$40.7M Northampton schools budget approved

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The Northampton City Council approved a more than $40.7 million budget for the city’s public schools during a meeting Tuesday night; ending a contentious funding battle for the fiscal year.

In a special meeting, which was held virtually, the council voted to adopt an amendment adding more than $1.1M to the budget, with the additional monies coming from the Fiscal Stability Stabilization Fund, the Special Education Stabilization Fund, and from the Smith College Gift. Despite the additional funding, the amendment still comes up short of the “level services” budget proposed by the Northampton Association of School Employees designed to avoid any job cuts.

While all councilors voted for the amendment, some expressed regret that more funding was not set aside for the schools.

“It’s clearly not enough for the schools,” Ward 3 City Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg said.

“We didn’t make it to the $2 million that we are short. We’re apparently not willing to budge another $466,000. We are dismayed in Ward 3 that we have spent this entire season waiting for more movement, and there hasn’t been any.”

City Council President Alex Jarrett said he hopes solutions can be found going forward. “I very much wish there was there was a sustainable way to add even more funding to the Northampton Public Schools, and I look forward to thinking together in the future about how we can accomplish that,” Jarrett said.

The school budget has been a contentious topic in Northampton over the past couple months, with supporters of greater funding holding rallies outside of City Hall ahead of council and school committee meetings.

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