Take Action

/ Uncategorized / By

Do Something! Here is how to take Action

What’s next?  We need the School Committees to reject at least some of these reductions and vote budgets higher than the amount that the Town of Amherst has indicated it would support. They did this last year for the Regional Schools – and hopefully they will do it again. It’s a move that will not be popular with Town Council and so we need to apply public pressure so they know that the community wants them to take this vote. Our time frame to do this is between now and 3/11 for the Region and 3/18 for the Elementary Schools.

  • The School Committees will hold Public Forums on the Budgets (Regional – Wednesday 2/26 @ 6:30 PM; Elementary – Thursday 2/27 @ 6:30 PM) in the ARHS Library.  
  • On March 18, the Amherst School Committee will vote on the Elementary School Budget
  • On March 11, the Regional School Committee will vote on the Middle/High School Budget
 

How do we do this? We get loud! 

  • Show up at the Budget Forums. Bring friends. Bring your kids. Talk about how these reductions will impact your family, other families, and our educators.
  • Can’t attend? Leave a public comment voicemail by 3:00 on the date of the forum by calling 413-362-1891. Voicemails are played aloud at the forums so have more impact than writing.
  • Send written public comment by 3:00 on the date of the forum by emailing SCpubliccomment@arps.org

Spread the word!

  • Forward this email to your networks, or send the attached image as a text to friends.
  • Do you have friends and neighbors whose children are not yet in our schools? Ask them to speak up on behalf of the future schoolchildren of Amherst.
  • Do you have friends and neighbors whose children have graduated from our schools? Ask them to speak up and share stories about what our schools were like when they were fully funded and among the top schools in Massachusetts.
  • Tell people about our Google Group (email cathleenmitchell@gmail.com or SOSAmherst@gmail.com to join), our Instagram (sosamherst) and our website (arpsparents.com)

First, we get School Committee to vote higher budgets, then we take our fight back to Town Council!