Our public schools have traditionally been the engine driving economic prosperity and livability here in Montgomery County for decades. Businesses and families relocate here to take advantage of the excellent learning opportunities for young people and the highly qualified workforce our schools produce.
Montgomery County Public Schools has always drawn extraordinary educational talent and dedicated employees who give their all to support student learning. That excellence is still apparent in our classrooms across the system but, due to crushing workloads and constant evidence that our work is not valued and respected, front-line staff are struggling to maintain high-quality learning experiences for our students.
Recently the luster has dimmed from MCPS’s reputation. Staff, community members and elected officials alike are troubled by the lingering academic challenges caused by the pandemic, increasing safety concerns, and recent problems that have received national attention. Moreover, the end of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief, federal funding that this year was used to fund ongoing responsibilities, leaves the school system struggling to maintain the basic level of services our students need and deserve in the 2024-2025 school year.
In an effort to placate county officials, who have understandably grown frustrated by the lack of transparency and accountability from MCPS’s executive leadership, the Montgomery County Board of Education put forward a conservative budget that is barely sufficient to cover negotiated agreements and maintain essential functions. Now the county executive has trimmed this lean budget even further.
While it may be tempting to hold back school funding until all MCPS’s problems are corrected, doing so would unfairly punish our students and front-line staff, and exacerbate issues with security and staffing shortages. We urge the County Council to restore the funding to meet the school board’s modest request. Doing so will enable the interim superintendent to stabilize the school system and set staff and students up for success.
For too long, the county has failed to fulfill its obligation to students and families in our public schools, relying on state funding enhancements to supplant, rather than supplement, county expenditures. Whereas in years past the county invested 53% of expenditures on operating our schools, today MCPS receives less than half of the county’s budget. As student need has grown and the majority of our students are now students of color, per pupil funding at the county level has diminished. The proportion of students requiring English language and special education supports continues to rise. Educators struggle with fewer resources to address equity concerns and are then unfairly blamed for failure to lift student achievement.
Meanwhile, the ability of front-line staff to afford to live in the county has declined. In spite of this year’s cost-of-living adjustment, real wages for teachers remain below 2010 salary levels. Administrators in Montgomery County used to be the highest paid in the state, but the system now lags behind others. And support professionals, which include bus drivers, food service workers, paraeducators and others, find the private sector is now paying higher wages even in fast-food restaurants than they can earn in our schools. As a result, each year we experience a further exodus of people from the education profession, and fewer college students seek a career in teaching.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state law that promises new investment in public schools, is an effort to restore the excellence of our schools, but it requires significant new investment by the county in order to receive state funds. Last year’s county property tax increase was supposed to make it possible to fully fund our schools, but where is that money going? County Executive Marc Elrich’s budget for fiscal year 2025 increases overall spending by 4.8% but the school system’s increase will be only 4.2%. Of the $300 million increase in the overall county budget that Elrich proposes for fiscal year 2025, only $106.7 million will go to our schools.
We know that investment in our schools generates real economic benefits. Seventy-one percent of MCPS workers live in Montgomery County, where our wages are reinvested in our communities. MCPS estimates that the school system drives $3.68 billion in our county’s economic activity. Our children’s academic success and our county’s future prosperity depend on the council making the choice to fully fund our schools.
Dr. Christine Handy is president of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals and Montgomery County Business Operations Administrators. Jennifer Martin serves as president of the Montgomery County Education Association. Pia Morrison is president of the Service Employees International Union, Local 500.