School Committee Backs $178,772 in State Aid

School Committee · Meeting of October 27, 2026

Belmont's School Committee voted unanimously to send Town Meeting a $178,772 Chapter 70 state aid request covering a new school bus and technology security upgrades. METCO Director Rosa Innes reported 99 students enrolled against a state-set cap of 102, with 40 percent of last year's graduating class now in a post-secondary program. A districtwide data presentation showed Belmont's Black and African American subgroup rose from 25 percent to 56 percent meeting or exceeding ELA MCAS targets in two years, even as member Matthew Kraft warned "this is the third year in a row I've heard this kind of, we have a gap and we need to do something about it." A parent told the committee a petition to restore a self-study AP physics exam has drawn more than 160 signatures.

CPAC Chair Tim Flood and Chair Meghan Moriarty clashed over the scope of a special-education update, with Moriarty saying, "My role as chair is really just to keep the agenda moving."

In the full story:

• Public Comment: AP Physics Exam Access
• Chair's Report: State Earmark and E-Bike Safety
• Student Government and CPAC Updates
• METCO Program Update
• Student Achievement Data Presentation
• Chapter 70 State Aid Request for Transportation and Technology
• Superintendent Two-Year Goals
• School Committee Policies
• Subcommittee Updates and Facilities
• Consent Agenda
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,913 words

Source: the School Committee meeting of October 27, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.