SOS Support Our Schools – Northampton is a growing group of parents, students, teachers, and community members. SOS Northampton was established in the Spring 2024 as a small social media group sharing information and advocating for level-services funding of the schools within the city’s 2024-2025 budget.  (A “level services” budget means that the city would allocate continuing funding to ensure the same amount of staff and services provided during the current school year.) 

Despite a massive effort by SOS group members through hours of public comment, dozens of emails and letters to city and school officials, Op-Eds in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, rallies, lawn signs, fliers, and a petition gathering over 1,000 signatures, on July 2 the City Council passed a budget that underfunded the schools by 2 million dollars.  This means our already understaffed schools will lose 20 teachers, paraeducators, and other staff.  Approximately 20 additional educators will receive “forced transfers” which means that they will be moved to a different position, often in a different school, without any choice in the transfer. _{^{(Data according to information available mid-July.)}}

SOS Northampton is not giving up.  In fact, we are growing! 

Through social media (Facebook, Instagram) a website, and a new weekly newsletter under the NPS Fund Our Schools logo, we are building a grassroots organized community that will work together to take action to ensure that the Northampton city budget – and its leadership – matches the values of families, students, and residents.   

SOS Northampton aims to increase community knowledge of public school and municipal budgeting, finance, and elections so that we can ensure a more representative approach to allocating tax dollars within the public schools and throughout the city.     

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Contact

Our social media pages and email groups are maintained by multiple volunteers.  You can reach SOS volunteers at the following email address:

[email protected]

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