We commend Bill Dwight for the historical perspective he provides in his guest column “How to make sense of Northampton’s school budget,” [Gazette, April 20].

We are huge supporters of the Northampton Public Schools. Our four daughters all graduated from Northampton High School. A grandson is currently a student in the schools. We have supported every override since 1989, including being parent members of the High School Override Committee.

Over the years we have met with our state elected officials to advocate for increased state aid for our schools. Jenny is a co-founder of the Northampton High School PTO and a past president of the Northampton Education Foundation.

The Northampton Public Schools budget has always been a complicated matter, a delicate balance between the schools’ needs and the overall welfare of the city.

It feels shortsighted to us that the present School Committee should send the mayor a budget with a 17% increase, knowing that this is untenable.

It will take all of us: citizens, the School Committee, the Northampton Association of School Employees, the mayor and the City Council, coming together to fairly fund the needs of our schools and every city service that we depend on as members of the Northampton community.

Jenny Fleming-Ives and Peter Ives

Northampton