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Date: 2/21/2023
NORTHAMPTON – Interim Superintendent Jannell Pearson-Campbell announced that a special School Committee meeting will occur on Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the school district’s fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget.
According to a press release sent to Reminder Publishing, the School Committee, Northampton school administrators and the Northampton Association of School Employees (NASE) will discuss ways to balance the 2023-24 budget.
“Our school district’s priority has always been creating the best teaching and learning environment for all students,” said Pearson-Campbell. “This is possible when community members come together to achieve our goals.”
According to Pearson-Campbell, the budget presentation and supporting documents will be posted on the Northampton Public Schools webpage for all stakeholders to review.
“When discussing the 2023-2024 Northampton Public School budget, we will demonstrate a sense of urgency to ensure all our students and educators have the resources and support they need to
continue thriving in our educational system,” said Pearson-Campbell.
In a joint meeting with the School Committee, City Council, and the trustees of Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in January, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra explained that education in Northampton includes the highest number of expenditures in FY23.
The total amount of money being spent on education in FY23 is $61 million or 55 percent of the budget when including expenses that are not reflected in the school budget but are paid for by the city.
City spending for Northampton Public School (NPS) increased by 5.07 percent during this past fiscal year.
According to Sciarra, it was the second-largest increase in 15 years for NPS and included an extra $250,000 that the School Committee sought for extra salary, making the total NPS budget amount to over $35 million.
The increase came after the Northampton Association of School Employees rallied in early spring to protest wages, arguing that the current pay for educational support professionals (ESPs) leaves them almost impoverished.
During the January joint meeting, Sciarra indicated that she is committing to a 4 percent increase in city spending for both Smith Vocational and the NPS district for FY24. For NPS, this would mean an estimated expenditure increase of $1.4 million according to the mayor’s FY24 budget projections.
“I’m making this commitment this year in recognition that our schools are still struggling to recover from the pandemic and its impact on learning and our social and emotional well-being of our students, as well as all of our social and emotional well-being,” said Sciarra.
According to Pearson-Campbell, the NPS district, School Committee, administrators and NASE “share a commitment” to provide educators, staff, and administrators with salaries to “attract and maintain a highly-qualified, diverse staff.”
The NPS budget presentation for FY24 will occur over Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84120429029#success. The passcode is 947002.