Amherst-Pelham Students March for Fair School Funding
Hundreds of Amherst Public School Students MArched to UMass on March 24, 2025 to protest school budget cuts at a state budget hearing. Photo: Amherst Regional Public Schools
Source: Amherst Regional Public Schools
Hundreds of students from Amherst Regional Middle School and Amherst Regional High School participated in a civic engagement demonstration on Monday, March 24, 2025, marching to UMass Amherst Campus Center to protest the current funding formula for regional schools in Massachusetts. Their march coincided with the state’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Hearing, where lawmakers reviewed Governor Healey’s $62 billion budget proposal for education and local aid.
“This was the students’ march,” said ARHS Principal Talib Sadiq. “Staff were there to supervise, but this was entirely led by them,” “I am proud of the regional students demonstrating their civic responsibility and marching for what they believe in,” said Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman (Dr. Xi) who was also in attendance at the hearing.
The demonstration was preceded by advisory sessions, during which students created protest signs and engaged in discussions about the impact of school funding policies. Their goal was to raise awareness of the challenges faced by regional schools and urge lawmakers to reconsider the state’s approach to education funding.
Here are some perspectives shared by student participants:
● “I’m hoping for more funding for our schools. Students deserve to have options in electives.”
● “Education needs to be a priority in the United States, and special education needs to be a priority. Anybody who wants to touch education needs to back off.”
● “We’re losing teachers and programs. This is a special place, and it deserves support from the state.”
● “This [march] is democracy at its finest.”
Students also called for changes in how public and charter schools are funded, with concerns that charter schools receive the same level of funding without offering the same programs.
As the state reviews the FY26 budget, Amherst-Pelham students are making it clear that they expect greater investment in public education. Their demonstration is a reminder that students are not just the future—they are active participants in shaping it today.
Read more in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
