Teachers at Bellwood Elementary stand to lose a month of income under new contracts

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Six months after the Chesterfield County school board voted to return one of their schools to a traditional calendar, teachers there are learning the impact the change will have on their pay.

Teachers and staff at Bellwood Elementary said they learned in March that they would be getting new contracts this year and potentially missing two paychecks or seeing a reduction of hundreds of dollars every paycheck.

Bellwood was the only year-round school in the county until the board voted to return it to a traditional 10-month calendar in September 2025. Because of this change, the Chesterfield Education Association (CEA) said teachers were told when their contracts expire on June 30, their new ones won't begin until Aug. 1.

CEA President Rob Hammel said that means staff won't get two paychecks in July. Teachers and staff at other schools in Chesterfield will.

"I've talked to some teachers who say that they might have to take on roommates, or they might have to take second jobs, in order to make ends meet," Hammel said. "Because that much of a loss of income, that much of a change in what they were expecting, just doesn't work. Like they wouldn't be able to make to pay their rent.”

Under that plan, Hammel said teachers would also have to pay their healthcare premiums for the checks they missed on the first August check. Hammel said that amounts to a third lost paycheck.

CEA said the other option Bellwood staff was given was to sign 13 month contracts, and get 26 paychecks rather than 24 by spreading their salaries to get paid in July. CEA said with that option, most teachers would see a net loss of $500 of income every month.

Hammel said an added frustration for Bellwood staff is that they've been asking to meet with leadership about the contract changes since October 2025. Hammel said county human resources did not hold a meeting with staff until March 13.

“Pretty much anybody who is going to adjust to a loss of $500 in their income would want probably six, seven, eight, and nine months to plan for something like that," Hammel said. "The teachers at Bellwood now are looking at two months to plan for that.”

CEA is proposing that Chesterfield County Public Schools rewrites the new 12 month contracts to start on July 1.

"We're not asking them to be paid for work that they're not doing. We're simply asking them to be paid in the same way that every other teacher in the county is paid," Hammel said.

"We pay our teachers over the summer so that they come back and work in the fall, so that they get income over the summer and are able to continue working for us," Hammel said. "So all we're asking for at Bellwood is that same consideration that every other teacher in Chesterfield County gets.”

8News reached out the the school system and the board for an interview or statement in response to the Bellwood teachers' concerns. In response, a CCPS spokesperson provided a breakdown of the contract options that said in part:

"While Bellwood staff members will be paid in full for this school year and for the coming school year with no reduction in salary, the school division realizes the difficulties of going without a paycheck for a month. That is why CCPS is offering Bellwood Elementary staff members the option to receive their 2026-27 salary in 26 installments.

Bellwood employees who choose the 26-paycheck option will receive their first 2026-27 paycheck on July 15, receive their second paycheck on July 31, then be on the same paycheck schedule as all other CCPS employees.

To make this work, the total salary for FY27 is paid over 26 installments rather than 24, which means employees will see a lower gross amount per paycheck but will receive their full salary and even begin receiving pay before their 2026-27 contract begins. Here is an example:

$65,000 annual contract

• 24 pay periods: $2,708.33 gross per paycheck
• 26 pay periods: $2,500.00 gross per paycheck
• Difference: $208.33 per paycheck

This option will last for one year only. Beginning in July 2027, Bellwood staff members will resume the 24-month payment schedule, like all other CCPS employees.

Bellwood staff members can choose whether or not to go with the 26-paycheck plan for the 2026-27 school year: It is optional, not required. This is the same option provided to Falling Creek Elementary staff members when that school transitioned from a year-round calendar to the traditional calendar."

CEA will hold a strategy meeting at its offices at 7 p.m. on April 8 for parents and community members to learn more about the issue. CEA is also organizing a number of teachers and community members to speak at the next Chesterfield school board meeting on April 14 in favor of rewriting the contracts.