A Montgomery County Public Schools study shows the school district contributes $3.2 billion to the county economy and supports 9,200 county jobs.
The study ranks MCPS as the county’s third largest economic driver, after the federal government and county government, and higher than any private sector employer.
The study released Thursday is based on the proposed $2.7 billion budget the school district is considering for the 2015-16 school year. It was conducted by Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. Fuller analyzed the impact of the district’s construction and operating budget requests.
According to the study, the budget will generate $711 million in new personal earnings for workers in Montgomery County outside of the school system, in addition to payroll payments to MCPS employees and support 17,388 full-time jobs, with more than half being held by Montgomery County workers.
“MCPS is one of the county’s largest ‘businesses,’ ” Fuller wrote in the study, “accounting for more than 4 percent of Montgomery County’s employment base and its gross county product.”
The study comes as the school board submits its budget request to the county executive and County Council for consideration. The request includes a 4 percent spending increase. It’s about $10 million less than former superintendent Joshua Starr’s recommendation released in December through across the board cuts.
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