Some councilors still won’t prioritize our schools (11/18/24)

Thanks so much to everyone who advocated for our public schools last night, in-person, via Zoom and by submitting written comments. Thirty people spoke at the budget hearing last night (in person and on zoom) and of those, twenty-nine spoke in support of prioritizing our public schools. It seems like the message about prioritizing the schools is starting to get through, but there are still obstacles as well as resistance. 

 

The most important takeaway from last night is that the Town Council voted to hold off on appropriating $1 million of the surplus to roads and sidewalks in order to give the schools time to make a request for some of this money for capital needs. Below is a more detailed summary as well as some observations. The recording is available (Start at 1:30:00). The next important date will be the 12/2 6:30 PM Town Council Meeting – Between now and then we will get more information about whether the Town Council is prioritizing our schools for next year. 

• Reparations fund ($74,334) went through as proposed.
• Capital Stabilization Fund ($3,952,426) went through as proposed. Based on discussion last night, most of this money will eventually end up supporting the four planned capital projects in town (new elementary school, Library, Fire Station, DPW)
• Waste hauler study ($125,000) was reduced to $75,000 with the rest remaining in free cash for now.  
• $200,000 for a sidewalk plow went back to the Finance Committee for further discussion with some questions about whether a less expensive plow could be purchased instead. 
• The appropriation of $1,000,000 for roads and sidewalks failed to pass, with Councilors Rooney, Taub, Walker, Devlin-Gauthier, Hanneke, and Lord voting against it, and Councilors Shoen, Ette, Steinberg, Griesemer, Ryan, Hegner voting for it. Those opposed cited wanting to give the schools a chance to ask for capital funds before appropriating the money. Councilor Ana Devlin-Gauthier spoke in support of prioritizing our schools and using some of the surplus for the schools, saying “I would rather have our school buses driving over potholes to schools that are healthy and functional.”  Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke said that over the last six years, certain councilors have pushed for spending on roads and sidewalks above all else and that she does not think the roads and sidewalks are in as dire condition as people paint them. She was concerned that very little of the capital resources allocated via the Joint Capital Planning Committee (JCPC) went to schools, with the overwhelming majority going to the municipal side of the budget. At this point, the schools can put together a request for some of this money, and that request would have to go through the Town Manager and he would then present it to the Town Council. I believe the School Committees and Dr. Xi are working on this. 

• It never seems to be the right time for the schools to ask for money: A number of Councilors said that the Council can’t appropriate capital funds for the schools unless the schools make requests for such money, which is a valid point. On the other hand, when the schools and the public are constantly told that there isn’t enough money, it is not clear to me how/when/why the schools would request additional funds. By the time the schools and public knew there was a surplus, the Town Manager had already drawn up Financial Orders for using it, so it is not clear at what point the schools could have requested it. 
• Can the Town budget less conservatively in the future and allocate more to operating budgets? Maybe...but it’s not clear that they are interested in doing that. The Town Manager pointed out that if there is a surplus at the end of the year, they can put it into the Capital Stabilization Fund and use it toward the four capital projects, which seems to be a priority. 
• We will have to keep an eye on the FY26 Budget Guidelines being developed now in the Finance Committee to see if the Town Council is taking seriously our request that the schools be prioritized this budget cycle. The budget guidelines will tell the Town Manager what to prioritize in the coming year as well as the recommended percentage increase for each of the functional areas of town (Regional Schools, Elementary Schools, Library, Municipality) 

• If you want to send a thank you to any of the Town Councilors who indicated support for the schools and/or left the door open for the schools to receive a portion of the surplus, you can find email addresses in the directory  Ana Devlin-Gauthier, in particular, not only voiced support for the schools but also recognized how difficult it is for busy parents to engage in this process. 
• Fill out the SOS Amherst Survey to help us better tell the story of how important the schools are to our community. 
• The Finance Committee will take up creating the budget guidelines for FY26 at their meeting on Friday 11/22 at 9:00 AM. Agenda and Zoom link not yet available but this is another potential opportunity to voice support for our schools and ask that the Town of Amherst find a way to better support education in Amherst. Meeting info will be posted here eventually. 
• The Amherst Town Council will meet on Monday 12/2 at 6:30 PM and vote on the budget guidelines as prepared by the Finance Committee. Save the date! Advocacy may be needed! 

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