Daily Hampshire Gazette – Sarah Buttenwieser, Amy Martyn and Kristen Elde: Caring and communication as community values

If we believe that budgets are moral documents, we must ensure that our values ​​are reflected in the way we spend our money. We must ensure that Northampton’s budget reflects the greatest needs of our city.

We place caring for one another first, and we know we are far from alone in prioritizing this value. In addition, we view our public schools as the primary institution of community care, and we know we are not alone in this mindset either. Our teachers and staff are important partners with parents and caregivers in raising well-educated, well-cared-for students—our future leaders, neighbors, and the people who will care for us as we age.

But care requires investment, including, in the case of our schools, the additional $2 million that is still needed to ensure services at a level that we and many in our community advocate for. We believe the path forward is to ask questions, some of which may seem challenging, about the structure of our city’s finances and funding priorities, as well as addressing questions about how our state funds public education. And to be clear, this is more than $2 million for the coming fiscal year; it’s about how we best align our values ​​and needs with the financial parameters.

These issues are, of course, complex, and we can all welcome more bright minds working creatively and in good faith to advocate for public schools that reflect high standards of caring education. In the coming year, we would love to see and participate in a series of engaging, inclusive community meetings that focus on participatory budgeting. Encouraged by the current level of engagement and passion, we know that members of our community can work together to produce a budget that moves us closer to our shared values.

Let’s start by providing consistent funding for Northampton public schools for 2024-25 and continue to plan seriously for several consecutive years of fully funded schools.

Sarah Buttenwieser

Northampton

Amy Martin

Northampton

Kristen Elde

Florence