Residents and committee spar over budgets as superintendent presents three FY27 funding scenarios

The Northampton School Committee on March 12 received a three‑scenario budget presentation from Superintendent Dr. Desi Bonner and the district business office and faced urgent public calls to adopt the most robust option.

Dr. Bonner anchored the packet to a $43,635,854 base and presented: a strong budget (restorative, roughly $50.8 million in total proposed spending) that would add reading and math interventionists, more paraeducators and special‑education teachers; a level‑service budget (~$47.1 million) that maintains current staffing and meets mandated services; and a city fiscal‑target approach (~$46.4 million) that would reduce new requests and likely limit course offerings and staffing growth. Dr. Bonner emphasized rising out‑of‑district tuition and transportation costs, federal grant uncertainty, and a statewide decline in measured poverty that may reduce Title I funding.

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