Opinion: Amherst Sunrise To Town: Support Our Educators And Adopt Progressive Budget Priorities

By Marisol Pierce-Bonifaz, Langston Johnson, and Julian Hynes

We are Sunrise Amherst, a youth-led climate organization dedicated to political activism at the local level with the goal of creating a more just society and a brighter, greener future. Moving toward these goals locally requires increased funding for necessary services from  the Town of Amherst. Sunrise Amherst believes more funding is needed in the ARPS School District, for essential town services, such as Fire/EMS and DPW, housing affordability, and projects aimed at supporting a localized Green New Deal. In the FY24 budget cycle, the town must stop making ordinary or status quo budget decisions in extraordinary times. Taking steps toward implementing ideas outlined in the paragraphs below could be a thoughtful first step in taking Amherst’s budgeting in the right direction. 

Showing taxpayers that we as a town are frugal and careful with their tax dollars will be critical as the school building project override vote nears. Giving our children the healthy, breathable, updated school they deserve will depend on how willing and able our residents are to open their pocketbooks. We must show them that our town spends their money wisely. 

Sunrise Amherst stands with the Amherst Pelham Education Association in their demands for fair pay and an equitable contract. This matter is personal to Sunrise Amherst, as many of our members are students at Amherst Regional Middle School and Amherst Regional High School. Our educators play a crucial role in raising our generation, and providing opportunities for students. Paraeducators, ELL, special needs services, and performing arts funding, often cut in budget cycles, are essential to students’ well-being and success. Throughout Sunrise Amherst’s advocacy in the fiscal budget cycles, we have seen time and time again the lack of prioritization given to the ARPS School District. These budget cuts have reduced crucial opportunities for students and necessary funding for our educators. We must pay our educators what they deserve for the countless hours and dedication they provide to the students, and for the overall community. 

The Amherst and Regional School Committee has chosen to allocate $5 million to an environmentally damaging track and field project and embark on a $100 million Elementary School Building Project — and large numbers of district level administrators are making double or triple what many of the teachers they supervise earn. The Superintendent of Schools got a 4.05% pay raise last year, yet the district refused to provide teachers with less than one-sixth  of that (0.6%). These are conscious decisions made by our elected committee representatives, yet they say we can not afford to save the jobs of teachers and librarians in our schools. The track and field project alone could easily cover the $1.9 million needed for ARPS next fiscal year, with over $4 million of usable funds still available in capital funds. Members of the Town Council have also stated that there simply is not enough money available in the FY24 town budget for the council to allocate toward education, affordable housing, roads/sidewalks, CRESS, Fire/EMS staffing, climate programs, DPW, Sustainability staffing, and tree planting. Yet, the town is embarking on an ever-increasing library project, now costing upwards of $50 million, and has $24 million more in reserves, free cash, and stabilization funds combined. If our municipal budgets are struggling, why is the town not trying to use our reserves, also known as a “rainy day fund”, for the current budget crisis?

Whenever a municipality, company, or family faces financial hardship in their budgets, the first logical step is to see where we can save, with minimal impacts to long-term essential goods and services. For example, when gas prices rose in the summer of 2022 many local families cut back on their vehicle use or bought a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Meanwhile, residents and Sunrise Amherst members alike observed that Amherst Police Department vehicles were idling over long periods of time. This not only wastes over $120 per day in gas, but is harmful to the environment, harmful to the vehicles themselves, and a violation of state law. In addition the APD cruisers are more than triple the cost of some hybrid options and get only 17 miles per gallon. This is just one small example of a simple action the Town of Amherst could take to cut costs and protect our environment with negligible impacts to public services. Another example was when the University of Massachusetts Amherst had its top-earning employees take a 10% pay cut to save money and show comradery with lower-paid workers at the university. If the Town of Amherst implemented a similar policy, we could save upwards of 300,000 per year, far more than the $60,000 saved by cutting the jobs of three ARPS Paraprofessionals. Many Amherst Police Department employees make more than $150,000, with some earning more than  $200,000 last year. If the Town of Amherst is facing a budget crisis in the FY24  budget, our elected officials should find and correct these inefficiencies, rather than cutting educators, who are already underfunded. 

Expanding our revenue coming in is also an option the Town Council can pursue if it chooses. Currently, contributions from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Amherst College make up 0.9% of the Town Of Amherst FY23 budget. However, that can change — if the town properly collected information on the cost of providing municipal services to these tax-exempt institutions, we could bill them for the services, and stop providing said services if reimbursement is not provided, saving millions. Amherst College holds billions in tax-free property, and is one of the wealthiest institutions in the country. Would it really hurt them to contribute to our tax base at the same rate as a middle-income homeowner? 

Many towns in the area also have a separated, commercial tax rate that is higher than the traditional residential tax rate. This is a proposal the Town Council could adopt, bringing in needed revenue, while lessening the tax burden on residents. Some communities have also adopted a user service fee for local college students who rely on our critical, and well regarded fire/EMS, police, and public works services daily.

Many budgeting decisions that have been made by the Town Council and School Committee in past years follow a conservative track, and represent values that are vastly out of step with Amherst, one of the more progressive towns in the nation. Instead, if more forward-thinking decisions are made in this budget cycle, the town will be able to afford the $1.9 million, which is only 2% out of a nearly $90 million budget needed to prevent mass layoffs at ARPS and pay our educators a living wage. Sunrise Amherst respectfully asks our elected officials to explore some of these revenue-generating and cost-cutting measures before making significant cuts to our public schools.

Sunrise Amherst asks the Town Council and School Committee to support our educators and fully fund the ARPS School District in the FY2024 budget. We stand with the Amherst–Pelham Educators Association in their request for a fair contract, and urge that the Town Council, School Committee, and our Town Manager prioritize funding for education and our generation’s future. Lastly, Sunrise Amherst would like to thank the School Committee for preserving library paraprofessionals in the elementary schools budget as a first step in the right direction. 

Marisol Pierce Bonifaz,  Langston Johnson, and Julian Hynes are members of Sunrise Amherst

Please contact Sunrise Amherst with any questions, collaborations, or ideas at amherstsunrisemovement@gmail.com