Some of Montgomery County’s education leaders Tuesday urged Gov. Larry Hogan to release more than $17 million in state funding for Montgomery County Public Schools that they said would help stave off staff cuts and increased class sizes.
At an event held at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Principal Jennifer Baker said her school would lose six classroom teaching positions and suffer more cuts to media assistants and paraeducators under proposed staffing allocations.
“We have a high-performing school here at Walter Johnson High School,” Baker said, “but we have been stretching and stretching and stretching to meet the needs of all students every year as our resources have been shrinking and shrinking.”
The $17.7 million at issue is part of the state’s Geographic Cost of Education Index (GCEI) formula, which provides additional state school funding to the school systems where the cost of education is higher.
Despite the legislature’s approval of $68 million in statewide GCEI funding, Hogan has said he might withhold the money because of concerns about other areas of the state’s finances. That has the Maryland State Education Association holding “funding rallies” around the state similar to the one Tuesday at Walter Johnson.
After the press conference, county education leaders signed a letter to Hogan urging him to release the GCEI funding.
“We are not here today seeking a huge increase in state funding. We are not here today seeking more funding than we’re supposed to receive,” Board of Education President Patricia O’Neill said. “We are here to simply ask the governor to honor the state’s commitment to public education.”
Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers has said MCPS is planning to hold back 370 school-based positions for the next school year, saving $23 million.
Bowers has also eliminated 40 positions from the school system’s central office, saving $4 million.
Despite the event’s aim at pressuring Hogan, many of those staff positions could be lost even if the governor does release the GCEI funding.
The County Council’s Education Committee recommended funding for MCPS that’s about $40 million short of what the school system asked for.
After the committee’s April 29 meeting, Bowers told The Gazette it’s possible many of those school-based positions will remain unfilled if the county doesn’t meet the school system’s $2.39 billion request, about $85 million above the minimum required by the state’s maintenance of effort law and a 4 percent increase over current spending.
“The budget essentially allows us to provide the same services to a growing number of students and a modest raise for staff,” O’Neill said.
MCPS expects an influx of about 2,500 additional students next year. The school system says it has added more than 14,000 students over the past six years while eliminating 1,400 staff positions.
That makes the GCEI funding all the more important, according to state Sen. Nancy King, who represents the Gaithersburg area.
“It’s not just play money. I’m hoping [Hogan] gets our message. At some point he needs to because I really think during the legislative session we did a lot to support his initiatives and him in his first year as governor,” King said. “I think it’s time for him to support us with such a major priority.”
