‘One of the worst budgets’: At least 430 MCPS jobs on chopping block to close spending gap
County school board to vote June 4 on final fiscal year 2027 budget
By
Ashlyn CampbellMay 21, 2026 8:08 p.m.
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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas Taylor recommended Thursday the county school board eliminate more than 430 full-time equivalent positions to close a $36 million gap between the district’s budget for the coming fiscal year and its allotted funding.
“I think this is probably one of the worst budgets we have had that I can recall,” board President Grace Rivera-Oven said prior to the budget discussion in a meeting room packed with hundreds of MCPS educators and support staff at the board’s Rockville headquarters.
The recommended reductions to close the budget gap include dozens of jobs for social workers, family engagement specialists and English composition assistants.
With those in attendance cheering in support, some of the affected employees told the board how the loss of their jobs would impact them – as well as the students and families they serve.
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“These cuts are not just numbers on a PDF, they affect people’s livelihoods and student support systems,” said Paige Herndon, a media assistant. “A strong school system depends on support. Budget decisions reflect our values and cutting the people who work directly with students sends the message that the students are not the priority.”
Board members showed their reluctance to making the cuts by asking district officials to explore other non-personnel funding reductions that could be made in the fiscal year 2027 budget. The next fiscal year begins July 1.
“As someone that’s been in our MCPS classrooms, it’s devastating to think about how we would function without these really essential staff in our buildings,” board member Natalie Zimmerman said.
The school board is expected to adopt a final MCPS spending plan on June 4.
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The Montgomery County Council on Thursday formally adopted a $7.9 billion county operating budget and $6.3 billion six-year capital improvements program for the coming fiscal year. The final vote came after a 9-2 straw vote on Friday that tentatively approved the spending plan.
The council-approved budget for fiscal year 2027 includes a $143 million year-over-year spending increase for MCPS. That amount is $36 million short of what the district requested from the county.
As a result, Taylor has said that position reductions were necessary to make up the shortfall.
After the council’s Friday straw vote, leaders of unions representing MCPS employees told Bethesda Today that personnel cuts initially proposed by Taylor while the council was deliberating were preliminary and that the unions would be working with the district to determine what happens next.
Taylor proposed $36.05 million in cuts Thursday. The reductions would eliminate 38 social worker jobs at middle, high and alternative schools; 14 family engagement specialists; nearly 27 college and career navigators; about 40 English composition assistants; 18 school psychologists; and 27 pupil personnel workers, among others.
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Taylor also called for removing 118 new special education resource teacher jobs that had been added to the fiscal year 2027 budget proposal to provide a resource teacher at all MCPS elementary schools, learning centers and schools serving specialized populations.
More than a dozen media assistant jobs also are on the chopping block, reflecting a sharp decrease in the more than 70 positions that Taylor previously had identified as potential cuts.
In order to reduce the impact of the budget cuts on staff, MCPS will be offering retirement incentives of $10,000 for 10-month employees and $12,000 for 12-month employees, according to district officials.
The recommended cuts also included funding for contracts in areas such as professional learning – plus nearly $1.2 million in proposed funding for an equity add-on that would have provided additional money for materials in schools with large populations of students who qualify for services such as special education or free meals.
While the operating budget has been the focus of budget discussions due to the proposed cuts, the district’s capital improvement program (CIP) budget was also reduced. .
Councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large) on Friday suggested taking $36 million from the district’s portion of the county’s $6.3 billion six-year capital improvements program (CIP) and giving it to MCPS for operating expenses, which reduced the amount of the pending reduction in the district’s funding. Jawando’s motion to reallocate the infrastructure funds passed 7-4
The council funded a $1.85 billion capital budget for the district, representing 67% of the school board’s $2.78 billion request.
Taylor told the board Thursday that there are no school construction projects in the design phase — the first time that has occurred in the last 50 years – meaning no new buildings beyond those already in the works are scheduled to be designed and built.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine