AMHERST – Town Meeting on Wednesday voted additional money for the school budget so library paraprofessionals at Amherst’s three elementary schools can continue as full-time employees.
After more than an hour of discussion on the proposed $22.15 million elementary school budget, members by a wide margin agreed to add $30,000 to ensure that students at Wildwood, Fort River and Crocker Farm schools will continue to have library aides available during most school hours.
“My heart is with school librarians and library paraprofessionals,” said Irv Rhodes, of Precinct 7, prior to the 133-12 vote in favor of the added spending. “A librarian gets the entire scope of children in the school.”
At the second session of annual Town Meeting, budgets for the Jones Library and Department of Public Works were also approved and trustees at Amherst College were advised to no longer use the college’s endowment to make direct investments in fossil fuel stocks.
The request to restore the library aides came from Nicola Usher of Precinct 1, who called them a great equalizer in the education of students from all economic, social, ethnic and racial backgrounds.
Her appeal was backed by statements from several Town Meeting members, as well as 9-year-old Marisol Pierce-Bonifaz, who told Town Meeting that the paraprofessionals are part of the community and encourage children to love reading.
Marisol pledged to donate $10.71 in change toward this expense. “Please reconsider,” Marisol said.
Wildwood Librarian Susan Wells said the additional money would ensure that students are getting the service they need each school day.
School Committee Chairwoman Katherine Appy said school officials and her board had already responded to community concerns about reducing the hours of these paraprofessionals, restoring as much of the salaries as possible and keeping each paraprofessional at more than half time.
“We shifted some items in the budget and we were able to put an item onto the Joint Capital Planning budget,” Appy said.
Appy said the budget for the schools, where 1,093 students will attend classes in the fall, focuses on improving education and narrowing the achievement gap between students.
She added that she sees an “exciting opportunity” to build a new, two-school building at the current Wildwood, which will carry education into the 21st century in a “structure that is healthy, well designed and green.”
Town Meeting approved a $1.88 million town appropriation for the Jones Library’s $2.47 million budget and a $2.21 million budget for the Department of Public Works.
In the first use of electronic voting devices, Town Meeting voted, by a 115-to-16 margin, with 49 abstentions, to endorse a petition from Divest Amherst, a student group at Amherst College. This urges the college’s trustees to divest its endowment from direct investments in fossil fuels.
Amherst College student Carley Tsiames said that the town and college share a mutual interest in divestment to reduce the carbon footprint, and that if the college acts, it could create a domino effect in which other colleges will follow Amherst’s lead.
“Support from outside groups is critical for divestment,” Tsiames said.
Mary Wentworth of Precinct 5 said she supported the measure because the town should do anything it can to address climate change.
Such a divestment decision could also be coupled with urging the college to invest in renewable energy sources, said Jacqueline Maidana of Precinct 5.
“We need to be moving in this direction, without a doubt,” added Shavahn Best of Precinct 9.
Only one Town Meeting member spoke against the article, noting that fossil fuels are used to heat homes. “We all use energy in one form or another,” said James Perot of Precinct 1
And Lewis Mainzer of Precinct 10 said Town Meeting has its hands full with municipal matters and that such petitions are not relevant to the town.
“I should abstain because I don’t think this is a use for Town Meeting (or) that it best serves the interests of Town Meeting,” Mainzer said.
Town Meeting resumes Monday with the budget for the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
