Educators in Northampton, Mass., say a budget proposal from the mayor doesn’t do enough to support local schools. Union workers have now ended voluntary work as the budget’s debated and contract negotiations continue.
One-by-one, at least two dozen educators gathered in front of Northampton High School early Monday morning, marking the first day of work-to-rule with a standout.
Complete with signs stating “Find the Money,” “Staff Cuts Hurt Students,” or simply “Harumph,” it was one of several demonstrations held before classes started across the district.
Heather Brown, vice president of the Northampton Association of School Employees, tells WAMC it’s the product of slow contract negotiations as well as the latest budget proposal backed by Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra.
“We are witnessing our first day of our work-to-rule campaign, which is in response to really devastating budget cut proposals by our mayor, and also, really, stalled contract negotiations for our employees,” Brown said, holding her own sign displaying how NASE covers more than just district teachers. “All of these people are employed by the district. We represent clerical folks, custodians, teachers, paraprofessionals, cafeteria workers and even some administrators, and we are looking to get fair contracts and wages for all of those folks.”
Brown says NASE requested to bargain back in late-2024 and negotiations started earlier this year. The union represents about 600 employees, about 540 of whom are at NPS.
It also represents some 60 staff members at Smith Vocational, though Brown says teachers there were able to settle their contract just recently.
For the rest, she says negotiations have been slow-going. Not helping things, and even fueling the work-to-rule campaign, the union says, is the latest chapter in the city’s school budget debates.
While a full, proposed city budget will be unveiled Friday, the mayor’s office already announced almost $43.9 million will go toward NPS in FY26 – a 5.88 percent increase compared to last year.
Superintendent Portia Bonner has indicated no layoffs are anticipated, thanks to what will likely be some service reductions and position eliminations involving retirements and attrition, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
That’s not welcome news, says Kate Fontaine, a department chair and history and social studies teacher at Northampton High School. Fontaine is also the Unit A coordinator for NASE – representing 275 licensed staffers.
“It's been acknowledged in the media and by members of the city council, members of the school committee, that the schools are in crisis because we are so understaffed, and so, they're further reducing services in our district,” Fontaine told WAMC. “So, we're protesting both the lack of funding for public education in Northampton, which is a city that has the money to fund schools, and also a lack of an appropriate cost of living increase for staff.”
Last year’s city budget led to what amounted to some 20 jobs being cut at NPS - the result of the city increasing district funding by 8 percent — not enough to close a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall without eliminations.
The end of COVID-related funding, previous staff pay raises and other factors played a role – a situation other neighboring school districts have had to face, job cuts included.
Last year, Bonner also said the apparent “overuse of school choice revenue beyond sustainable levels” and an increase in staffing from FY18 to 2024 were also factors in Northampton.
Notably, leading up to the budget’s ultimate passage, NASE took a vote of “no confidence” in Bonner over an alleged lack of advocacy for teachers. The “no confidence” stance hasn’t changed, Fontaine tells WAMC.
Over the past year, several cut positions would be restored, though calls for further restorations remain, with many advocates, including Fontaine, pointing to an $11.6 million budget surplus that was certified by the state in late-2024.
Fontaine and others argue the city can afford to fund NPS at a higher level, supporting staff who often provide for their classrooms themselves.
“Nobody goes into education to make money. Everybody goes into it because they care about kids, but … it's the constant expectation that we will continue to do things because it's the right thing to do for kids,” Fontaine said. “A public official most recently said ‘Are the police asked to buy their own cars? Do the DPW … show up with their own shovels?’ So why is it the expectation that educators constantly provide most things they need for their classroom and constantly take a pay cut to make the budget work for a city?”
Sciarra has previously indicated that relying on unexpected revenues, no matter how large, is not sustainable for funding recurring school expenses, nor are one-time transfers from various city sources some advocates have called for.
In an email to WAMC, the mayor pointed to her April school budget announcement, which touched on similar points, as well as the $46.6 million budget school committee members promoted earlier this year.
That budget, which had the endorsement of many higher school funding supporters, is a spending plan Sciarra claims would require a $5 million override within months of the new fiscal year’s start, and then another $4 million override in FY30.
Sciarra said her plan anticipates a “$3 million override in Fiscal Year 2027” but that “with its passage, another override would not be expected until at least FY31, and there would be a sustainable path that supports all residents — including students — by working to ensure the resources we commit today will still be there tomorrow.”
The statement also reads, in-part:
“As Mayor, I have a responsibility to support our schools as fully as we sustainably can, while also ensuring that Northampton remains a well-functioning and financially stable city for all residents."
