NORTHAMPTON - With $1 million of override money now slated for city schools, Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez will present a $26 million budget to School Committee Thursday that preserves 15 to 22 teaching and other school jobs, restores stipends for coaches, and keeps school start and end times the same as this year.

Rodriguez intends to recommend the board approve her $26,240,315 budget, which spares 15-22 teaching and support staff jobs that had been slated for cuts, at a total of $829,841.

Had the override failed, Rodriguez' budget proposal would have eliminated 27 teaching positions, one custodian and 10 support staff.

"It's a huge statement by the community," Rodriguez said after Tuesday's vote. "I think it was due to a lot of hard work by a lot of people. I'm really appreciative of all the hard work and the community of Northampton."

Her budget proposal will also restore athletic stipends for Northampton High coaches, for a total of $124,177, and $45,982 in activity stipends at the high school and JFK Middle School.

Even with the additional money now provided by the override, the district will still be forced to cut 15 teachers, nine support staff and one custodian.

Rodriguez is now also recommending reinstatement of transportation to 12 buses, and no changes to school starting and ending times. All tallied, these restorations total $933,687, leaving $66,313 of override money still to be designated.

Responding to complaints from parents of elementary students that the proposed changes to school times would prove too burdensome to working parents, Rodriguez revised her plan for transportation, instead recommending that bus routes be kept at their current arrangement and the proposed restructuring of bus routes to save money be scrapped.

In April, Rodriguez had proposed that the 12 buses used by the district be reduced to nine, which would have required juggling of bus schedules to accommodate the approximate 1,200 elementary students requiring transportation.

That plan included changed morning and afternoon pickup times: Northampton High School students would start school at 7:45 a.m., (it is 7:30 now); JFK Middle students would report at 8:15, (now it is 7:55); and school for elementary children would start at 9:20 a.m. (now it is 8:50)

Rodriguez and school principals said they had been flooded with calls from parents.

"Not only would we be asking families to pay higher fees for transportation, they'd also see increased daycare fees, having to pay for another half hour block of time," she said.

The passage of the override vote also influences class size. There will be 55 regular education classrooms at the elementary level, compared to 50 if the override had failed.

Still, class sizes will range from 15 to 29 for grades one through six. Class sizes at NHS will average between 19-25 students, five or six students fewer than if the override had failed.

There will be no wage or step increases for nonrepresented staff; all overtime accounts will be reduced; and operations, maintenance and supply budgets will sustain cuts. Bus fees and athletic fees will be increased by 20 percent.

Bob Flaherty can be reached at bflaherty@gazettenet.com.