April 2026

Hi!

It’s been a long April. Donald Trump threatened a nuclear holocaust, with clear genocidal intent, as a negotiating tactic in the siege of Iran. The far-right Fidesz party, a key European ally of MAGA, was voted out of government in favor of a center-right populist formation in Hungary. At the time of writing, the Supreme Court has just released its decision on Louisiana vs. Callais, gutting the Voting Rights Act and smashing one of the most important legacies of the civil rights movement.

As effects of the Trump administration cascade down on municipal governments, fiscal and political crises have erupted across the Valley, provoking override votes in South Hadley, Hadley, Southampton, and likely many Hilltown communities in weeks to come. You can read a more thorough analysis, elaborated collectively by the Western Massachusetts CPUSA and drafted by our executive committee, here. The outcomes of these votes have outsized effects on the provision of public services, and on life in the Valley as we know it. We can already anticipate strains on emergency services, further consolidation of public schools in the region and other consequences that put our communities in even greater danger.

Northampton’s own budget season has reflected these same pressures, which will feature in much greater depth in next month’s newsletter when exact figures of the draft FY27 budget are made public. Mayor Sciarra announced her administration’s intent to fund a level-services budget for NPS, and indicated that an override vote will be planned for next year. This isn’t new: such a vote had been widely anticipated for last year, and was likely revoked out of electoral caution. It is abundantly clear among all sectors (including by admission of this administration’s own ideologues) that the Fiscal Stability Plan — a form of austerity in which overrides replenish operational reserve accounts while services are cut — is no longer politically viable.

Meanwhile, the NPS superintendent search is well on its way, with the search committee producing four finalists for the position. After one candidate left the field, and with substantial feedback from educators, students, caregivers and other community members, the school committee is set to finalize its choice on Thursday, April 30th (agenda and meeting link here). For more information, see the school committee’s interviews conducted on April 27th (for Thomas Danehy) and 28th (for Annie Azarloza and Bethany Silver). For more information, you can contact the school committee with the emails listed on the district website.

Recent council business

• Ward 5 school committee representative Amy Martyn provided a “State of the Schools” presentation to the council on March 31st. A majority of fellow school committee members attended, and those present in person sang through the racist Zoom bombing which took place during public comment.
  • This presentation sets an important precedent for coordination of the council and school committee. These questions of process — how our city government determines the priorities and sources of funding for our district’s infrastructure needs — have gone unresolved through this year’s CIP and operating budget proceedings (see below).
  • Some political commitments sought from the presentation included the council “opting in” (asserting its legal right to increase school funding, beyond the regular powers of the council to implement budget cuts), as well as active pursuit of PILOT agreements from institutions with tax-exempt properties.
• Mayor Sciarra stated at the March 31st council meeting, reiterated during the April 16th council meeting, that she has encouraged the school committee to put forward capital requests via the CIP. Though she claimed that this is for the benefit of the school department to ensure that it does not need to draw funds from its operating budget, this is the same money, whether organized into the CIP or into the hands of the school committee. The substance of this approach is to limit the purview of the school committee over its own budgeting and policy decisions, in contravention of the municipal charter (see Article 4 § 5).
  • Mayor Sciarra’s FY27 school budget announcement, detailed above, was made days prior to the April 9th school committee meeting in which the committee was set to vote on its budget recommendation.
• The FY27 CIP, discussed in greater detail in last month’s newsletter, passed in full on March 31st. The full text of the CIP is available here.
• The council voted, by a 7-2 margin (councilors Robbins and Stratton in favor) to reject an order for Mayor Sciarra to provide information about the Picture Main Street project. You can find the order and the specific questions it posed here.
• The planning department is seeking to expand the range of developments exempt from oversight by the planning board to include duplexes and half-scale units under 2500 square feet. The exact text of the proposed ordinance amendment is available here.
  • During the 2025 campaign, I heard from residents across the ward who demonstrated irrefutable evidence of corrupt and illegal practices by our city’s planning department. This body of evidence includes public records, obtained via FOIA request, in which Planning Department director Carolyn Misch instructed a developer to use Photoshop to fabricate evidence to submit to the planning board in support of their proposal.
    • Our city government’s flagrant corruption in these matters of development is reprehensible on its own merits, and — as emphasized in the WMCP statement linked near the start of this newsletter — a consequence of perverse incentives owing to a regressive tax structure.
  • None of these measures are intended to alleviate the housing crisis; rather, they deregulate private development in exchange for a small cut of the added property value through taxation. This process is known as “new growth”, the only means by which the city government can attenuate the restrictions of Proposition 2 1/2 on property taxation.

Recent labor news

• Nurses at Baystate Franklin Medical Center are mobilizing for a strong contract. Negotiations have centered on ensuring safe staffing ratios, greater flexibility with sick time, fair and competitive wages (especially important for a rural hospital) and protecting the full unionization of nurses are front and center.
  • Over 100 community members, including nurses from Ward 5’s Cooley Dickinson hospital, showed up in support at the practice picket on April 7th. One week later, BFMC nurses voted with an overwhelming majority (98.2%!) to authorize a strike if needed. Since the vote, Baystate has retreated from its effort to bring non-union nurses into the hospital.
  • You may have seen lawn signs around Northampton like the ones pictured below. If you’d like one, please reach out! You can learn more at the MNA website or find future updates on Instagram.

• Holyoke educators have been without a contract for over 300 days, as mayor Josh Garcia takes to social media to antagonize them. The Holyoke Teachers Association (HTA) has been fighting for a just transition from state receivership, and has so far secured only tepid commitments from the city. They’re seeking a reduction in working days and hours, fair wages and strong commitments to school safety, among other demands. You can read more on their website.
• May Day is coming up, and labor is ready. The May Day coalition march, with the involvement of the WMALF, numerous affiliate locals and regional organizations, will take place in Holyoke in support of the HTA. You can also march with the UAW at Hampshire Pride the next day!

That’s a far-from-exhaustive wrap for this month. If you have any questions or want to know more about something I didn’t mention here, please feel free to reach me by call or text at (413) 404-0405, or email me at lukerotello@gmail.com. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay in the struggle!

-Luke