Northampton City Council on June 18 approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2026 budget that increases Northampton Public Schools funding by $116,711 and accepted $101,000 freed inside the district's IT budget to hire teachers and restore an elementary garden program, but councilors failed to adopt the full budget by the required two-thirds majority, leaving uncertainty about final budget changes.

The amendment, offered after the Massachusetts Senate released its budget with $116,711 more in unrestricted local aid than the House proposal used to build the mayor's original budget, passed after the council suspended rules to allow a same-night vote. City staff said the council would "take on $49,000 more in risk" because charter tuition assessments also rose in the Senate draft. Separately, the city chief information staff identified $101,000 of one-time savings inside school IT lines that the school committee authorized to be reallocated, bringing the total new school resources to $270,711.

Why it matters: Public commenters filled nearly one hour of the meeting urging the council to restore proposed cuts and approve a stronger school budget. Speakers — parents, paraeducators and students — said they feared staffing reductions would leave special education supports and intervention services insufficient and worsen declines in enrollment.

Council debate focused on two lines of concern: how to fund ongoing school staff versus one-time needs, and the city's longer-term fiscal posture. Supporters of the amended budget said the added funds and the internal IT reallocation would allow the superintendent to hire two additional high school teachers and reinstate an elementary garden program. Opponents said the council was still far short of the school committee's "strong" budget and warned that adopting permanent increases without sustainable revenue (for example via an override) could imperil future budgets.

What happened in the meeting: After public comment, councilors discussed and adopted the mayor's recommended amendment moving the Senate's $116,711 into the Northampton Public Schools account. Council then voted to adopt the general fund budget in two parts (to accommodate a councilor's recusal). Both halves individually passed by majority votes, but a final roll-call to approve the entire general fund budget failed to reach the two-thirds threshold the council requires for final adoption. Councilors then approved several enterprise and revolving funds and a set of end-of-year transfers, and the mayor noted that, per a written opinion from the city solicitor, mayoral-proposed budget amendments included on the record would become part of the mayor's budget and take effect if the council did not enact an alternative by July 1.

Notable figures and positions: President Alex Jarrett (presiding) introduced and guided budget items. Councilors Rachel Maiori, Moulton, Elkins, Perry, LaBarge and others debated specifics; Councilor Dobbs and Councilor Rothenberg voiced prominent no votes on the final adoption. The mayor (not named in the transcript) explained the sources of added funds and the choice to reallocate IT savings.

Details and next steps: The mayor's office said the $101,000 in IT savings came from 11 line items in the school IT budget, including removal of canceled services, cost reductions resulting from a newly negotiated citywide phone contract, postponement of some purchases and consolidation of redundant internet connections. If the state's final budget does not include the Senate's higher figure, the city said it would cover any shortfall and make necessary midyear adjustments to remain balanced.

The council also approved a set of fiscal year 2025 end-of-year transfers (including to the Other Post-Employment Benefits trust) and voted to move forward on cash capital projects and enterprise fund budgets. Councilors urged continued work with the school committee on a multi-year strategy to stabilize staffing and attract or retain students.

Ending note: The council scheduled further budget work for its July meetings; if the council cannot pass a different balanced budget by the statutory deadline, the mayor's budget and the administrative interpretations described by the city solicitor would determine the fiscal year's starting allocations.