If Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra sticks to her proposed funding plan for Northampton Public Schools, more than 30 student-facing positions will need to be cut. That is a huge loss at a time when we see students of all ages in need of more support and the guidance provided by skilled educators.

The actual dollar figure between Mayor Sciarra's proposed school budget and the level-services budget supported by the School Committee is only $3 million. That's $3 million in the context of a proposed overall city budget of $137 million.

Given the city's history of underestimating revenues and being overly conservative in funding reserves, Mayor Sciarra is in a position to be both fiscally responsible and supportive of students' academic, social and emotional needs.

In 2023 alone, Northampton underestimated local receipts by roughly $5 million. In the same year, Northampton held approximately $13 million in free cash, and that was nearly 11 ½ % of the overall city budget.  The state’s Financial Management Resource Bureau advises that a healthy free cash target to maintain from year to year is an amount equal to 5% to 7% of a municipal budget.

A small shift in budgeting strategy will make a big difference for our students. Contact  Mayor Sciarra today using the prepared message or writing your own letter to say that you support her increasing the proposed budget for Northampton Public Schools to maintain level services for our students.