MoCo government workers to get raises; fate of MCPS employees undecided

Taylor says council-recommended reductions may force school district to reopen agreements with education unions

May 6, 2026 11:20 a.m.

Members of SEIU Local 500, which represents Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) support staff, are seen at an April rally for school funding outside the council office building in Rockville. Credit: Ashlyn Campbell

Firefighters, law enforcement officers and other Montgomery County government employees are set to receive raises next fiscal year after the County Council on Monday voted to approve their union-negotiated contracts.

But another group of public employees — those who work for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) — may not be as fortunate.

The school district’s requested operating budget for fiscal year 2027 is $3.79 billion, representing a $179 million increase over current spending. Fiscal year 2027 begins July 1.

Of the $179 million increase, nearly $140 million would be spent on salaries and benefits, including a 3.25% base salary increase for staff.

- Advertisement -

If the council does not fully fund the district’s requested spending increase, those raises — and potentially existing staff positions — could be in jeopardy, MCPS officials warned during a Tuesday meeting at the council office building in Rockville.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Montgomery County Board of Education President Grace Rivera-Oven told councilmembers that the district’s requested budget is “not filled with a wish list of items that are nice to have.”

On the contrary, “it represents the minimal level of investment that is needed to restore MCPS’s legacy of excellence, improve student achievement and maintain fiscal responsibility,” Rivera-Oven said. “By far, the largest single investment request in our budget is to honor our negotiated agreements with our employees.”

Budget background

County Executive Marc Elrich (D) in March put forward a proposed operating budget that would have fully funded the school district’s request with a 6% property tax rate increase.

Funding scenarios

The council on Tuesday voted to support its Education and Culture Committee’s unanimous recommendation Friday to place the school district’s entire recommended funding increase on the reconciliation list for potential cost savings.

Two members of the Education and Culture Committee — Jawando and Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) — recommended the council fund at least $149 million of the district’s requested $179 million increase if it adds any money to MCPS spending for fiscal 2027.

“We cannot have a budget that devastates our schools and carries the weight of a tough budget disproportionately on the backs of our students and of the staff who have chosen them as their life’s work,” Mink said during Tuesday’s meeting.

The third member of the Education and Culture Committee, Councilmember Shebra Evans (D-At-large), dissented from the committee majority on the recommended funding floor.

A former member of the county school board, Evans said during Tuesday’s meeting it was premature for the committee to decide about a funding floor before hearing directly from MCPS officials about the impact of any potential reduction.

“What I didn’t want to do is catch anybody flat-footed,” she said.

Even if the council supports the Education and Culture Committee’s recommendation to increase funding for MCPS by at least $149 million next fiscal year, Taylor told the council, the district’s employees would still be negatively impacted.

According to Taylor, only $20 million of the district’s requested spending increase qualifies as discretionary. That $20 million includes money to add security guards and special education resource teachers at elementary schools, he said.

If the district were to cut all $20 million in discretionary spending, it would still need to find an additional $10 million in savings under Jawando’s and Mink’s proposal. Those savings would likely need to come from the district’s personnel budget, Taylor said.

“Ninety percent of our budget is really made up of just two things — how many employees we have in the school system and how much we pay them,” Taylor said. “So when you’re looking at reductions, they’re going to come from one of those two buckets, inherently.”

‘Tough, tough, tough budget’

If the district does need to cut existing staff positions, Taylor said he would recommend starting with those as far away from the classroom as possible.

“Classroom adjacent services like paraprofessionals, special education, additional services, those would be the things that we would really try to protect,” he said.

David Stein, president of the local teachers union Montgomery County Education Association, said during a council proclamation Tuesday for Education Appreciation Week that the union’s members overwhelmingly feel left behind by the council.

“On one hand, you’re decrying Donald Trump … for firing public employees,” Stein said, referring to the council’s past support of laid-off federal workers. “But at the same time, you’re considering budget scenarios that will force the school board into a situation where we have to fire public employees.”

Local education advocates have been urging the council for weeks to fully fund the school district’s recommended spending increase. Hundreds of them rallied outside the council office building last month ahead of a public hearing on Elrich’s operating budget proposal, directing chants of “do your job” at the officials inside.

Several of the council’s 11 members emphasized on Tuesday that the MCPS budget needs to be considered in the context of all of the county’s proposed spending for fiscal year 2027.

“Nobody is going to get everything they want. Nobody. It can’t happen,” Councilmember Dawn Luedtke (D-Dist. 7) said. “The money isn’t there.”

Fani-González said other county entities such as the recreation department and public safety agencies also work with children. Those entities are also dealing with increased demands, she said.

“It’s a tough, tough, tough budget, and especially because we don’t have a property tax increase,” Fani-González told education advocates at Tuesday’s meeting. “Give us some room here.”

Digital Partners

Originally published at Bethesdamagazine