Brian Palmer has lived in Belmont since 1984. His children were educated here, and his grandchildren are now students in the Belmont schools.
It is that family connection that motivates him to run for school committee. With no incumbent in the race, he faces Michael Todd Thompson and Zehra Abid-Wood for one of two available seats.
“I’m just worried about the excellence of the schools and how it all fits out in the budget constraints,” he said. “And really, I think these schools are so important to the community of Belmont.”
Palmer is a California native and a budget guy. He holds a PhD in economics from MIT and is president of Salt Point Partners, an economic advisory firm based in Boston. The name of his firm comes from a coastal feature just north of San Francisco, which he enjoys visiting.
He’s relatively new to Belmont politics, having served on the warrant committee for the past year.
“That’s what has gotten me very much engaged in the town issues, the budgetary concerns, particularly in the split between the town and the schools and where the money is from, where the pressures are, where the constraints are, how can we use the funds,” he said.
Over the years, Palmer has watched the students, and by association, the schools, change. For example, cell phones were unknown when his children were in Belmont schools. There seemed to be fewer students in individualized education programs. In short, today’s students face a different suite of challenges than students faced during the Palmer family’s first turn through Belmont schools.
But it’s not an intractable or unfamiliar issue. In Palmer’s thinking, engaging the students and finding what fuels their passion is the key to a sound school system.
“Once they find that niche that they really love, that’s what they go after. We need to engage the students in whatever way we can,” he said.
That niche, he said, can be academics, arts, athletics, any discipline that defines a student’s enjoyment of academics.
The School Committee
According to Palmer, the School Committee serves as a guide for the administration. It helps to set priorities, establish policies and guide the district’s spending. At the same time, it amplifies the voters’ voices, making sure they are heard as the district sculpts its policies.
Budget constraints guide many conversations around the schools. Palmer believes his background in economics will help him as a member of the committee.
“We need to use the resources we have in the best way possible,” he said.
His stint on the Warrant Committee may have illuminated some paths forward. The special education budget, for example, might be reduced somewhat by pushing for more in-district services, a hallmark of Superintendent Jill Geiser’s initiatives during her first two years.
According to Palmer, a recent budget summit presentation highlighted the savings represented by providing additional services to 13 students.
“If those students had been out of district placements, it would have cost the schools an additional million dollars,” he said.
In the coming term, he said three priorities will be finding the maximum amount of money available for the schools, how best to allocate those funds then using those financial resources in the most efficient way possible.
Whatever the future holds, Palmer said the work of the School Committee focuses on how best to provide the best possible education for every one of Belmont’s 4,500 students.
“With the constraints of money, where do we focus? “ he said.
