Northampton School Committee backs ‘strong’ budget

NORTHAMPTON — For the second straight year, the Northampton School Committee has approved a recommendation for a major increase in school spending next fiscal year.

The so-called $50,372,969 million “strong” budget, approved by an 8-0 vote Thursday with an abstention from Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, would increase city spending on the schools by about 15.4% in fiscal 2027 over the current year.

The vote came less than a week after Sciarra publicized her recommended $46.6 million level-services school budget, which represents an increase of more than $2.96 million, or 6.79%, over fiscal year 2026. The level-services budget is 5.5% higher than the mayor’s initial budget projects for next fiscal year, which she announced in January.

Sciarra ultimately has the final say in how much money the school receives in the city’s fiscal budget.

While committee members and residents speaking during public comment rallied for increased funding to the school district, vouching for the need for added services in English and special education, Sciarra explained that even her proposed level-services budget represents a more than $2 million funding gap.

Sciarra said that the school budget has gone up about 40% since fiscal year 2023 — a series of increases funded through the city’s cash reserves, which she said are at risk of drying out if the city continues to increase the school budget at the rate that the School Committee requests.

The mayor noted that for the first time in more than 50 years, Northampton Public Schools received budgetary increases of more than 5% for five consecutive years. She previously remarked that amid a projected 6.7% increase in health insurance costs, which is expected to carry a $1 million price tag to the city, as well as increases in retirement of 4.45%, or $357,393, and a $333,547 drop in state aid, the city faces budget pressure during “a time of economic uncertainty.”

“To meet this level-services number, we have made various financial adjustments to close the gap between the 5.5% projection and this one,” Sciarra said. “These have been record increases to the schools, and I understand that they are not enough, but they have been record increases while I’ve also been trying to maintain a sound fiscal situation for the city.”

She continued, “That’s my job. Ultimately, I need you to understand that not maintaining a sustainable budget is not helpful for the schools. It will result in a huge fiscal crisis, especially for the schools, as they are the largest part of the budget.”

Superintendent Portia Bonner’s strong budget would restore and expand services across the district, while the level-services budget would maintain the district’s current staff and programs and add expenses for special education compliance.

Public comment backs strong budget

Those who spoke during public comment almost entirely expressed support for the strong budget, with some teachers outlining the struggles they have faced educating students with special needs without sufficient resources.

Others, such as John F. Kennedy Middle School teacher Kate Parrott, spoke in favor of the strong budget, noting that the hiring of two additional teachers for social studies and science would help minimize class sizes.

“Seventh grade science used to have an average class size of about 17 students. With 17 kids, we can do amazing hands-on science. Currently, my class average is 24 students and the current sixth grade is larger. Looking at class sizes of 27 next year,” Parrott said. “Twenty-seven kids is a safety issue in our labs. I love my job; I wouldn’t have stayed here for this long if I didn’t love Northampton … but you have got to help us out, please.”

School Committee member Robbie Saner Sullivan, however, explained that while she wholeheartedly agreed that the school district was in need of the additional administrative and paraprofessional funding that the strong budget offers, she also acknowledged that the city lacks the money to cover it.

“I don’t believe our city’s budget can sustain increases at this level over time. That’s not an accusation — there is no ill-will there. There is a gap between what schools cost and what municipalities, including our own, can provide,” Saner Sullivan said. “That’s a hard truth and it doesn’t fit neatly into a narrative of heroes and villains. It’s a structural challenge, not a scandal.”

Other School Committee members, such as Tiffany Jewell, argued that although the strong budget funds increases in services, it should not be seen as “bonus” or extra funding. She said that such a budget simply restores programing and services to the district that have been lost over the years.

“This is not like a bonus budget. It’s not extra fun money that we get to just do whatever we want with it, this is a restorative budget,” Jewell said. “It is a budget that is going to return and restore the many, many things that we have lost throughout the years from egregious cuts in our schools. We see our students are not doing great — they’re suffering and it’s not OK.”

It is expected that an override referendum will be needed to fund the fiscal 2028 budget to avoid significant cuts to city and school services, the mayor previously stated.

Committee member Michael Stein voiced his frustration with the budgeting process in general, asking the mayor for increased transparency and collaboration with the School Committee when different city departments are being weighed against each other during the budgeting process.

“Their narratives around harmonizing these challenges are irreconcilable, frankly. We still have not had a conversation as a community about the trade-offs within the overall municipal budget that mean cuts here and not cuts in other places,” Stein said. “We talk about generalities, we talk about percentages … I’ll ask again what positions were more important to keep in other departments than a speech pathologist or teaching a kid how to read. That is the moral choice in front of us.”

In an effort to better navigate a challenging “economic climate,” Sciarra said last week that she would convene a committee to dive into the city’s present and long-term finances, as well as its structural deficit. The committee is expected to include public and elected officials, as well as community members.

Sciarra is expected to submit the city’s full fiscal year 2027 budget to City Council for approval at its May 15 meeting.