‘Its real people’: With $36M less than requested, possible MCPS personnel cuts in school board’s hands
Educator unions to meet with district to discuss potential personnel reductions
By
Ashlyn CampbellMay 15, 2026 5:39 p.m.
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The decision on whether to cut hundreds of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) positions is now in the hands of MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor and the county school board after the Montgomery County Council on Friday approved a budget $36 million less than what the district requested.
“It’s real people, it’s not a line-item in the budget, it’s real people in real lives,” Montgomery County Education Association President David Stein told Bethesda Today on Friday. “We’re going to be working with [MCPS and the school board], and … I know our members are going to be advocating to them over the next couple weeks, until they have to make their final decisions. We’ll see where we go from here.”
In an emotional straw vote Friday in Rockville, councilmembers voted 9-2 to approve a $7.9 billion operating budget for MCPS for the next fiscal year — providing an additional $143 million in funding, but still $36 million less than what the district requested.
The decision, which is not binding but is unlikely to be changed, means hundreds of educator positions — including media assistants, social workers and English composition assistants — could be eliminated as the school board works to balance the MCPS budget in the weeks ahead.
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The $7.9 billion council-approved budget includes no property tax rate increase and a new progressive income tax structure that will increase the income tax rate for filers making more than $150,001 annually and provide a tax break for everyone making less.
Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) on Friday moved to reallocate $36 million in current revenues from the six-year capital improvements program to MCPS, funding two of the tranches proposed for reductions. That motion passed 7-4.
According to council documents, funding will be moved from systemic school projects such as HVAC, roof replacement and athletic infrastructure.
County Council President Natali Fani‑González (D-Dist. 6) told reporters Friday that it was now up to the school board to allocate the funds. In a Friday afternoon video to staff, Taylor said he would be proposing position reductions next week following a final vote from the County Council on May 21.
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“Even though this is a more favorable budget outcome than what we were looking at earlier this week, the changes we will need to make to close our $36 million gap will be significant and they will impact services to students and families,” Taylor said. “There is no running from that. I sincerely wish that it was different and I am sorry for that.”
After the vote Friday, Stein and Pia Morrison, president of SEIU Local 500, the union representing support staff, told Bethesda Today that while they were unhappy with the budget outcome, it could have been worse.
“For the support staff professionals, disproportionately, we’re going to be impacted by … any cuts that they make,” Morrison told Bethesda Today. “[We’re] not particularly excited, but it’s not as bad as it was yesterday and the day before that.”
In March, to fund the school district’s requested budget, which represented a $179 million increase over current spending, County Executive Marc Elrich (D) called for a 6% increase to the county property tax rate. Most councilmembers opposed that plan.
A few councilmembers signaled on Tuesday that they would be open to a modest property tax rate increase to fund more of the school district’s requested spending for fiscal year 2027, but Stewart on Friday said that proposal “did not move forward.”
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In lieu of a property tax rate increase, the council considered reductions to the school district’s requested budget in tranches of 10% — amounting to about $17.9 million per tranche. The elimination of the first two tranches — a total of almost 448 positions — represents a total reduction to the school board request of $35.8 million.
Fields Road Elementary media assistant Cynthia Taylor, one of the many media assistants whose positions were on the list to be cut, told Bethesda Today the decision was hitting her “on so many levels.”
“I’m about to lose my salary, I’m about to lose my benefits. I provide all the benefits, my family,” Taylor said. “I’m about to lose my retirement, and my property value is going to go down if we continue to keep dismantling the public school system. So, personally, I’m getting hit on all sides. But I’m also looking at the bigger picture, saying this county is getting hit, and these kids are totally getting screwed.”
Bethesda Today reporter Ceoli Jacoby contributed to this report.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine