I know and love this city, and I am deeply committed to quality public education for all our kids. That is why I am running for an at-large seat on Northampton’s School Committee.

I am grateful to have known Northampton as my home my entire life; I’ve learned the value of giving back to the community. My mother, Julie Saner, served on the School Committee in the early 1980s when Proposition 2½ went into effect. She was outspoken and prescient about the havoc the tax levy would wreak on municipal budgets.

I was raised in Ward 1 and attended Northampton’s public schools, as did my parents. My husband Mark and I raised our three children in Ward 2; they all attended city schools. Last year, we moved to Ward 3.

I stepped up in every way I could as my children made their way from preschool through graduation, sometimes while in school myself. I just did it, when and where I could, knowing others might not have the time or resources. I was surrounded by others doing the same.

I worked as a copy editor at the Daily Hampshire Gazette, returning to school in my 30s to become a nurse. Now I’m a certified end-of-life doula, a role I gravitated to after years of personal and professional experience with hospice.

In 2019, I planned to run for City Council, but my mother’s health was declining, so I made the decision to care for her. I have borne witness to countless end-of-life experiences of fear, bravery, love, forgiveness, compassion, and dignity. I have also watched my country, and now my city, struggle to communicate respectfully, engage productively, and find our shared humanity.

We have an opportunity to meet our challenges differently. I am ready to apply my decades of experience with Northampton schools and our community to the complex issues we face. We need to focus energy on our schools, but not the misinformed energy we have seen increase over the last two years.

It is not true, nor has it ever been, that if we advocate for responsible, holistic city management then we don’t care about children. The tests our schools and community face today are not about just one thing. It’s not just about money, it’s not just about the number of teachers and aides we have. It is much larger and more nuanced. Our school system is challenged by complex socioeconomic forces beyond local control and inadequate funding from the state and federal government.

There is no short-term or quick fix that will set the schools on a continuous upward trajectory — no hidden pot of gold. That narrative attempts to create and place blame on locally elected officials and does not get us closer to real solutions.

Of course our children evoke our strongest emotions. One of my own needed a 504 Plan to be able to return to school their junior year at NHS. I remember how that felt. It is exactly during these times when a rational approach is needed.

Answers to complex problems require innovative thinking, creative community involvement and organization, and, above all, fact-based analysis. I am good at that.

It is absolutely not OK that some students aren’t getting what they need. The state has told us the overall management of Individual Education Plans, or IEPs, does not comply with the law or Board of Education policy. Correcting this has begun, and must be a continued priority of the next school committee.

It is also not OK to describe the public school district as in crisis, when so many good things happen here every day. It’s a disservice to students, parents and caregivers, teachers, and all the people who make the schools run each day

We can, and must, hold both.

State Senator Jo Comerford reminded me recently that change at the State House happens from the outside in. Northampton should lead the way to organize a long-needed, loud voice for state funding changes, especially when federal support of public schools is so tenuous. I will add my voice to that chorus. 

I want to be part of a School Committee that is constructive, forward-thinking, and willing to not only ask tough questions but also take action. Northampton should be celebrating its legacy of strong public education — its many strengths, the things it’s doing well now, and the community’s dedication to it.

This next generation deserves no less, and it will be my honor to do so for our students, our educators, and for all of Northampton.

Robbie Saner Sullivan is running for an at-large seat on the Northampton School Committee.