Northampton

The Massachusetts Secretary of Education was in Northampton this week — doing a lot of listening as students and teachers talked school funding. They made their case for reform as costs continue to rise and state dollars come up short in the region’s more rural districts.

Educators in Northampton, Mass. say their work-to-rule campaign has ended, three days after its launch.

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.

Well before a July deadline to submit nomination papers, Northampton, Mass. is already primed for a busy election season. Both the city council and school committee are seeing significant turnover, with at least seven officials not seeking reelection so far. WAMC spoke with daily Hampshire Gazette reporter Alexander MacDougall about how things are shaping up and how one issue in particular is already looming, as candidates collect signatures: funding for Northampton Public Schools.

A number of residents in Northampton, Massachusetts, are voicing concern over a proposed housing project that could see a five-story development go up by a former church in a neighborhood of much smaller houses.

A plan to fit a five-story structure on the grounds of a former church parking lot in Northampton has won several key approvals, following months of changes and input from the city and residents.

Municipal races and campaigns are starting to take shape across western Massachusetts – including a challenge to the mayor of Northampton.

Hoping to restore jobs lost last year on top of fully-funding the district, school committee members in Northampton, Massachusetts, have approved a so-called “strong budget” – one the mayor says even increasing city revenues couldn’t cover.

Throughout western Massachusetts, communities are grappling with big potential cuts to school district staffing. It’s prompting lawmakers and students to call for the state to step up – and revisit one of its funding formulas.

Following a term that included a pandemic, damaging floods and heavily-debated budgets, the mayor of Northampton is running for another four years.