Northampton Public Schools

After lengthy debates, job cuts and protests by locals and school officials alike, leaders in Northampton, Massachusetts are trying to avoid another tense school budget season next year.

A $3 million budget override question intended for voters in Northampton, Massachusetts this fall has been rescinded – following a special city council meeting.

A surprise uptick in revenue could translate to Northampton, Massachusetts ditching an override question this fall. The news comes on the heels of another financial surprise for the city – a month after lengthy budget debates and slated cuts across the school district.

One of the last pieces of budget business wrapped up in the City of Northampton, Massachusetts this week. The city council approved extra funding for the school district, following last month’s failed budget vote that sidelined it.

Weeks after the Northampton Association of School Employees announced their “no confidence” vote in Superintendent Dr. Portia Bonner, the city’s school committee approved an official statement detailing its support for the head of Northampton Public Schools.

Months of budget talks in Northampton, Massachusetts came to a head at the latest city council meeting, only for councilors to come up short of passing a final spending plan. An earlier plan proposed by the mayor will likely take effect in the meantime — with both budgets considered insufficient by a local teachers’ union.

The school committee in Northampton, Massachusetts, has signed off on a budget that dodges cutting positions at a time when districts across the state are grappling with deficits.