Town Meeting members approved $500,000 to make one-time payments to Belmont’s educators, putting the final touches on the contracts approved in May.
“From the outset, the School Committee’s goal was to reach agreements that were fair to employees, good for students, and financially sustainable,” School Committee Chair Meghan Moriarty said during her presentation.
The final contract provides additional instructional time, preserves current staffing levels, and stays within the financial guidelines provided to the committee, according to Moriarty.
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For the last year and a half, the School Committee had been in contract talks with the four bargaining units representing its educators. The talks began in 2024, but failed to reach an agreement before the contracts lapsed in August 2025. In January, the Belmont Education Association, the union, implemented a work-to-rule action, barring educators from serving on unpaid committees, writing or committing to write recommendation letters for students outside the current senior class, or overseeing unpaid student clubs and organizations. In March, the BEA announced a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Jill Geiser, Director of Human Capital Michael McAllister, the School Committee, and the Select Board.
A state mediator was brought in, and the two sides reached an agreement, with the school committee ratifying the deal on May 27, about a week after BEA members did.
One component of the contract agreement is the one-time payment. The key, Moriarty said, is that the payments do not carry forward to future school budgets.
The money for the payments comes from the free cash account, a fact that became a rallying point for opponents. If the money had not been approved, the school department would have had to find the $500,000 within its budget.
Article 31 had two motions. The first would make the half-million-dollar free cash allocation. The second would allocate $25,000 to pay town-side union employees a similar one-time payment.
The debate on the first motion dominated the evening.
“Article 31 is about free cash and how we spend it,” said Precinct 1 member Anne Marie Mahoney. “I feel strongly that free cash should be used only for one-time, non-salary, non-recurring expenses.”
According to Mahoney, it would be better to save the free cash to address looming capital expenses.
In her remarks, Mahoney also expressed concern that using the free cash for salary purposes sets a precedent for other contract negotiations.
“One time is never one time,” she said.
Several members pointed out that the police and fire departments are both in contract talks and wondered aloud whether those unions, too, would be eligible for one-time payments.
Precinct 7 member Heather Rubeski argued that the contract in question is a compromise and a means of compensating key members of the school staff. The payments helped the school committee and the union to reach a compromise and avoid job action.
According to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, the increasing cost of living, including health insurance, has made contract talks, regardless of union, tougher each year. One-time stipends or signing bonuses have been used in the past, and such payments become more important as contract negotiations grow more complex.
Garvin pointed out that about $9 million in free cash was used to fund recurring expenses in the operating budget, resulting in the $8.4 million override in 2024.
“This is a responsible use of funds, so you don’t get into those situations,” she said.
Standing in support, Precinct 4 member Michael Thompson related a story of a paraprofessional who took a side job to make ends meet. That second job, he said, had to affect her performance in part because of the message.
“We’re talking about $500,000. That is pocket change for this town,” he said. “That may upset some people, but we spend more on litigation.”
After about 90 minutes, Town Meeting members voted 196-26 with 10 abstentions to support the allocation.
The second motion, raising $25,000 to make one-time payments to the union representing clerical workers, among others, passed 206-8 with nine abstentions.
Beagle Award
Precinct 6 member Doug Koplow won the Beagle Award. His name was drawn from a pool of members who kept their comments to under 90 seconds. His prize is preferred parking at the next session, marked by a labeled traffic cone.
