Dear City Council, 

It’s budget season, and again there are common misconceptions about school funding. 

If children with high needs are prevalent state and nation wide, why is this a local government responsibility? 

Government exists to take care of the people. 

These are our neighbors: economically disadvantaged students, English language learners, students with disabilities and at risk youth. When community members are left with unmet needs, the costs don’t disappear. They emerge later through increased strain on emergency services, healthcare systems, public safety and reduced economic opportunity. 

Public education is shared infrastructure that benefits everyone in the community. 

Why are we hiring more staff when enrollment is going down? 

Projected declines in enrollment don’t reduce the needs students have today. 

If you know your child will eventually move out at age 18, you don’t stop feeding them when they turn 12 to save money. 

Schools still need adequate staffing right now to address pandemic-era academic deficits, rising behavioral needs and mandated special education services. 

But this is different, the city has to pay unemployment when they lay off employees like teachers.

Students who graduate with low literacy levels face dramatically reduced lifetime earning potential and are more likely to require additional public support services.

We should examine the long-term economic impact of underfunding intervention services compared to the cost of maintaining staff such as literacy interventionists, counselors and specialists. 

Educational support is an investment in the economic health and stability of the community. 

Every dollar the schools get is taken from other city departments.

Local government is responsible for serving the public through both education and essential services. 

We shouldn’t normalize framing schools and city departments as competitors for survival. These systems are interconnected. Underfunding education increases strain on other public services over time, while strong schools contribute to public safety, economic stability, workforce development and community health. 

Thanks to City Council President Rachel Maiore for clarifying this during the first Budget Hearing and to Councilors Robbins and Stratton for your respectful and important questions. 

Letter sent to Northampton City Council. June 1, 2026

References: 

Two-thirds of children in the United States who cannot read proficiently by the end of fourth grade will eventually end up in jail or on welfare. Over 70% of inmates in American prisons cannot read above a fourth-grade level. 85% of juveniles who appear before the court system are functionally low literate. https://usareads.org/the-illiteracy-to-prison-pipeline-two-thirds-of-children-who-cannot-read/

One in four young adults across the U.S. is functionally illiterate -yet more than half earned high school diplomas, according to recently released data.

The paper, “Investing in Our Nation’s Future: Advancing Educational Opportunity for Underserved Students,” by education economists Emma García and Henry Levin, summarizes the benefits of educational interventions ranging from participating in early childhood education to increasing rates of community college completion. Their study analyzes data on existing cost benefit analyses of each intervention, showing substantial benefit-to-cost ratios ranging from approximately $2 to more than $10 for every dollar invested. 

Income is strongly related to literacy. The average annual income of adults who read at the equivalent of a sixth-grade level is $63,000. This is significantly higher than adults who read at a third to fifth grade level, who earn $48,000, and much higher than those at the lowest levels of literacy, who earn just $34,000 on average. 

The crisis in our schools is like a hole in the roof. A strong budget patches it. A level-services budget just puts buckets and wet floor signs underneath. And the target budget? It cuts a new hole.

Some say repairs cost too much, materials, salaries, too many people on the job. But buckets aren’t a fix. Ignoring the damage now means paying more later, in lawsuits, penalties, emergency services, and long-term harm to our community.

The district needs $4 million more than the city planned. Underfunding schools leads to higher costs down the line, social services, criminal justice, economic decline.

We’ll hear that special education is a “burden” on the budget. But 26% of NPS students qualify.

These students are evaluated and diagnosed through a careful process. If their disability affects learning, they get an Individualized Education Plan, IEP, written with families. It includes placement, academic or behavior support, and services like speech therapy.

Nationally, 75% of students with IEPs graduate. In Northampton, it’s higher. When students get what they need, they’re more likely to succeed and less likely to need public help as adults.

Public education, including special education, is an investment with real returns. Please fully fund our schools.

Public comment at School Committee meeting, Spring 2025

Funding our schools isn’t just about supporting our children today—it’s about lowering Northampton’s long-term costs associated with crime, social services, and lost tax revenue. The narrative that restoring $2 million to the school budget will “take $10 million a year away from future capital improvements” overlooks a crucial truth: every dollar invested in education generates significant returns.

Low adult literacy costs the U.S. $2.2 trillion annually, according to recent studies. Locally, the impact is no less significant. Consider these figures on annual income based on reading proficiency:

• Adults with a 6th-grade reading level earn $63,000/year.     
• Adults with a 3rd- to 5th-grade reading level earn $48,000/year.
• Adults with the lowest reading levels earn just $34,000/year.

If individuals work for 50 years at these rates, the income gap widens:

• Adults earning $48,000/year will lose $750,000 in lifetime income compared to those at the $63,000 level.
• Adults earning $34,000/year will lose $1.7 million in lifetime income.

With $2 million cut from the NPS budget, how many millions in future earning potential have been taken from our students? For every student who does not achieve reading proficiency, our community loses taxable income and spending power.

Chronic underfunding has ripple effects:

• Adults who are functionally illiterate over a 50-year working life may lose up to $3.15 million in income.
• These adults are disproportionately represented in the incarcerated population.

Reduced funding for adjustment counselors, teachers, and support staff not only hurts academics but also increases mental health and behavioral issues. This, in turn, increases the calls for police intervention:

• Students arrested at school are three times more likely to drop out than their peers.
• Students who drop out of High School are eight times more likely to enter the criminal justice system.
• Students of color, students with disabilities and students impacted by trauma are disproportionately impacted. 

Underfunding Northampton’s schools:

1. Reduces the earning potential of each graduating class by millions of dollars, shrinking the local economy.
2. Increases costs for police responses and social services, straining the city’s budget.
3. Limits opportunities for students to thrive, perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequity.

Appeared in the Daily Hampshire Gazette January 15, 2025,

References:

Low Adult Literacy Costs U.S. $2.2 Trillion a year

The Economic Cost of Literacy

School Funding Effectiveness

School to Prison Pipeline