Montgomery County Public Schools on Monday said it’s preparing to hold back 370 school-based staff positions for next year in anticipation of the County Council not fulfilling its wish for a 4 percent budget increase.
The school system made the announcement in a press release, a week before County Executive Isiah Leggett is set to make his FY16 operating budget recommendation and a few months before the County Council is expected to adjust and approve it.
Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers said he sent staffing allocations for the 2015-2016 school year to principals on Friday. Those allocations include the reduction of 370 school-based positions, including more than 150 teaching positions.
MCPS says the reductions would mean a class size increase of one student per class in elementary schools, of 0.5 students at higher FARMS rates middle and high schools and one student at other middle and high schools.
“While I am hopeful that the County Council will be able to fully fund our budget, we must prepare for the possibility that we will have to make additional reductions to our budget request,” Bowers said in the press release. “We are taking this action now so that our schools and staff impacted by these changes can begin planning for next year.”
The announcement Monday indicated another schools budget tussle is ahead for the Council.
The Board of Education is requesting $2.39 billion for its 2015-2016 operating budget, $80 million over the minimum level required by the state’s controversial Maintenance of Effort law and about half of the county’s entire budget.
Last year, not long before the Democratic primary, the County Council came up with one-time funding sources to fund MCPS at its requested level but without increasing the minimum threshold required by the law.
The Board’s budget request assumes the county will provide $23.3 million to restore those funds used last year. It also cut then-Superintendent Joshua Starr’s request from December, realizing Gov. Larry Hogan is recommending a $25 million cut in state funding for county schools.
The hiring cuts proposed by Bowers, which include cutting about 40 central service positions, would save MCPS about $27 million.
“We have taken prudent, necessary steps to plan for next year and will continue to fight for additional state funding,” Bowers said. “But we must be ready should the County Council be unable to fully fund our budget.”
Photo via MCPS
