This portal has been created to keep the Belmont community updated about the Belmont School Committee's (BSC) ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with the Belmont Education Association (BEA) for a 2025-2028 successor contract. We will continue to provide updates on this site regularly, as well as via posts on our social media accounts (Facebook: BelmontPublicSchools, and X: @belmontschools). We encourage you to visit these resources often for the latest updates.

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. Our 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 through one-time payments that support our employees while maintaining a sustainable budget. 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 continued support of Belmont’s schools.

Meg Moriarty, Ed.D., BSC Chair