MCPS hiring three new regional communication positions 

Job postings a result of realigning existing roles, district spokesperson says

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August 11, 2026 10:51 a.m.

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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is hiring three new regional communications roles, positions that were created by “realigning existing positions,” according to MCPS spokesperson Chris Cram. 

Cram said in an email Monday evening that the job posting for the regional communications roles, called Regions Support Team Leaders, is for three positions. The district is also hiring a communications specialist and social media marketing position following a resignation in the role, Cram said.  

“First, it is important to clarify that neither posting represents an addition to the total number of positions in the Division of Communications,” Cram said in an email to Bethesda Today on Friday afternoon. “While some of the titles and responsibilities are new, the positions themselves come from existing, budgeted staffing that has been realigned or is being refilled.” 

The postings come after the county school board voted 7-1 in May to approve the fiscal year 2027 budget, a decision that resulted in a loss of about 255 existing positions, plus nearly 160 newly proposed positions that won’t be filled, according to the list of cuts. The emotionally fraught deliberations followed the County Council’s May adoption of a $7.9 billion county operating budget that had a $36 million shortfall between the district’s expenses and its approved funding.     

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The hiring of the new positions also comes amid the school board’s March decision to move forward with a regional program model with six regions for new programs in MCPS. 

According to the job posting, the positions would serve as the lead communications engagement liaisons “providing leadership and coordination of regional communications, engagement and recognition activities.” The salary range for the positions is between roughly $120,400 and $171,300. Cram said Monday evening that each of the three team lead positions would be assigned two MCPS regions.  

The communications specialist and social media marketing position would lead the development and execution of social media content, according to the job description. The hourly wage range for the position is between about $34.30 and $50.60.  

The job postings drew criticism on social media, with many taking issue with the positions due to the cuts of hundreds of roles during budget decisions.  

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“I thought it was really tone deaf and insensitive because so many people had just lost their jobs, and all of those jobs were important student-facing positions,” said Dawn Marie Iannaco-Hahn, who posted about the jobs on social media. “Then they advertise like social media storytellers, whatever they want to disguise it as. It’s nonsense, and that’s not what we need.” 

In the email to Bethesda Today, when asked why the communications positions were prioritized following the elimination of other positions, Cram said the district understood why that question was being asked “particularly following an extraordinarily difficult budget process.”  

Cram said communications is an “essential function” in MCPS, which serves more than 150,000 students, more than 200 schools and more than 25,000 staff members.  

“The Regions Support Team is specifically designed to bring communications support closer to schools,” Cram said. “Team members will work directly with schools and regional leaders to identify and tell those stories, strengthen school and regional communications, and help ensure that student and staff achievements, celebrations and recognition receive the attention they deserve.” 

Cram said in the email that the communications department was reduced by two positions cut from the MCPS-TV unit. No new funding is being added for these four positions.  

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Cram said the roles were not an expansion of the communications department, it’s a “a realignment of existing resources so that the communications staff we already have are organized around the work MCPS most needs them to do right now.” 

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine