Keywords for Nov Elections

Endorsements: 
Please do your research about candidates rather than relying solely on endorsements. Some candidates have chosen to not engage with endorsements at all because they have been divisive in the past. Other candidates have declined to be endorsed by specific groups for various reasons. A number of candidates declined to be endorsed by Amherst Forward, and thus are not included in Amherst Forward’s endorsement list. Additionally, Amherst Forward has endorsed some candidates whose history demonstrates a lack of support of funding our schools or working collaboratively with school leadership. Among them are Mandi Jo Hanneke (at-large) and George Ryan (District 3). 

 

Last spring Mandi Jo Hanneke introduced a motion to remove $269,704 in elementary school funding for FY26, and her motion was seconded by George Ryan. Ultimately, the vote failed, with only Councilor Hanneke voting for it. Councilor Ryan’s language around the schools has been so troubling at times that SOS Amherst collectively wrote a rebuttal to George Ryan’s newsletter last winter, and yet he continues to use much of the same language, frequently questioning the costs, blaming the schools for the budget crisis and insinuating that the school committee isn’t being cooperative. At the Four Towns Meeting last fall Councilor Hanneke suggested that the quality of our special education services could be downgraded, invoking a comparison to other districts who spend less and who she said are not failing to follow the law. This was just months before the state came down on Northampton for not providing required services to students with IEPs. Last spring, both George Ryan and Mandi Jo Hanneke voted against recommending that the Town Manager aim to increase the amount allocated to both the Regional and the Elementary Schools for FY26. 

 

Many candidates who claim to support our schools are using language which may suggest the opposite. Candidates focusing on the decline in student population over time or criticizing the per-pupil cost are refusing to acknowledge the reality of what our schools need TODAY. There is still a lot of magical thinking out there, or reliance on “zombie facts,” statements that have been disproven time and time again but just won’t die. Candidates who blame the use of Federal Covid ESSER funds for the current funding gaps do not understand the restrictions on those funds, the reality of pandemic learning loss, or the overwhelming pressure on our school budgets. Candidates who point fingers at the School Committee, claiming they have not worked collaboratively with Town Council, are ignoring the fact it is the Town Council that has not made use of existing opportunities to collaborate (such as the Budget Coordinating Group), and has engaged in attempted overreach and blame in a way that makes constructive conversations difficult. Candidates who say that the schools should “live within their means” should be questioned further about what this really means to them. If you want to see a very clear rebuttal as to why it is so troubling to hear Town Councilors or the Town Manager tell the schools to “live within their means” please listen to School Committee Member Irv Rhodes on this topic from last September – video link here. A year later there are still Town Councilors who don’t get this. 

 

• League of Women Voters’ Candidates Night (School Committee and Town Council at-large): Thursday October 23rd, 7-9 PM, Amherst Regional High School (meet and greet starting at 6:15). You can submit candidate questions at the forum or in advance by using this form or emailing voterservices@lwvamherst.org. The forum will be livestreamed on Amherst Media YouTube and the recording will be available afterwards. To watch the 10/15 forum for District Councilors use this link. The League of Women Voters’ is proudly nonpartisan and neutral, and questions are generated by voters. 

• Amherst Current Debates: The Amherst Current will hold two debates. Unlike the LWV forums, in which the questions are posed by voters, the Current debates are likely to frame issues in a way that align with the Current Editorial Board’s view of the issues, as recently enumerated in one of their posts. To learn more about how the Amherst Current has covered school-funding over the past year, you may want to check out the articles linked below. You may also want to note that Council President Lynn Griesemer’s husband, Bryan Harvey, sits on the Current Editorial Board, and until July, so did At-Large candidate Andy Churchill.
  • Is Amherst Capable of Constructive, Civil Dialogue about Funding our Schools, by School Committee member Allison McDonald, in which she suggests that those asking for more funding for basic education needs of our children are not “civil”. 
  • Schools’ Financial Situation Untenable by Town Council Member George Ryan, in which he inflates the percentage of the town budget going toward the schools and relies on the “zombie fact” that declining enrollment should automatically result in declining spending.
  • Saving Our Schools and Everything Else, by Bryan Harvey, in which he mischaracterizes the goals of school-funding advocates, and suggests our schools should spend less. 
• The dates and times of the Current Debates are as follows: 
  • At-Large and District 1 Candidates: Friday October 24th from 6:30-8:30 in Room 101 at the Bangs Center, and on Zoom. 
  • Districts 2, 3, 4 & 5: Monday October 27th from 7:30-9:30 in the large activity room at the Bangs Center, and on Zoom. 
  • There is no School Committee debate because all but one School Committee candidate declined to participate in the format established by the Current. 

• SOS website links to election information and candidate statements
• League of Women Voters’ website and voter guide