities. And now the city finds itself with another important priority being underfunded. That is the result of a process that has undercut the obvious and gargantuan value that the community places on its responsibility for educating its children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe school departments in Northampton don\u2019t have a deficit. <\/strong>They put a request out to the mayor for funding, and it was denied. That\u2019s not a deficit; that\u2019s an unfunded request. Language is important, and language can be manipulated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The language of scarcity\u2014revenue, expenditures, deficit, and budget\u2014has dominated the city council and mayor\u2019s narratives, with rarely a mention of children, students, teachers, paraprofessionals, and education. Our schools have been dehumanized in the city council and mayor\u2019s narratives. NASE and community members have reunited our schools in the last few weeks of organizing and reminded us all that there is enough to go around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Now we hear from some that this latest budget should be pushed through to be humane to those educators. How profoundly disingenuous. Language is important. The language of scarcity and the refusal to use one-time funds because of some potential for future deficit have been weaponized in the last few months, throwing these educators under the bus. These are people whose livelihoods have been potentially severed and whose labor and love in our schools will be greatly missed and not replaced, leaving our students with the biggest deficit\u2014especially our most vulnerable children who rely on our public schools every single day for a range of supports and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This is an equity issue. Delay the budget, fight for a level service budget, and to quote a man from before, \u201ccut the existing fat, not our schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI am also frustrated that we are endlessly lectured about fiscal responsibility.  <\/strong>As noted earlier, we spent $3 million on a dilapidated building to house a department that\u2019s 50% grant-funded, that can\u2019t do the work it was set up to do, and there\u2019s no plan on how much it\u2019s going to cost or where we\u2019re going to get the money to renovate it.  Yet, we\u2019re told we need to make cuts. It\u2019s morally unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I hope next year\u2019s budget is the last budget this mayor has a chance to put forward, and I urge anyone who doesn\u2019t like what they\u2019re seeing on the council, the school committee, or in the mayor\u2019s administration to run for office.  Recruit your friends and get ready because there\u2019s a contract fight coming up and another budget that will be coming up.  It doesn\u2019t end today, and this compromise, if we want to call it that, is the bare legal minimum required to run our schools. It is morally reprehensible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cOur school budget is $2 million short of level services.<\/strong> I\u2019m proud tonight to speak in support of our public schools, our amazing teachers, and school employees who do absolutely exceptional work in some of the most important jobs in our community.  I have been really disappointed to attend hours of City Council meetings and listen to the mayor and the superintendent chastise them.  Before their most recent contract, our school employees had the lowest wages in the Commonwealth when compared with districts of our size and remain dramatically underpaid for the work they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When my wife and I moved to Western Massachusetts, we bought our home in the Northampton School District because we\u2019re queer and trans, and we wanted a community where we would be safe and accepted. We wanted to participate in our kid\u2019s school, sit and laugh with other parents at the Better World picnic, make a chalk mural at the PTO dance party, and volunteer next week at field day. We have been so lucky to join the community at Bridge Street. To hear the mayor describe the desperate public outcry as a \u201cmoving experience\u201d to the Hampshire Gazette while she defunds our schools just doesn\u2019t sit right with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Teachers have been finding out their employment status at City Council meetings, crying during public comment, and begging for level services funding so they can be safe and effective at work.  Our schools are not greedy; they are not at a deficit; they are underfunded, period.  This acrimony over what should be our City\u2019s highest spending priority is not the community we want to be building.  I hope that the City Council tonight can reject this catastrophic austerity budget and bridge the $2 million funding gap.  This is not just a dedicated and involved school community\u2019s issue.  This is a family\u2019s issue, a racial justice issue, an income inequality issue, a worker\u2019s issue.  We have a strong coalition of constituents and voters, and we are here watching you.  Hundreds of people on Zoom week after week are asking you to have the courage to do the right thing and pass a level services budget for our schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cWe moved here four years ago from New York City . . . When we moved here, the assumption was, of course, the schools must be amazing up there.  <\/strong>How could they not be? It\u2019s the Pioneer Valley.  There are five colleges of higher education, 38,000 students in higher education. I don\u2019t know how many people work in the colleges, but it has to be the number one employer in the valley.  This is like an epicenter of higher learning. Massachusetts is ranked number one or three, depending on where you look, in education in the country.  It\u2019s the richest country in the world, still hopefully for a while.  We\u2019ll see.  How could it not be the most amazing public school system?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I hope it will be.  I\u2019ll find out next year.  I\u2019ve heard great things.  I know there are going to be great things. I\u2019m so excited. But then when I saw the paper a couple of weeks ago, and it\u2019s not the first time that I\u2019m not really 100% paying attention to it, I was like, \u201cWhoa, budget fights over public education? Who? What? Are you kidding? No, you got to be kidding me.\u201d They got to be fighting over how much money to throw at schools. This is freaking Northampton. This is the Pioneer Valley. This is an educational epicenter, and we\u2019re talking about budget cuts? Where are we, Iowa? Louisiana? Mississippi?  I\u2019m sorry, maybe not Iowa.  I\u2019m talking about Mississippi and Alabama. Those people are scraping for fun runs. This is Massachusetts. You ever see Spinal Tap? Remember the joke? All their concerts were cut in Boston. They were like, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, it\u2019s not a big college town.\u201d  This is a college town.  This is an education town.  The economy in this town is probably built on education.  Take away education from Northampton and all around here, what do you have?  Cannabis shops and homeless shelters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Education should be funded to the max. Look for the money, find it.  I don\u2019t care about potholes.  I\u2019ll drive through a pothole to deliver my kid to school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cMy fourth grader has been receiving services since first grade during the pandemic.  <\/strong>She has been significantly behind in reading and math for the last several years.  This year, she was able to catch up in reading and finally does not need services anymore.  She can actually read, enjoys reading, and loves the interventionist responsible for her success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      However, the interventionist for math . . . my daughter is not receiving this year because there\u2019s not enough money for math interventions.  My daughter is very behind in math, struggles with it, hates it, and feels bad about herself.  She comes home and rips up her math papers, saying she spaces out in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      My child feels bad about herself despite having two parents, being upper middle income, both educated, giving her lots of love and support.  We will pay for a math tutor for her to catch up, which costs $85 an hour.  But what about low-income students, those on IEPs, or Black and Brown students?  Not providing these services is a form of systemic racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Behavior interventionists are the glue holding our schools together.  Without them, things fall apart, people become disregulated, and the class becomes disregulated, slowing down or halting learning.   We should fully fund our schools this year.  Use the rainy day money to support our schools and go hard at the state to solve this problem.  If you want to be anti-racist, fund the schools and go after Chapter 70 collectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cAs others have said, underfunding our schools is a racial justice and disability justice issue.  <\/strong>Over the past six and a half years, my son has been in Northampton Public Schools.  Title I, special education teachers, and classroom teachers have helped him get through this system that\u2019s not designed for neurodivergent students, students with disabilities, or students with mental health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      My son has an IEP, and if special ed teachers are let go or involuntarily transferred, many of the teachers directly involved in special ed may be affected.  The most obvious and legitimate concern is that students won\u2019t receive their legally mandated accommodations.  But there\u2019s more to it. Special ed teachers benefit all students in more ways than I can convey, but I\u2019ll give you one example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      At Bridge Street School, my son\u2019s special ed teacher ran a writing workshop in collaboration with his classroom teacher, which led to the publication of regular literary magazines.  They were awesome.  My son went from declaring himself a bad writer to being excited about writing, and he never called himself a bad writer again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Not only have the teachers worked hard to ensure that my son is learning what he needs to learn, they\u2019ve also worked hard to minimize the stigma associated with learning disabilities. Accommodations aren\u2019t enough; special ed teachers work best when students don\u2019t feel stigmatized and when special teachers work closely with their classroom teachers.  But that\u2019s not going to be able to happen if these teachers are let go and the others are spread too thin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This is a disability justice issue.  There\u2019s plenty to celebrate about our schools, but they already feel strain, as so many people have already stated.  Every time I go in there for an IEP meeting, every single person\u2019s working so hard.  The last thing any of our kids need are teachers who are stretched too thin or demoralized by a system that doesn\u2019t value their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The argument that we need to \u201cright-size\u201d not only presumes that we are over-supporting students at an adequate level, but it also ignores the impact of the pandemic.  Please find a way to level fund services in our Public Schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cMy family moved to the Pioneer Valley 3 years ago from New York City, and I taught in a classroom with 27, then 28, and then 29 kindergarteners. <\/strong> It was incredibly challenging. The reason I am sharing a comment tonight is I hear council members and some school members expressing concern for those teachers with pink slips, and I feel that deeply. I cannot imagine what it would be like right now to have my job in limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I hear a desire from those counselors and school members to retain those teachers and know that they are excellent teachers.  As a teacher who has taught in a classroom of 29, what I\u2019d like to present is that if our goal is to retain teachers and show them that they are valued and needed, funding the schools and making sure that teachers have what they need to serve their students \u2014 like class sizes that allows them to serve their students, tier 2 interventionists, behavior specialists \u2014 that allows teachers to meet the needs of students, that is how you retain teachers, and that is how you care for your teachers and are humane to your teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cWhat I think is important to note is that schools still seem to be struggling.  <\/strong>I know many teachers in Northampton Public Schools who are running Amazon wish lists, asking their friends and family for donations, and spending their own money. If they get a raise, that money goes right back into their classrooms. Bathrooms aren\u2019t open because of understaffing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I\u2019ve never heard a teacher or any school employee say, \u201cWow, I have so much free time.\u201d Instead, they are giving their time to multitask, to complete their own work, and they are really struggling. So, I\u2019m trying to figure out what will be cut or what will happen to those teachers when they don\u2019t have the funding they need even to do what they\u2019re doing now. We are talking about level services, but the level services are barely the minimum. I\u2019m still trying to figure out even what the budgets are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cMayor Sciarra – Three years ago, while you were running for mayor, you addressed the need to equitably fund education in Northampton by identifying and filling gaps left in state and federal funding for school-related services.<\/strong> I want to read your statement as reported by The Shoestring and accessible online:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cBeyond what has already been pledged by the federal government and the state, we must also identify the gaps. For example, not all families have had access to the same educational, social, and emotional opportunities during the pandemic. For students who have fallen behind, we must provide opportunities for them to catch up and make sure that the students most in need get extra help in a way that works for them. That means we have to keep investing in our public schools and make sure every enrolled Northampton student is given the personalized attention they need for an equitable education.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      While we were receiving federal money for COVID relief, you said we needed to go beyond what was pledged. Now, to attain the goals of providing an equitable education for all students, we must go beyond what you have pledged in your most recent budget proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I am here to reiterate what so many speakers have already said: we still have gaps that were created during the pandemic. Some have narrowed, but many still exist in enlarged numbers and are very wide. Because of this, a full force of educators and para-educators is essential to providing equitable access to academic and social-emotional learning. There is nothing more important, nothing more urgent, and nothing more fiscally responsible than providing these in-school supports so that we can form and maintain strong, positive relationships with students, encourage and assist them as they struggle, and guide them towards success going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The alternative is pennywise and pound foolish. We all know the social cost, as well as the concurrent financial cost, we may have to pay when we fail to meet the needs of our students: unemployment, homelessness, dependency upon social services, and encounters with the legal system, etc. Let\u2019s not make this mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Mayor Sciarra, I ask that you go beyond your recent adjustment to the budget and fund level services as recommended by our school committee. This is crucial to the well-being of so many of our students in the Northampton community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI pretty much feel exactly the same way as everyone else. <\/strong>I have to say, I\u2019m really sick of the way our city is run. You say we\u2019re reducing parking to save it for the people that come into the city. Let\u2019s make the city nice for all these people who come in, but our students live here now. Our teachers live and teach here now. They deserve the time, attention, and money because they\u2019re here now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I think we\u2019re just wasting money on people who are coming into the city when you have citizens right in front of you who deserve your time and respect. I don\u2019t know how anyone could possibly go about their day voting against this or voting for anything less than level service, knowing that they\u2019re hurting the education of Northampton\u2019s children. I\u2019m just so frustrated\u2014it literally makes me shake because I\u2019m so frustrated that you could possibly do this to our children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cIn 2017, the Northampton Public Schools went full inclusion and decided not to take any of the advice about how much money or staff that would take.  <\/strong>The schools tanked, and famously, it was a disaster.  The kindergartners were biting each other, the third graders were going home, teachers were getting injured, and people were pulling their kids out of the schools right and left.  This was because the WINS model hadn\u2019t been adequately funded for what they had promised they would do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Every year after that, there were little corrections trying to fix this problem.  My understanding is that we\u2019ve just about got it right.  Now, all of a sudden, we\u2019re in the same fight again because the same proposal and the same staff cuts are being put in place again, presumably under the impression that this time it will work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Breaking our schools once was bad enough; breaking them twice takes incompetency to a new level. It\u2019s not like we don\u2019t know exactly what happens if we do this. Don\u2019t do this. We spend so much less on our schools than comparable communities. We should be talking about how to increase our school budget by 30, 40, 50% to compete with comparable and comparably affluent communities and what they\u2019re spending on their schools and what their kids are getting. Instead, we\u2019re talking about breaking our schools back to where they were in 2017-2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      What I\u2019m hearing from this is that the mayor and the superintendent are locked together in a death march. I don\u2019t know why they\u2019re doing this, but I would sincerely urge you, if you care about them as well as if you care about the communities that are going to be impacted by this, to pause the death march. It is possible that, given two weeks to consider what is going on, they will change their minds. Don\u2019t let them self-destruct because they\u2019re taking us down with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cWhy are we trading buildings for people?  <\/strong>Why do you think that the teachers get too much? Why did you use these people right after the pandemic just so you can discard them later?  Why are you not looking for money somewhere else?  Why isn\u2019t School Committee  in charge of making full budget decisions?  That\u2019s the big question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I am not fortunate enough to send my children to a charter school, and I know that the level of education will go down.  I\u2019m a teacher\u2019s kid.  I know as a parent, I can assure you, whenever my children came home with a problem, it was due to not enough staffing in the school.  I also heard that one of the school counselors said they didn\u2019t opt in not too long ago because that\u2019s not what their constituents wanted.  That is not true.  That is not so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You hear all of us upset people.  Do you think we\u2019re upset just for fun?  It\u2019s our children we\u2019re talking about, their education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI’m an admissions counselor at a local college. <\/strong>I’m not here representing the views of my employer, but speaking from my personal experience. We receive incredible applicants every year from Northampton Public Schools. I got to spend almost an hour interviewing one of them this year, and the reason that those applicants are so strong is because of all of the work that our school workers and our educators put into working with them on a shoestring budget. An earlier speaker mentioned the amount of funding going towards the police department. I learned today that the city has spent over $60,000 in the past few years on audits of police misconduct. We should all be afraid of a world where we invest in policing our students but not in educating them, and that is the world where the mayor’s budget is driving us towards. Toward that end, I’m asking you topass a level services budget with no reductions in staffing that serves our teachers, our students, and our communities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cIn a much better world, I would be here to speak in favor of a massively increased school budget for Northampton.  <\/strong>It\u2019s our commitment in Massachusetts to our educational system and, more importantly, to the education workers who make that possible, that makes me proud to live here.  As it is, I came here to speak in support of level funding with no reduction in staffing for this year.  I just have to say how disappointing it is for me as a resident to have to come back here and be fighting for this again.  My friends and neighbors are educators, and I am a beneficiary of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      From where I stand as a resident interacting every day with the educators, students, and workers who benefit from these schools, the sacrifice that even a minor reduction in funding and staffing entails is staggering.  And for what in return?  It is disappointing enough that this city always finds money for its police before securing a future for its schools.  At the absolute least, the bare minimum that we should expect from our government is the ability to maintain the funding and keep these jobs.  I regret that this is the only option in front of us, but the only acceptable option for us as residents is for a level budget with no reduction in funding or staffing for this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI would like to reinforce the concept that schools don\u2019t have a deficit, but rather the town has a deficit.<\/strong>  It would be like me telling my son he has a deficit with me because he doesn\u2019t pay me rent. It\u2019s just ridiculous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I would like to underline also the disservice done to the employees of Northampton Public Schools by defunding our school by $3 million below what the superintendent originally proposed in December, leading to excessive pink slips and creating uncertainty.  What do you think a teacher can teach the kids without knowing whether they have a job or not?  It\u2019s a disservice to them and the kids.  On top of that, we also defund by $2 million from what the school committee asked for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I also would like to point out the disservice the budget is doing to the citizens because you are defunding the school, cutting services, and asking for more money for the proposition 2 1\/2.  The proposition funds more money, but you can\u2019t cut services.  It\u2019s just a disservice, and the beauty of democracy is that the citizens will remember what you stand for and what you vote for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      City Council, 6\/6\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cDisappointing isn\u2019t a strong enough word to express how it feels to see children begging our government for adequate funding for their schools. <\/strong>The fact that we\u2019re putting them in that position is pretty appalling, especially when the police budget is almost $7 million this year . . . The city\u2019s budget is a direct reflection of its values and its priorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I\u2019m a family doctor. I moved back east from California 29 years ago . . . When we decided to move back east, it was entrusted to me by my husband and for our two young children to decide where to live.  I was convinced, after hearing about the excellent public schools here \u2014 which is very important to me \u2014 that Northampton is where we wanted to buy a home, and to move here, and we did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The schools have been excellent.  I believe strongly in public education.  I could afford a private school for my kids.  I purposely did not want that, neither me nor my husband, because it\u2019s an issue of social equity.  It\u2019s an issue of not wanting our kids to experience othering, so that they are together with all kids of all socioeconomic levels, different every color, every, you name it, all together.  That\u2019s what prevents racism and hatred, and it\u2019s a basic core value, democratic value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When I came here, after I was here, I voted for the mayor.  After experiencing her support for another democratic principle, my husband was an underpaid mental health worker who was on strike here, and she was on the council and voted with others to support the strike for a living wage.  I thought, to me, that was a way of showing that she and this government support democratic values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When this school issue came up here, I was really shocked . . . We are a wealthy community. We have the money, there\u2019s no question. It\u2019s a matter about priorities and being honest here . . . We need level funding at the very least. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe language of scarcity dominates public education everywhere, Northampton is not unique. <\/strong>The language of competition, of cannibalizing and taking from one group or resource to support another, is also prevalent across public education conversations. And we, the masses, stand at the bottom of the hill, watching those at the top repeat this language over and over. Even some of us repeat it, and it divides us as we fight for scraps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The language is manufactured, and it serves the push for privatization. When you use this language, you reinforce a status quo that supports neoliberalism, which further guts public education while lining the pockets of private institutions and groups, harming the public and especially the most marginalized and vulnerable children among us. Some districts in the Commonwealth have shown fortitude and creativity by challenging such language, finding ways to support education. For example, right next door in Easthampton –  those districts are amazing and should inspire this City Council to stand on the correct side of history during this pivotal budget moment. They should inspire this city council to work collaboratively as a collective to support our children, our schools, and the diverse ways our teachers and staff nurture our children every single day\u2014from reading, writing, and arithmetic, to social, emotional, nutritional, psychological, disability, and safety needs that have become more and more important in the last few years. Our public schools are vital to our community and to our humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Two immediate ways the city council can do this, do the right thing: push back against the gutting of public education while private institutions grow under a neoliberal veil, is to opt-in and to revive the pilot program started almost a decade ago that fell flat, allowing resources that are available and in some cases abundantly so – to be used for our children and their public educations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI continue to see city, state, and national government misprioritize, and I do not support the associated layoffs, reassignments, and other cuts in the mayor\u2019s budget <\/strong>. . . <\/strong>There\u2019s no more essential service than public education. Specifically, our city can fund police directing traffic at construction sites, but we cannot afford Math Interventionists or adequate Guidance Counselors? My tax dollars fund weapons of war, when our Bridge Street children did not have a school librarian for most of this school year? A richly textured, compassionate, and supportive school environment is not incidental and must be appropriately funded, and our children deserve this gift for their futures. It\u2019s an equity issue like the second gentleman who spoke in person indicated. Appropriately funded public education is a priority in your community. Please, please prioritize public education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The current school budget as proposed by the Mayor is problematic. Cutting already strapped services will have egregious consequences for our children and adolescents, as well as the community of teachers and staff who support them and deserve more than a living wage. I plead with you to work together and solve this apparent budgetary crisis without shortchanging Northampton Public Schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This is a problem created by adults, and our children should not be burdened with the consequences of our elected officials\u2019 inappropriate prioritization or fiscal mismanagement from years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI think that our public school system needs a fair budget, bigger than what the mayor is proposing.<\/strong> It\u2019s actually kind of ridiculous what she\u2019s proposing. When I moved here, I thought the school system was great, and I have been shocked at how underfunded it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You come here thinking that it\u2019s this quaint city with all these amenities, and yet our children can\u2019t even get a good education. They\u2019re below national averages in so many areas. Not to the teachers\u2019 fault\u2014they just don\u2019t have the resources. Currently, my daughter is in a class that the whole class has had to move out of the classroom and stop learning when a high-needs student needs help, which is fine. But she is in a class that\u2019s going to be up to 25 students next year if we lose a teacher, they just won\u2019t have the resources for all the high-needs students to get the help that they need and continue teaching the other students what they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It\u2019s appalling, actually\u2014all this money is being spent on downtown Northampton, and meanwhile, the new light fixtures, the paint is peeling, the weeds are growing, no one\u2019s taking care of anything. They\u2019re spending money as if we want all these new shiny things when all we want is a good education for our children and for their future. And I think that they deserve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cBasically, I moved to western mass 17 years ago and I chose to live in Northampton for the last 14 years and start a family here because I was told it was a progressive town with  good school system. <\/strong>Right? It doesn\u2019t feel like that anymore. Before moving to the US, I was actually elected as a town councilor in a city that was about three times the size of Northampton. I understand how budgeting works. Also, for business, it\u2019s a difficult process. There are a lot of moving parts, but we have other options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I think it\u2019s imperative, especially for a town like Northampton, to find the correct resources for the kids. Because, again, we want to keep this town to be progressive with a good school system. Otherwise, what are the alternatives for citizens like me? Either looking at charter school, where I come from, is unthinkable because the school system is completely funded from the nation. Same for the environment, same for healthcare, right? So we all want to live amongst healthy people and a healthy environment with educated people. It\u2019s in everybody\u2019s interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      High School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m aghast that the city council does not have more input into the school budget. <\/strong>The school committee has already voted 8 to 1. Most of the discussion I\u2019ve been following around stabilization accounts looks like an elaborate shell game. I am not in favor of doing something for the sake of doing something. Being a creature of habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      As to former Mayor Narkewicz\u2019s recent op-ed in The Gazette, I can only say thank you for your service. That was then; this is now. Part of now means holding large property-owning entities in Northampton responsible for paying their fair share of taxes. Smith College and Cooley Dickinson come to mind. To not opt in is, in my opinion, to play the functional equivalent of submitting to what they had to do in Holyoke on their school committee, submitting to a receiver, which I personally experienced defending some of our members in Holyoke. There, the school committee is largely irrelevant and defers to one office, the receiver. Northampton is better than that. Any part of a functioning democracy needs an informed citizenry. Being informed does not start after K to 12; it starts during K to 12. There is no greater role in a society than being a teacher. I urge you to honor the school committee by opting in and supporting the next generation of our citizenry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cWe\u2019ve read and heard a few times, and someone mentioned it here tonight, that in nearly 50 years, the city has never had to make a decision like this. <\/strong>I just want to remind everyone that part of the reason we\u2019re in this situation is because of a pandemic that we haven\u2019t experienced in nearly 100 years. A once in a century global, tragic crisis. In crises like these, that\u2019s the right time to spend those rainy day funds that we have. We all know the trauma that led to, on so many levels, including health, and it impacted our kids\u2014the very kids that are now going to be impacted again if these massive cuts happen. This isn\u2019t something where we just look at the numbers; this is something we need to be much more creative, much more innovative, and much more strategic about. From what we\u2019ve heard over the past year, our city has known about this situation for a number of years. Why wasn\u2019t some sort of collaborative working group put together between the school committee, the city, school officials, educators, and the public? Why wasn\u2019t this formed years ago? Where\u2019s the leadership there? Or even last year, to meet regularly, to hold multiple meetings\u2014town hall meetings, community meetings\u2014to answer questions, brainstorm ideas, research, and narrow down actual solutions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI absolutely don\u2019t understand how this is even a question about cutting teachers when we already don\u2019t have enough teachers as it is.<\/strong> I come from a country where we did have 30 students in the classroom, and what it ends up being is – there\u2019s just not enough time for the teacher to concentrate on all 30 students. There just isn\u2019t. So you end up with students who are very good and successful, and students who are not, and that is very unfortunate that we even consider that, so I urge you to opt in on this matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary School Parent <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI think this issue resonates for us because we find that we support the town\u2019s efforts to improve access. <\/strong>My son uses a wheelchair, so it\u2019s close to home for us. There is money that needs to come from the same pot, I think, to improve accessibility in our city. There\u2019s also money that ultimately comes from this same pot that is vital to support his special education needs and other special education needs of students in Northampton schools. I feel like it has been suggested that those two are at odds, and I don\u2019t agree with that. I feel like that is a false choice, and we have been presented an argument that we have to choose one or the other. We have to choose level services or we have to choose ADA compliance. We have to choose level services or we have to choose funding for housing that is affordable in the city. I would like to pose it that these arguments are meant to scare us towards austerity, and that feels manipulative and wrong. Instead, I think that the City Council should vote to extend the amount of time that they have to work on solutions for our budget shortfalls that include all of the very valid and important expenses that we are trying to fund as a city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cWe can\u2019t just cancel students or postpone the support they need. <\/strong>Once that support is gone, it can\u2019t be brought back. It\u2019s not that simple. I have ADHD and multiple learning disabilities. Without support, the only thing I connected with in high school was drugs and alcohol. I barely showed up and I barely graduated. Nothing but dumb luck kept me from draining your tax dollars in a correctional facility. Five years later, I went to a community college where I practically lived in their support lab and connected with the arts. I graduated Summa Cum Laude, pulled out of the tailspin, and got a better job. Due to the shaky start, I had to keep plugging along until at 45 I got my first job as a Systems Engineer. Without that support staff, I never would have passed the required math exam for graduation. No graduation, no degree, no future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      They didn\u2019t coddle me; they gave me the tools and guidance I needed, and I worked my tail off. Because I didn\u2019t have that support earlier, we all missed out on a quarter-century of me paying Systems Engineer-level taxes. These people are worth their weight in gold. This is an investment in our children we cannot afford to miss. When I passed that exam, the support staff celebrated like I was their own kid. These people deserve our respect and gratitude, and they sure have mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Thank you for all you do, and Godspeed on balancing the budget, you\u2019re appreciated. That job, it paid for my Bachelor\u2019s in Network Engineering. Summa Cum Laude. It never would have happened without that support staff. None of it. Level service funding for our schools, please. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI don\u2019t have kids in the schools, and my grandchildren won\u2019t be students here. <\/strong>But I am here to talk about the school budget and the threat of significant service cuts.  Universal free public education is foundational to a democratic society, and it provides the possibility of social advancement in a country where one\u2019s success is largely dependent on the zip code you live in and who your parents are. It did for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      One of the things I\u2019ve noticed about Northampton is there is a lot of talk about equity. Lots of talk. But so far, that talk has been missing from the discussion about school funding. According to the U.S. Census, Northampton is about 80% white with a poverty rate of 11.3%. But the student population in Northampton schools are much poorer and much browner than the town as a whole. According to the State Department of Education, 68% of the kids in schools are white, and over 31% are low-income\u2014almost three times the rate of the city as a whole. In addition, over 40% of children are high needs, meaning they need more personalized attention. These children are the most vulnerable population in Northampton. So, if equity is really important, we would discuss the need first, before we talked about money. Will Northampton leaders act for equitable solutions? Will you really place the budget burden on these children? I guess we\u2019ll see. Like Joe Biden likes to say, show me your budget and I\u2019ll show you your values.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cOn the topic of the school budget, I just wanted to say something to people who have said the schools need to live within their means. <\/strong>We\u2019re not asking for limos, champagne, vacations, or anything superfluous. We\u2019re asking for a level services budget. The cost of education has been rising for a long time. This has many causes, including unfunded mandates from the state and federal government. We got by for decades in Northampton mainly by underpaying our staff. Now that we are doing better with that, we can\u2019t turn around and make cuts to our schools in order to balance the budget. It\u2019s not the right thing to do. We need to come together and find solutions. I can\u2019t do that part in two minutes, but I\u2019m here for the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Cutting teachers, counselors, and other school staff is not the answer. It will make the problems worse as we lose particularly special, talented staff, have larger class sizes, and reduced services, which is likely to drive enrollment down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m here to speak about prioritizing children and families, about excellent schools and vibrant neighborhoods as recognized and critical factors in attracting families with young children to a city.<\/strong> I\u2019m speaking even as children and whole families are being slaughtered in Gaza, close to 15,000 killed by Israeli forces and 70% of schools destroyed. I\u2019m speaking as a former school committee member, three times elected to an at-large seat beginning in 1991, in a time when Northampton was a dynamic and happening place, when people my age and in my profession\u2014a preschool teacher\u2014and my husband, a kindergarten teacher, could buy a house. Those days are long gone. Gone is affordable housing, replaced by high-end housing that is and will attract older couples in retirement. Gone are the downtown shops where you could buy everyday things you needed and even things you didn\u2019t need. Now we\u2019re spending many millions of dollars on Main Street for the leisure class\u2014your living room, they tell us\u2014while neighborhoods across the city are suffering from the negative impact of zoning laws that allow oversized, inappropriate infill. Longtime residents\u2019 concerns have been shunted aside. Many can\u2019t afford to stay, and developers are making out like bandits, including Eric Suher, who just walked away with $3 million for the Resilience Hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Despite all of this, we\u2019re told the current budget difficulties are not the result of wrong priorities. We\u2019re told to be still and accept or ignore the budgetary, legislative, and planning department decisions that have brought us to this point, and then we\u2019ll be asked to support yet another override. Somehow, the social contract whereby city government works for the benefit of the people, the children, and youth who elect them, even if they don\u2019t vote – and pay their salaries, seems broken. Somehow, the Mayor and certain elected officials feel they can disenfranchise residents and then expect our goodwill and commitment to children will rescue them with an override. There\u2019s something terribly wrong with this picture. And finally, I publicly apologize\u2014I hissed. Charter schools are an issue, and I apologize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m coming from a bit of a different place.<\/strong> I don\u2019t have kids in the Northampton Public Schools. I don\u2019t even have kids at all, and I don\u2019t plan on it. But I feel compelled to ask you to listen to parents, teachers, and the kids themselves – because while I don\u2019t have kids in NPS, my life is deeply impacted nonetheless – because schools are central to a community. I have friends who are teachers, I have friends who are parents, I\u2019ve met some of these amazing students, and they\u2019re all impacted by a reduction in services and it\u2019s all negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When we\u2019re talking about educational staff, I do want to say we have dedicated educational professionals in our schools being told that they may not have positions. And these are Northampton residents, they\u2019re our neighbors, they\u2019re our community members, and damaging cuts like this aren\u2019t new. Former counselor and current School Committee member Foster talked about receiving pink slips as what pushed her out of education. It damages morale and it adds to additional, almost certainly uncompensated work that the teachers who remain will do because they care about the children in this community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There\u2019s so much focus on blame. Um, there were City Councilors who were saying that other committees have to take the heat, that city officials are trying to pass the buck. But our city has elected all of you not just to take blame, but to really use your knowledge, your skills, and your creativity to find solutions to the big problems and to involve the residents of the city when you need more ideas and more help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I would love, especially those with deep knowledge of the budget constraints, to instead of giving municipal Daddy lectures, get into creative ways to find acceptable solutions that do not undercut the city\u2019s values for the sake of a credit. I firmly believe there are solutions for this and that the mayor, with the help of the City Council and community, can find novel ways to fund schools and the services they provide. I\u2019ve heard a lot about our amazing credit rating to provide lower interest rates but nothing about using that credit rating to borrow to cover our budget while we do the hard work of consolidation and efforts to realign our schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cConsidering all options for our school, in my opinion, allows for the time and space to consider all possibilities for supporting our schools, our teachers, our counselors, and ultimately Northampton students. <\/strong>These students are still recovering from the educational and emotional impacts of the pandemic, so I ask you to please vote yes and opt in to provide more time to consider all options for funding our schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m the parent of an adult child with disabilities, and it took not just what my son needed in terms of his IEPs and his special needs and everything like that, but it took a lot of meetings, and the fighting itself took me out of the job market. <\/strong>As a single mom, it became very expensive for the economy for me to be able to get my son what he needed. I am also an adult who is graduating from college this weekend, thank you. It wouldn\u2019t have taken me so long, I think, if I had had my needs met while I was in a small, white town on its way up. I think if I had had what I needed for special education, it would have been different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI looked at a chart from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue that lists Northampton\u2019s local receipts, which consist of revenue other than property taxes. <\/strong>This includes excise taxes, cannabis taxes, hotel and meal taxes, etc. The chart shows that for the past six years, this revenue has been underestimated by millions of dollars. The underestimated amount for 2023, last year, was $5.5 million. Based on the state auditor\u2019s third-quarter report, it looks like this year will turn out to be similarly underestimated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      That seemingly excess money then gets moved into stabilization funds that are not used to pay city expenses. This means we don\u2019t need to take money from the existing stability funds or other departments or use one-time money. We just need to use our yearly local revenue, not real estate taxes, to fund our schools. I\u2019m asking the city to stop moving seemingly extra money into stabilization accounts that are already well above state-recommended reserves and to use this yearly local income to fund our schools. I\u2019m asking the City Council to opt in and then approve the budget that the school committee sent to them. This will maintain our current quality of education in Northampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI go to school at Teachers College, Columbia University, where I study curriculum and teaching. My focus is on critical disability studies. <\/strong>From that framework, I would like to offer a brief point. I\u2019m noticing that much of the public comment has been from paraprofessionals, special education teachers, and tiered support specialists, and I was a paraprofessional myself. I just want to offer that this support is not only essential, but I think we often think of it as something that is just for students who we identify as disabled or needing extra help in school, so it\u2019s kind of just for a very small portion of students. But it\u2019s actually a racial justice issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Black, brown, and Indigenous students have historically, in this country, been very overrepresented in special education categories. Without this extra support that would be cut, this overrepresentation and the gap between their white counterparts will very much grow. Cutting paraprofessionals, special education teachers, and tiered supports is a disability justice issue and very much a racial justice issue. I really worry what this means for Northampton\u2019s understanding of a democratic vision that values diversity and access in every sense of the word. I really think that opting in is an exciting step towards that just democratic vision that I think a lot of us are really trying to realize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to say anything, but someone else just said something that really resonated in my heart. <\/strong>First, I\u2019d like to say that I am a teacher. I taught in Springfield in a self-contained middle school. I\u2019ve been listening to all this and I\u2019ve been seeing all the movement that\u2019s been going on. In some ways, it feels like a blog that\u2019s just gone big and big. I\u2019ve been getting all kinds of notices about what\u2019s going on. All I just want to say is that, on one level, I appreciate the democratic process of people getting involved and the kids speaking up and everyone speaking up. I think that\u2019s great. I just have to say this: I would appreciate if a millimeter of that energy about what they\u2019re talking about in public schooling, I wish that it could also be attached to public housing, because there are people in public housing who have children who go to public schools. That\u2019s all I\u2019ll say on that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident <\/sub>
      City Council, 5\/16\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI just wanted to raise one more issue. I don\u2019t want to end on this dark note, but we are in the era where going to school can be a frightening prospect. <\/strong>We have school shootings, and we seem to forget about them until the next one comes. God forbid something like that happens in our community, but we do live in this era. I think it means that, for our safety, it is really important to have every person that we currently have in the schools there to create that safe culture and environment in our schools so that we can prevent those kinds of tragedies from happening. Understanding how difficult this is and how much effort has been put into stabilizing our budgets and providing all the services our community needs, that just really tips the scales for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary Parent <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m so impressed with our high school students. <\/strong>You should all be so impressed with your high school students. You\u2019re all educators and look what you\u2019ve managed to accomplish. They\u2019re so impressive, and that\u2019s a testament to them, to their parents, to their teachers, to the policies that you have put in place. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I want my first grader, when he is in high school, to be able to speak like that. I want my first grader, when he\u2019s in high school, to have that level of commitment, to have that level of insight, to have that degree of compassion and caring for their co-students, their friends, their colleagues, and their teachers. That\u2019s not going to happen if we make cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So, I ask you to just stand up and say no to an 8% cut, no to a 4% cut, no to cuts. Give our students what they need to be successful. Balance the city budget off the backs of adults, not students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary Parent <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe Northampton community is angry, confused, and frustrated. <\/strong>It seems like instead of spending the past year working together to find a solution for our children, we\u2019ve seen arguing, blaming, avoidance, and confusion about both information and who\u2019s responsible for what.  Our city and school committee members have known about this situation for years. Why wasn\u2019t a collaborative working group between the school committee, city, school officials, educators, and the public formed years ago, or even last year, to meet regularly to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Learn everything possible about this topic; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      2. Hold community and town hall-style meetings all throughout the year to answer questions and brainstorm ideas; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      3. Research and narrow actual solutions; and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      4. Present an action plan with one-year, three-year, five-year, and ten-year solutions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Perhaps this has happened and we just aren\u2019t aware, but based on the discussions going on right now, it seems that it hasn\u2019t. This meeting right here should be a culmination of that work. Instead, everyone here\u2019s anxiously waiting for your decision. And while a level services budget would certainly be ideal for our children and educators, we\u2019re worried that not enough time has been spent working on creative interim solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It was suggested that perhaps we just aren\u2019t at that stage in the process yet, but we\u2019ve asked school committee and city council members, the mayor, and principals if the line can be altered after the budget is passed, and from the few who responded back to us, the answer seems to be no. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Please correct us if that\u2019s wrong, but if that\u2019s the case, it seems we need those solutions on the table immediately as part of the discussion tonight.  For example, we proposed, both in meetings and in writing, a fourth-fifth grade combo class next year at Jackson Street, which has received a positive response from some Jackson Street teachers, the principal, and Member Agna. This would reduce next year\u2019s fourth and fifth grade class sizes at Jackson Street from 27 students to 21 and would save a teacher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Please support this idea.  Other creative solutions that will enable class sizes to stay manageable and to spare as many educators as possible.  Perhaps most disheartening though, these specific cuts at Jackson Street are aimed directly at the cohort of children who did kindergarten and first grade over Zoom at the peak of COVID.  These kids are already behind and struggling in many ways, academically, socially, and beyond. We just keep thinking to ourselves, is this who we are as a community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Elementary Parent <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cGratitude to our public leaders for engaging in a complex and difficult conversation about the current and future reality for our schools.  <\/strong>A reminder to all of us that budgets are ultimately values, and that what we decide tonight and in future conversations about budgets are not just numbers on a page, but have real lives attached to them.  Like we\u2019ve heard so eloquently from so many of our student leaders this evening.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We know that there\u2019s no easy choices to make and that there\u2019s a hard road ahead in how the city and the schools navigate the current financial realities.  But let\u2019s let education be a core value of Northampton, and within that, let\u2019s not only have a short-term conversation but think long-term about not just where we are, but what thriving can look like for our students, our teachers, our schools, and ultimately the entire city.  This is a proposition where everyone rises. Gratitude to all of you for grappling with this, and encouragement to pass a level service budget this evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      High School Parent <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m appalled that I have to stand here tonight in front of our community in defense of our schools, students, and staff in a city that has for decades attracted many of its residents by its purported progressive nature.  <\/strong>Not only are we cutting the programs that make our schools unique, we\u2019re fighting to keep the current bare, questionably legal, minimum guidelines of supportive or  special education.  While we should be the pioneers of groundbreaking, forward-thinking techniques, arts, and innovation – instead, we\u2019re left to fight for scraps. Teachers, many of whom are city residents, are facing a pay rate freeze to their already, from what I understand, non-competitive salaries, coupled with what looks like residents having to vote for a 2.5% override to fund the city\u2019s deficits after not getting an increase in pay.  So, thank you, teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We need to attract new, talented, faculty, staff, and residents to Northampton. Everyone here recognizes this, but the budget and city priorities leave a message to the young people of Northampton otherwise.  Many of the proposed cuts to the education budget will directly affect the safety and educational opportunities for our most vulnerable students, especially those who often do not have a voice or feel comfortable or safe bringing it to the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Elementary and grade-wide paraprofessionals, adjustment and guidance counselors often take up the majority of the slack and are the first line of defense for many of these students and families. Undercutting these essential support positions will not only affect the students they are servicing but the community as a whole will be affected if anxiety supports and safety needs of our students are not met.  Anyone dropping of their kids at NHS see the ambulances in the morning, what the heck?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Recently, two Northampton High School adjustment counselors saved a life.  They were able to do so because of the strong bonds they had already formed with vulnerable students who felt comfortable coming to them when they got a suicide note on their phone when they weren\u2019t supposed to have their phone in class.  They sprang into quick action.  I\u2019d ask any of you in the room who have ever lost somebody in this way: what price would you pay to have that person back in your life?  Is it worth the annual salary of one adjustment counselor?  These positions are already staffed too thin and undervalued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I\u2019m sick of hearing that providing the legal, bare minimum necessities for \u201cspecial education\u201d has caused a budget burden to the Northampton schools.  Providing inclusive education in the \u201cleast restrictive environment\u201d is the law, and our district was just catching up to that.  I challenge that in some situations and at the high school, we\u2019re not even really doing it.  We are certainly not launching a new, innovative special education program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I was surprised to see this week that the latest cuts also offered a nebulous counselor to be cut and the innovative IT and Health Counselor Pathways position. Those positions are also in Transition Services and are legally required to be fulfilled and met.  I\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m getting thrown by my time, but 42% of those students in Innovation Pathways are ELL or special education.  I\u2019m glad we\u2019re building a resilience hub because, quite frankly, when the needs of the youth of this city are not met, they\u2019re going to need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Middle School Parent <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m here to talk to you tonight as a parent, as a teacher, and as a person who works in the Arts, and as a taxpayer.  <\/strong>I\u2019ve been living in the town of Northampton for about 18 years.  I\u2019ve been teaching in a neighboring district for over 20 years.  I happen to also run the theater program there, so a lot of what the students have said tonight have really resonated with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I have a student who is in eighth grade at JFK.  I read every ParentSquare message.  Every . . . one.  So I\u2019d like to think that I have some information about what\u2019s going on around here, and it definitely seems like a lot of really amazing stuff is happening in all of our schools in this district.  I\u2019m really happy with the education that my child has been receiving, and I\u2019m really excited about the education they\u2019re going to receive next year at the high school.  But obviously, that really depends on what happens here tonight, and what is happening so far here tonight is completely unconscionable.  This should not be taking place.  The public should not have to come and beg for public school funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Everything I could tell you tonight has already been said more eloquently by a lot of people before me.  Ultimately, your job as the school committee is to find the funding and to propose the funding that will fully fund the schools so that the schools can operate to the best of their possible capacity.  So please stand up and vote for a level fund budget tonight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary Parent & Teacher <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe anger that I feel at this farce is deep and personal, but I\u2019m also disgusted by the lack of pragmatic realism.  <\/strong>The superintendent says we must live within our means, but a city\u2019s public schools are not the equivalent of spending $50 more than you planned at Target.  Our moral, ethical, and perhaps most important, legal<\/strong> obligations to our special education and ELL students are not optional purchases.  Our children\u2019s safety and education are not extra seasonal decor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I do not understand or respect this strategy of terrorizing us with threats of cuts that would result in lawsuits that are more expensive than the cuts.  Is the goal to drive down enrollment in our schools?  I don\u2019t see how that would benefit the committee, and yet you all seem to be carefully crafting headlines designed to accomplish that.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Is your goal, is the city\u2019s goal, to only offer special education services to students whose parents have the means to hire a lawyer to enforce their IEP?  I would hope you\u2019re better people from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Is your goal to return to the state that we were in when I arrived in the district a decade ago and had to spend PD days in special training with DESE because our MCAS scores were so abysmal? No, that doesn\u2019t make sense either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So what, what is the goal? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Because being part of being a responsible adult is fulfilling your moral, ethical, and legal obligations.  I don\u2019t get to decide not to pay my taxes because my grocery and utility bills have skyrocketed.  I pick up more hours working after school and reassess my priorities.  NPS is at the top of my priority list despite being a mere parent and employee.  I\u2019m incredibly disappointed that it\u2019s not even on the city\u2019s list of priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I could go through the list of proposed cuts and point out how they will inevitably lead to more students requiring special education services and a delay in students who need services being identified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I could point out that this will result in more affluent families opting out and more administrative turnover. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I can point out that pre-pandemic, former superintendent John Provost was moved to tears when telling then School Committee Member Lauren Fallon about how overworked our elementary school principals were in a budget meeting.  Pre-Covid. Cutting the tier support specialists would be cutting what little support our principals have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Look, at the end of the day my points are all true and thus things you will have heard from a dozen other constituents.  I\u2019ll remind the school committee members that at the end of the day, their obligations are to our students, to the children of Northampton. There is no reason for you to enable the mayor trying to balance the budget on the backs of our children, our city\u2019s most vulnerable residents, and at the expense of their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary Parent & Teacher <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI’m highly disappointed that we are here having this conversation.  <\/strong>The first thing that I’d like to say is thank you to the students who have talked tonight because they said it way better than I’ll ever say it, and their voices are the ones that matter the most. What I’d like to say is that it’s really clear to me as a resident here that the priorities in the city are backwards. That the city does not prioritize our schools and our students?  That’s really disheartening both as a parent, as a resident, and most importantly as an educator who cares about our kids. So, I’m asking you and I’m begging you to think about voting for level funding. I’m also asking you to just think about the futures of our kids and our city, and what’s going to happen to our schools when other people start looking at our community and what our schools have to offer or don’t have to offer and start to think otherwise about coming here. I happen to love this place. I think that people sitting in this room like this place. You expect teachers to do well.  I expect us to do well as educators. You all need to do better.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Elementary Parent & Teacher <\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI truly believe everyone in this room wants the best for our city and our schools, but we disagree on how to get there with limited funds. <\/strong> These high school students are impressive. I want to also share the perspective of classroom teachers and the youngest students who cannot be heard tonight because it\u2019s past their bedtime. I\u2019m going to channel my big feelings by using \u201cI\u201d statements as taught by our guidance counselor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I have been to the meetings. I have read the slideshows, referred back to them, written letters. I am still so confused about what you all are even about to vote on. I have heard, seen, and read so many opposing statements about the cuts and what will happen in each school. I wish I had suggestions on how to solve these budget issues, but I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I do have an important perspective on exactly how this will affect second graders in our district. I feel angry, worried, and scared because my colleagues at Bridge Street will be losing behavioral support and intervention next year. I was able to observe a literacy block of theirs a few months ago, and it brought tears to my eyes because it was beautiful, efficient, and really great teaching. Kids moved around the room seamlessly for an hour; support teachers and ESPs came in and out, giving support in the classroom as well as moving kids to other locations to support them. I got a little misty because I know how hard that is; the needs in those rooms were high. It feels like Bridge Street has the highest needs in our district currently. I need you not to cut positions from this school. Next year, they will no longer be able to pull literacy groups in the best way for kids because they will not have the staff to do so. I need you not to cut any positions from this school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I feel angry, worried, and scared for the students and my colleagues at Jackson Street, JFK, and the high school, whose class sizes are about to jump up by, in some cases, 30%. I know teaching second grade with anywhere above 22 students is a terrible idea. There is simply no way to effectively teach that many kids foundational reading and math skills. They will lose their ability to connect with their students well; they will lose the ability to teach with small groups and differentiation; they will need to teach to the masses instead of what each child needs simply because of space and classroom management. I am worried, angry, and scared about my colleagues and students at Ryan Road and Leeds, where we will have to do work with fewer special ed teachers, ESPs, interventionists, and office staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I hope the school committee understands that by cutting these teachers, we will be qualifying more special education students over the next few years. It has been proven over and over and over that early intervention and services in the early grades make a difference. If we do not, the tower of learning has gaps, holes, and shaky pieces. It will fall, and it will fall hard when the students get to fourth, fifth, and middle school grade levels. I need you not to cut any positions at these schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I understand the city is running low on funds, but guess what? So are we. We have withheld raises for more than 10 years to help the city. I need you to not make any of these cuts for the budget next year. It will have implications that will last for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Northampton Resident<\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m here even though my three children graduated from the Northampton school system, youngest graduated nine years ago, so haven\u2019t really been a part of this for a while.<\/strong> I\u2019m also a retired homeowner in the city, so all of that means two things to me: I know how important all the school programs are, and I\u2019m also concerned we avoid an increase in taxes.  But I\u2019m coming to this discussion because mostly because I am really, really discouraged that the Arts are on the chopping block. I\u2019m coming to this discussion late in the game because I saw the article in the paper about the cuts to the theater and other Arts programs and want to say that they are as important to learning as any other role in the school, as are the support roles and the special ed roles.  So, I\u2019m really discouraged to see all these things being contemplated.  I don\u2019t know what complicated answers there are, and I know you have a really difficult job, but I just need to say about the Arts programs that they are equally as important to the students in the Noho schools as all the other programs my children were part of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Multiple Arts programs as well as science and sports. And I can say, watching all of these programs over the years, that participation in a theatrical production requires the same things that other activities do and also provide the same benefits: teamwork, work practice, group effort, specialized learning, pride, empathy, cooperation, collaboration. They\u2019re all in that activity, and they\u2019re all skills needed in the future work world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Hitting a high note in a song after practicing for months involves the same diligence, practice, and focus as catching a perfect pass. Both of those things are equally important to some of the students in the school. Coordinating music, lights, and people to hit that perfect emotion as the curtain rises or falls involves the same skills and collaboration as executing a perfect play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Finding just the right instruments and equipment to make the perfect lighting or sound cue requires the same learning and technical skills as finding the right tools and equipment to execute a scientific experiment. All of these endeavors require teachers and coaches to make a successful learning experience for as many students as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Some of our school community need the Arts to practice those skills. From my children\u2019s classmates, I know several kids who make their living directly from their Theater Arts, music, and media experiences in Northampton High. That\u2019s time. One is a movie producer in LA, one owns his own theatrical technology company, one works in professional music production, and one works for CGI for film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Those are real-world jobs that came about because of the skills they developed at Northampton High School. It would be really sad to deny future Northampton students the same opportunities. All opportunities need to be offered: sports, music.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      NPS Alumni<\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/24<\/sub><\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI\u2019m a recent graduate of Northampton High School and a proud alumni of the NHS Theater Department.  <\/strong>It has come to my attention that a proposed budget plan for the upcoming school year includes personnel cuts to the science department, the history department, and the theater department, among others.  I\u2019d like to briefly share my personal experience with each department in the hopes that each of you can understand how extremely important the positions are that you are considering letting go and how they\u2019ve helped shape me as an average student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Starting with the science department, through my time at Northampton High, the dedicated teachers of the science department taught me some of the most important parts about science and how it falls into our daily life. I\u2019d like to focus on one class in particular. In the fall of my senior year, I took a human anatomy course that was one of my favorite classes I ever had. We had real hands-on experience, including dissecting sheep brains and cow eyes. This class taught me valuable lessons about the human body and how to ensure that I treat my body well. It was also incredibly fun, and our teacher was super enthusiastic about it, which made it ten times better. This class was an elective course, and with the proposed budget cuts, future students may not have access to classes like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      On to the history department.  History has always been my favorite course at school.  Through incredible teachers like Mr. Littlefield, Miss Fontaine, and Mr. Frett, I got my love of history and politics, and now I\u2019m majoring in Political Communications.  The history department teaches the significance of our place in the world, what came before us, and how we can contextualize the actions of our ancestors into modern-day decision-making.  By teaching critical classes like Black History and Government and Politics, students grasp real-life issues and learn how to make a difference in our world.  I can personally say that without a doubt, I would not have the career path that I do without the expertise of the teachers in the history department.  And with possible cuts to their budget, the future of our community would not have the unique political awareness that makes Northampton special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      And lastly, the theater department.  I cannot stress how crucial the theater department is to me and hundreds of current and previous students.  While the theater department may not be the most academically important, it\u2019s the place where I found my voice, which is arguably the most important thing someone can know how to use.  And with full-time leadership of a theater teacher like Dave Grout, theater would not be the same.  And who wouldn\u2019t want to go to a school that can put on productions of Freaky Friday, Rock of Ages, Mamma Mia, and more?  It\u2019s vital for students to have access to a theater department like Northampton\u2019s so they can learn the importance of art and theater and have experts help them discover their talents and uplift their voices so they know what they really are capable of as they enter the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Members, as you vote for the upcoming budget plan, I cannot stress how important it is to keep this in mind.  And I\u2019m calling on you to vote for a level services budget so the future of our generation, our community, and our country can have access to the same classes and activities that I did, which made my time in Northampton so special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Thank you for your time, and please, please, please remember that what might make the most fiscal sense may not be the best for our district.  It\u2019s in times like this where we ask you to vote with your conscience and good hearts because that\u2019s what we have elected you to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      NPS Alumni<\/sub>
      School Committee, 4\/11\/<\/sub><\/em>24<\/em><\/sub><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cI remember being here when I was a student about 10 years ago, having the same fight for arts and for fully funding the school budget.  <\/strong>I just want to say the theater program saved my life as a high school student.  That\u2019s not an exaggeration.  I do not think I would be here now without that program. It was incredibly meaningful to me, and I work in a theater professionally now.  I don\u2019t think I would be here as a human alive today without that program.  And that\u2019s my experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A lot of students right now are sharing about their experiences with the theater program, but I think that is equally true for every support staff position, for every paraeducator, for every special ed position.  Each of these positions matters, and each of them saves lives.  And to cut any of them is, to my mind, is not acceptable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I also want to just speak a little bit about your role because I don\u2019t think that\u2019s come up a huge amount yet tonight.  I\u2019m a little bit of a policy nerd as well.  So as I understand it, you can\u2019t solve the city\u2019s budget.  That\u2019s not your role, but what you can do is vote for the budget that students need and that the school district needs and let the city council do their job, which is to balance the budget, to make hard decisions, to decide what departments get cut, to what amount.  But the budget that you vote for is a ceiling.  What you vote for, they can\u2019t add to it.  All they can do is cut from it.  And so if you pass a level service budget, which is what I hope you\u2019ll do, which is a 14% increase, that enables the city council to do their job.  It allows them to weigh the schools, the needs of the schools, with the needs of other departments and make the hard decisions that they need to make.  If you pass a reduced budget, a 4% increase or an 8% increase, you\u2019re stopping the city council from being able to weigh the full needs of the schools.  And I believe a level service budget is the full needs of the schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I just want to say that what you pass is not the end of discussion, but it is the beginning of one, and that I see your role as a school committee, is not to cut down possibilities but to create them.  So I hope you\u2019ll do that tonight and be brave for all of the students now and in the past and in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The following statements were read at public comment during School Committee and City Council meetings. \u201cAt this point, I feel shame on our city councilors. You are supposed to represent your residents. Your residents are supposed to be your priority, not the mayor.” Northampton Parent City Council, 4\/3\/25 “As a Northampton resident and taxpayer, as […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":259,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-40","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2320,"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions\/2320"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sosnorthampton.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}