“I understand that budgets are difficult and that many people think there isn’t enough money to go around. But please don’t say this is about supporting future or current students. This budget doesn’t do that, not now and not in the future”
Read Amber Clooney’s Letter to the Editor here:
https://www.gazettenet.com/Letter-to-the-editor-55813015
July 9, 2024
Agree! This is the difference between saying you agree with supporting our schools and actually doing it. Which one actually helps our children? Thank you Amber
Students experienced huge setbacks and learning losses during the pandemic. How can cutting services now possibly be the correct solution?
The idea that we’re cutting services now, and even with an override will likely have to cut them more next year is mind-boggling. Especially when we know these cuts will cascade to impact the city for years to come.
“the schools will not be recouping these losses” is critical. The sense that our city funding allocators see educators as things that are easily replaceable if the ‘need arises’ is ludicrous. Good schools don’t get better by firing young teachers who will find better paying jobs elsewhere.
Funding our schools IS thinking about our city’s future. Who do they think will be running the city in 10, 15, 20 years? The students in our schools NOW. They’re being underserved, and they need more.
Thank you Amber for pointing this out. How will the schools be better in the future by cutting positions now? This makes no sense to me. Each time a statement like this is made, it seems that what follows is just a word salad of financial jargon like fiscal responsibility and stability, free cash, general fund, and so on. Northampton families deserve to know that the City intends to keep making cuts to the schools, even when there is nothing left to cut.
Word salad of financial jargon is correct. Cuts to the schools is the literal opposite of investing in the future.
This piece speaks to one of the most baffling and unexplained arguments put forth by Marissa Elkins as well at city council: that she was looking out for her child’s longterm educational needs by sacrificing the immediate term. It didn’t make sense then and it doesn’t make sense now, and the author does a great job asking folks to just be honest about their reasoning:
If you don’t think there’s enough money, just say that rather than packaging it as some kind of vague benefit to kids. And I would add to that: if you don’t think there’s enough money, engage with people saying there is enough, and make sure you understand their analysis. Listen with an open mind and speak with an open heart.
Thank you, Amber Clooney for your article of 7/9/24 that well debunks the double-speak and smoke-and-mirrors rationale ‘Don’t mortgage Northampton’s future with short-term thinking’, contained in the 6/26/24 op-ed in the Gazette. (No point in a mortgage if there is no house anyways). Our schools teach our children, who are our future. Fund our schools =fund our children=fund our future.
This is the letter being referenced in Amber Clooney’s Letter to the Editor:
6/27/24 – Don’t mortgage Northampton’s future with short-term thinking
In City Council meetings, there were questions asked of the Mayor that were left unanswered and seemed to be ignored. It was stated that the City should not be using “one-time” funds or free cash to fund the schools – however, it HAS been necessary to do that because the City has no plan to otherwise fund the schools based on the ACTUAL budget that the schools need to operate. The City constantly underfunds the schools, then uses “free cash” to patch the gap when the community voices opposition to cuts.
During one of the City meetings, Councilor Rothenberg asked that Mayor build the actual school budget – this year’s level services budget of $42 million, along with 4% growth each year following – into the City budget. Building the actual amount into the city budget is what will, in the future, prevent the use of “one-time” funds and “free cash.” Councilor Rothenberg asked the mayor to commit to a plan to build the actual school budget into the City budget – but it seemed the Mayor and other Councilors refused to discuss this.
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