In its letter published in the Belmont Voice on Aug. 22, the Belmont Education Association wrote that “The town voted for an override designed to fund our schools for three years, at barely level funding. The School Committee and the town are now attempting to stretch that override an additional year, which will inevitably result in cuts to our school budget.”
As the campaign manager for the 2024 override, I would like to emphasize that the town voted to avoid cuts to a wide range of public services, including the public schools, public safety, trash and recycling, the senior center, and the library. The override also enabled a small increase in funding for sidewalk replacement and repair, and an investment in creating special education programming within our school district.
At the time of the vote, local elected officials made a public commitment to ensuring that the override would last at least three years. During public forums, many residents expressed the hope that the town would be able to make the override funds last longer.
Erin Rowland, Golden Street