Belmont Superintendent's Blog

Hello Belmont Community,

We are over a month into the school year with teaching and learning well under way. Over the past weeks, I have been visiting schools and going to curriculum nights and athletic events where I have been able to see our staff and students in action. I am continuously reminded of how much talent and dedication we have in our community!

This year's budget season will be a complicated one as we face a deficit that may impact the level of resources we are able to bring to all of the town's departments, including our schools. Entering into this process, I am looking at what we are currently doing to serve our students and identifying gaps in resources that need to be filled to raise the level of achievement for all.

My goal is to leverage the resources we currently have to build a school system that is more responsive to the needs of students.Where possible, I’ll first seek to reallocate existing resources more efficiently. For example, to hire an Assistant Director of Finance, Business, and Operations to support an understaffed Finance Department, we reallocated a different central office position that I determined wasn’t as essential.

Where reallocation is insufficient, however, we will recommend filling gaps through additional resources, for staffing or materials such as curriculum.

The Belmont community has worked hard over the years to financially support all of the town’s departments, including our schools. I am grateful for how the town and school leaders have collaborated to manage difficult budget trade-offs in the best way possible. As we weigh the options for school funding ahead, I look forward to this continued collaboration.

Over the coming weeks and months, there will be public meetings where these budgeting decisions will be discussed. Voices in the community are important in these conversations, and I welcome you to participate. Many of these meetings will be hybrid, so your participation can be in person or virtual. We will be sending out information and links as we get closer to each meeting.

September 28: Public Forum Video on BMC:

https://www.belmontmedia.org/watch/belmont-select-board

October 12: Budget Summit I* Video on BMC:

https://www.belmontmedia.org/watch/belmont-select-board

November 14: School Budgets Presented to School Committee

November 16: School Focused Public Forum

November 30: Budget Summit II*

December 20: Budget Summit III*

January 5: Public Municipal and School Budgets

January 11: Budget Summit IV*

February 26: Select Board Deadline to approve override for election warrant

April 2: Voters cast ballots on proposed override

[*These Summits include the Select Board, Warrant Committee, Capital Planning Committee, and School Committee]

In addition to these meetings, I am visiting the PTO's over the next month to talk about emerging resource needs of the schools. Please check with your PTO leaders to know which date I will be attending your school's PTO meeting.

This year's budget season is a question about how much we invest in our community for a strong school system that supports high achievement among all of our students. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration and contribution to this process.