Teachers union protests MCPS possible layoffs, class size increases

School board prepares to close gap between funding request and approved budget

May 24, 2024 3:42 p.m.

Dozens of Montgomery County Public Schools teachers packed Thursday night’s school board meeting, demanding that district officials take action to avoid potential staff layoffs, program cuts and increases in class sizes that could result from a lack of education funding.

Wearing red T-shirts and bandanas representing the Montgomery County Education Association, members of the teachers union filled the front lobby of the new school board headquarters at 15 W. Gude Drive in Rockville, chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “Let us in!” as they waited to enter the board’s meeting room.

The union’s demonstration came hours after the County Council adopted a $7.1 billion county operating budget for fiscal year 2025, which included $3.3 billion for MCPS.

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The council approved a budget that includes $26.3 million more for MCPS than had been allocated in County Executive Marc Elrich’s proposed spending plan, but was still about $30 million less than the school board requested.

A sea of red t-shirt-wearing union members waiting to enter the board room filled the front lobby and flowed to the outside entrance of the school board headquarters.

Even though the budget includes the highest-ever amount of funding for MCPS, two council members abstained from voting on that portion of the budget. Councilmembers Will Jawando (At-Large) and Kristin Mink (District 5) said they were concerned that not fully funding the school board’s recommended spending plan would potentially lead to cuts, layoffs and increased class sizes.

“One thing I’m clear on is our students need more not less. Our teachers need more support, not less. And the impact of these cuts are going to be felt in every school, disproportionately to kids that are most vulnerable, and so we can’t allow that to happen,” Jawando said. “I just I hope that the school system can figure this out and before we get to July 1, there’s a way to figure it out. But I just can’t in good conscience vote for these levels of cuts.”

This budget season has been particularly challenging for the school system due to the upcoming loss of federal COVID-19 aid, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. About $125 million of funding will no longer be available.

At the start of the school board meeting, President Karla Silvestre spoke of the tough decisions ahead to make up the difference in what the board requested and what the council allotted but otherwise did not address the union members’ concerns.  

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“We are grateful for the county’s collaboration and careful consideration during a challenging budget year. However, we acknowledge that the result brings difficulties for our schools and, most importantly, our people,” Silvestre said at the start of the meeting.

“The Board of Education has been clear that if our budget request is not fully funded, we will have to make difficult decisions,” she said. “As many are aware, the Federal ESSER grant ends on Sept. 30 and without additional funding to replace this grant, significant adjustments are necessary.”

MCEA President Jennifer Martin told MoCo360 on Wednesday that in addition to a possible increase in class sizes, the union was preparing for the potential of up to 300 educator layoffs, position transfers and cancelation of contracts for new hires.

“We’re looking right now and really pressing MCPS to look [at contractual services in the budget] to see where additional savings can be made, because right now that is budgeted to add $100 million, which is up substantially from last year,” Martin said.

As the meeting started with 12 administrator appointments on the agenda, union members waited in the lobby and at the front entrance of the headquarters but were not allowed to enter the boardroom.

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Dustin Jeter, a union member and social studies teacher at James H. Blake High School in Silver Spring, told MoCo360 that MCPS “seems to want to make decisions about us, but not with us in the room.”

Jeter said union members began to gather at the new school board headquarters around 3 p.m. ahead of the meeting’s original 3:30 p.m. start time, which was later pushed back to a 4 p.m. start.

Being locked out caused frustration among the MCEA members, who pointed out the irony that the school board moved to a larger space to allow for more participation and “democracy to function better,” referring to school officials’ reasoning for the move from MCPS’s former headquarters in the Carver building.

According to school board communications coordinator Christie Scott, building security did not allow the union members to enter the room due to concerns with capacity during the appointments part of the meeting. Scott said that there was a larger number of appointees at Thursday’s meeting, who typically have family attending and filling the seats.

After appointments were completed, a handful of members were allowed into the boardroom, some of whom attempted to deliver a letter to Interim MCPS Superintendent Monique Felder. When they approached the dais, Silvestre called for a brief recess, and board members and Felder left the room.

During the 20-minute recess, the rest of the group of MCEA protesters and other meeting attendees still waiting in the lobby – some of whom were advocating for the Montgomery Virtual Academy program and bringing bus transportation to Spanish immersion students at White Oak Middle School – were directed by security to get into a single file line and then permitted to enter the room.

Once the rest of the meeting attendees filed into the boardroom, nearly all of the seats were filled with about two dozen others standing on the side aisles.

Before board members came back from recess, Felder returned to the boardroom and listened to a group of union delegates read their letter.

“We are deeply alarmed by the recent decisions made by our executive leadership team. These decisions made to balance the budget would have a devastating impact on our students and staff, leading to increased class sizes and educator layoffs,” they read. “We understand that you have recently assumed your role in MCPS and are inheriting a district in crisis. However, the urgency of our working conditions and our students’ learning conditions cannot be overstated and must be addressed.”

MCEA delegates reading their letter to MCPS Interim Superintendent Monique Felder.

In the letter, MCEA members also handed over a list of more than $30 million in potential cuts within the contractual services area of the budget that the union had put together.

According to Silvestre, the school board is expected to approve the final version of its fiscal year 2025 budget on June 11. She said the board will share information with MCPS staff and families as the school system determines what budget adjustments need to be made.

“Staff who may be impacted by reductions will be informed as quickly as possible,” Silvestre said. “To our staff, I want to say, we do not make these decisions easily and they are not our first choice. A decision to reduce staff has no reflection on the performance or dedication of MCPS educators. Thank you for your resilience and unwavering commitment to the success of MCPS students.”

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