Dozens of teachers union members disrupted a County Council session on Tuesday afternoon to demand Montgomery County Public Schools’ proposed $3.15 billion operating budget be fully funded. The council was poised to read a proclamation recognizing Teacher Appreciation Day but instead recessed when educators refused to give up the microphone.
Members of the council’s Education & Culture Committee invited a few speakers to share remarks before reading the proclamation. Former 2021-22 Teacher of the Year recipient Jonathan Dunn said it would take more than “platitudes and kind words” for teachers to feel appreciated by the county. Montgomery County Education Association president Jennifer Martin delivered an impassioned speech demanding the council to fully fund the school operating budget.
Union members hand-delivered all 11 Council members printed copies of an online MCEA petition calling for the budget’s full funding, each copy stuffed inside a school backpack. The petition has received over 9,000 signatures as of Tuesday.
County Council member Gabe Albornoz (D-At-Large) later told MoCo360 he was “deeply saddened and troubled” by the demonstration. “I didn’t find it to be very productive, but I understand that it’s coming from a place of frustration,” he said.
County Executive Marc Elrich (D) in mid-March introduced a 10-cent property tax increase, which he said would provide an additional $220 million for public schools this upcoming fiscal year. The proposal needs to be approved by six of 11 council members in order to pass—a vote that will take place May 17. On May 5 the Education & Culture Committee voted to recommend adopting a 9% increase instead of 10%, with 7% being labeled “high priority” and 2% labeled as “priority.”
Opponents of the proposed tax hike—including political nonprofit Empower Montgomery and the county GOP—say the increase will make it “almost impossible” for the average resident to purchase a Montgomery County home, impacting housing shortages and inequities.
During her remarks, Martin told council members it would be “economic nonsense” to say a 10-cent tax hike could severely impact families while simultaneously allowing landlords to double their rent rates, referencing competing bills on rent stabilization. She pointed to recent statistics from the Economic Policy Institute that show teachers face a 20% wage penalty compared to other professions.
“We urge you to fully fund the MCPS budget and address this gross inequity that is largely born by women,” she said.
As Martin finished her speech and committee chair Will Jawando (D-At-Large) received the microphone to read the proclamation, North Bethesda Middle School teacher Rebecca Rothstein approached him for the mic as dozens of teachers chanted, “Let her speak! Let her speak!”
Council member Will Jawando prepares to hand the mic over to MCPS teacher Rebecca Rothstein. “We understand where you’re coming from,” he says. “We’d ask that you just give us the same respect so we can continue our business here.” Credit: Em Espey 
A sign brought by one of the union members urges council to fully fund the MCPS budget. Credit: Em Espey 
A union member holds up a poster board bearing the names of thousands of people who signed MCEA’s petition asking for the school budget to be fully funded. Credit: Em Espey
Jawando ultimately relinquished the microphone to Rothstein, telling her she had one minute to speak.
“Council members, you are tasked with making important decisions about things you’re not necessarily experts in,” Rothstein said, citing “dilapidated” school buildings and teachers struggling to pay their bills.
As Jawando attempted to read the proclamation, Ashburton Elementary teacher Nathan Fencil stood, and Jawando’s recitation was drowned out by chants of, “Let him speak! Let him speak!”
Council President Evan Glass (D-At-Large) announced the proclamation had ended and council would be moving on to general business.
As union members continued to chant —“We see through your sham veneer; fund the schools for future years!”—Glass declared recess and council members filed out of chambers. Union members left shortly thereafter, chanting, “We’ll be back!”
Outside the building, Fencil told MoCo360 if allowed to speak, he would have told officials that as an LGBTQ+ educator, he moved to the county because of its reputation for diversity and inclusion. He’s been a teacher for 10 years, five of them in MCPS. He now struggles to afford rent with his current salary, and he said he’s afraid he’s going to have to move to a different state where he’ll feel unsafe as an LGBTQ+ person amid an onslaught of transphobic and homophobic legislature nationwide.
Fellow educators Jody Gil and Ellie Kleinman had also hoped to share their concerns with the council about the impacts of inadequate teacher salaries, they said. Gil, a 20-year veteran educator at Montgomery Blair High in Silver Spring, said she’s seen many of her colleagues resign due to low salaries.
“Educators shouldn’t wait 14 to 16 years to make six figures when they’re dealing with shooter drills, broken equipment and trauma on a daily basis,” she said. “People don’t realize what an emotional toll it can take on someone—and we bring that emotional weight home with us.”
Council member Jawando could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Reacting to Tuesday’s demonstration, Council and Education & Culture Committee member Kristin Mink (D-Dist. 5) wrote MoCo360:
“Teachers are clearly very frustrated with working conditions and the staffing shortages and are afraid we’re not going to deliver the funding that schools need to function properly.”
She continued, “Regardless of what happened today, over the next week, the Council is going to have to take a hard look at the numbers and make a thoughtful assessment of the funding level needed to meet the needs of students and employees.”
Albornoz, the third Education & Culture Committee member, told MoCo360 he empathized with teachers’ concerns and said funding MCPS salaries is “a very high priority” for officials.
“We have some very difficult decisions to make and an entire county to think about,” he said. “And we’re going to be right back here next year. The relationship with our teachers is important to all of us, and we need everyone to understand that this is not just a one-year challenge.”
He also said the Education & Culture Committee recommended taking $22 million out of the $25 million MCPS “fund balance” to use for its operating budget. The fund balance is a mandatory bucket of money the school district is required to set aside in its budget every year for emergencies. Albornoz said taking $22 million would cancel out 1% of the desired 10% tax increase.
Albornoz said the council will be taking straw votes as they go through each government agency’s operating budget funding request. MCPS will receive its straw vote on Friday. May 17 will effectively be the council’s final budget vote.
Before announcing the session’s recess Tuesday afternoon, Glass told union representatives:
“We welcome you back on Friday when the MCPS budget is fully taken up.”
