Rally for School Funding Draws Large Crowd

More than one hundred people rallied in downtown Amherst on March 2 to protest impending cuts to Amherst’s public school budgets. The event was organized by Save Our Schools, a group of district parents and caregivers that has formed to advocate for public school funding.

SOS organizer Cathleen Mitchell described the event. “What you are seeing at the rally is families and caregivers, many of whom are strangers to one another, who have come together out of concern for the future of education in Amherst. We hope that our elected officials will take note of how important this issue is for residents of Amherst.”

Budget guidance from the Town Council call for a 3.5% increase to all department operating budgets (school, library, and town) but rising costs mean that the net effect is a cut of $1.6 million to the elementary schools and $1.3 million to the middle and high school. Superintendent of Schools E. Xiomara Herman developed a preliminary budget within these guidelines which was presented at a public hearing last week and included both programming and staff cuts. 

The rally was enthusiastic despite the blustery grey weather. Parents, students of all ages, and community members brought homemade signs, played music, chanted, and waved to passing vehicles who honked in support. No Amherst Town Councilors attended the rally but Northampton City Councilor Quaverly Rothenberg was there because her town is facing similar problems.

The Amherst School Committee will discuss the proposed elementary school budget on March 18 and will likely take a vote on the budget  in late March. If they ask the Superintendent to increase the budget, that amount will be sent to Amherst Town Manager Paul Bockelman by April 1. If he does not approve the amount sent from the school committee, it will go to the Amherst Town Council and Finance Committee. Under the Town Charter, the Town Council cannot increase the budget, so it can either accept the original lower amount or reject the budget and send it back to the town manager for further negotiations. A final budget must be agreed upon by June 30.