Opinion: It’s time to reform the MoCo school board
Adding county executive representative would increase transparency, accountability in budgeting process
By Evan Glass
May 20, 2026 11:16 a.m.
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Nearly half of Montgomery County’s budget goes to our public schools. For most families, that’s reassuring — it serves as proof that we prioritize our children above all else. However, there remains a fundamental question we have not answered honestly enough: do we actually know how effectively that money is being used?
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is the 14th largest school system in the country. Its budget is enormous and complex. The County Council recently voted to fund MCPS at a record-breaking level of $3.7 billion — an increase of $143.7 million over the previous year.
This budget was the most difficult I have experienced in my eight years on the council. How do we ensure that teacher contracts are honored without raising taxes on residents already facing economic uncertainty? How do we fund long-overdue investments in school infrastructure without cutting services? These heated debates on how to meet MCPS’ growing needs created the challenges that defined the fiscal year 2027 budget.
To increase transparency and accountability in our budgeting process, I am proposing a long overdue structural reform: the county executive should have a designated representative on the Montgomery County Board of Education.
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While reporting to the county executive, the appointed board member would require council approval and act as a bridge between the Board of Education and the officials responsible for managing county finances. Most critically, this position would create clear, open lines of communication across all levels of local government.
This representative would not replace or remove the board’s authority, nor interfere with educational decision-making. Instead, this appointee would participate in school budget deliberations from the earliest stages, ensuring that fiscal realities are taken into consideration when shaping the largest part of our county’s budget.
This measure is intended to update and modernize a fractured budget process that has been in place since 1970, when the first county executive was elected. In the 56 years since, the process has proven to be outdated, opaque and structurally disconnected from the broader fiscal circumstances our county is facing.
In addition to reviewing the operating budget, MCPS’ $2.7 billion capital budget request has also proven difficult to fit into the county’s overall budget. From renovating older schools to building new ones, there must be a better process for long-term solutions that meet the needs of our current students and future generations.
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School systems require more than expanded funding to deliver results. We need fresh eyes to ensure that our county’s largest investment supports the needs of every student.
These are not radical ideas. They are standard practices in innovative school systems and they are long overdue here.
As we provide record levels of funding for MCPS, we must demand greater transparency and partnership. Our kids are counting on us.
Evan Glass is an at-large member of the Montgomery County Council and a Democratic candidate for county executive in the June 23 primary election.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine