NORTHAMPTON — In anticipation of the new year, 15 students from the Northampton Youth Commission met with Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler at the State House office of state Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) last month.
The Dec. 19 meeting allowed for students from the commission to speak with the secretary about the impact of inadequate K-12 public school funding on their education and how it affects their peers, teachers and the district overall. Northampton Youth Commission Co-Chair and junior at Northampton High School Amelia Durbin told Reminder Publishing their meeting went well and commission members were appreciative of Tutwiler’s receptiveness toward their concerns.
“I think everybody who wanted to speak got a chance to add something to the conversation, which is great. I think the point of the meeting was really to show the experience of students in a district like ours and to really show how much strain there is on the community, the city officials, educators and other staff in the public schools,” said Durbin, who is also the chair of the Commission’s Budget Subcommittee.
Students and Comerford called for the re-opening of Chapter 70, the funding formula which determines the state’s portion of education funding for all municipalities.
“The Youth Commission pushes for budgeting that aligns with young people’s priorities, through both advocacy and legislation,” said Durbin. “For many that means education. We are advocating for the full and adequate funding of public education, in our city and across the commonwealth.”
During the conversation, the Youth Commission discussed critical education-related budget issues, including charter school reform, funding for rural and minimum aid districts, school transportation reimbursements, special education funding and the overall acute financial burdens facing Western Massachusetts communities. Further, commissioners shared understandings and observations from their own educational experiences, as well as what they have witnessed in the fellow students, educators and staff, and their city as a whole.
“School districts across Massachusetts are facing a fiscal cliff that could result in further debilitating staff and service cuts,” said Comerford. “It is deeply moving and galvanizing to hear from students directly affected by strained school budgets. I am grateful to the student members of Northampton’s Youth Commission for their fierce and needed advocacy for Northampton and on behalf of Western Massachusetts. Thank you to Secretary Tutwiler for listening so deeply to the students and for promising to return to the region in the near future to meet with more students.”
Durbin said the commission was “so incredibly lucky” to have Comerford in their corner. Her allyship has assisted the commission in having better communication to the state about concerns of proper school funding, a problem not unique to Northampton but something being felt in all corners of the state. Durbin added they plan to schedule another meeting in the near future to continue discussions on potential solutions to the lack of funding.
“She’s so passionate it makes me want to be passionate and it flows into the whole commission,” said Durbin. “We are definitely working to reach out to other districts and try and create a bigger panel.”
Durbin said she got involved with the commission as a freshman after realizing the unique position of the commission as a city body comprised of youth. Now as she has grown with the commission into the role of co-chair, Durbin said she hopes their work can be an example of what is possible for youth in other communities when trying to get students a secure seat at the table with stakeholders on issues impacting them.
“We have a very unique position where we can work with the schools and with the city. We have a lot of resources and connections, and you also get to see how government works and how politics work at a local level, so I’ve always been intrigued by that,” Durbin said. “I think we’re really able to bring together perspectives from youth and from the school district and from the city, and really create this bigger picture that we can really showcase to the state and to other communities and I think that in particular has been really cool. Youth in Northampton have so much pride and I think that is really amazing and I think this way of reaching out and brining people together on this issue is really important and will benefit the thing we’re all working towards: prioritizing funding of public education.”
Additionally, the Youth Commission has put together a video with interviews of students, faculty and elected officials in Northampton and Amherst, highlighting the experiences and challenges faced in minimum-aid districts, and outlining a transformative vision for the future of public education funding in the state. The video can be viewed at youtube.com/watch?v=FVKfrGKnErA.
The Northampton Youth Commission is the official city body dedicated to representing young people in the city of Northampton. The Youth Commission is comprised of youth ages 13-18 and works to better Northampton with youth voices and futures in mind. They work directly with elected leaders along with local community organizations to advocate, draft legislation and lobby for policies that benefit young people and the community as a whole.
More information on the Youth Commission and its work can be found on the city’s website.
