October 31, 2025
Dear Belmont Public Schools Community,
On October 29, the School Committee (SC) and the Belmont Education Association (BEA) met to
continue negotiations for Unit A (Educators). The session was productive and resulted in four new
tentative agreements, all originally proposed by the BEA. To date, the parties have reached more than
70 tentative agreements, reflecting many positive changes that support educators and students alike.
One of the most significant areas of progress is paid parental leave. Under the current contract,
educators receive no paid time but need to rely solely on sick time. Upon ratification of the new contract,
the first ten days of parental leave will be fully paid by the District at the educator’s regular rate without
deduction from sick leave, and the next ten days will also be paid, drawn from the shared BEA sick-leave
bank. This change allows educators to care for new family members without financial strain and helps
Belmont continue to attract and retain outstanding staff who want to work in a district that supports its
employees.
Both sides also reaffirmed their shared commitment to adding 15 minutes of instructional time to the
student day. This will benefit our students without extending the current seven-hour workday for
educators. Related proposals, including compensation, are still under discussion.
On compensation, we have been transparent about the amount budgeted in FY26 for all contracts. That
figure was based on peer-district comparisons and designed to maintain current staffing levels and student
programming. These proposals reflect our goal of balancing fair pay for educators with the long-term
financial stability of the district.
At the same time, we continue to advocate for additional funding for our schools. Earlier this month,
Town Meeting approved additional state aid to fund a much-needed literacy curriculum. This week, we
met with the Select Board to explore whether Town resources could be used to help settle the contracts.
While they reiterated that there are no recurring funds available beyond the FY26 budget, they
expressed support for allocating limited one-time funds from certified free cash, pending completion of
that process and Town Meeting approval.
Our next bargaining session is scheduled for November 12 and will include all four units. We remain
committed to constructive dialogue and a fair resolution that brings stability and closure for everyone. We
hope our employees can begin the new year with contracts settled, new benefits in place, well-deserved
pay adjustments, and one-time payments.
Thank you for your partnership and continued support of Belmont’s schools.
