Heading into the new year, Montgomery County Board of Education President Julie Yang is planning to focus the board’s attention on the day-to-day realities within Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and the concerns of families.
“Our families care about the reality in our school buildings,” Yang (Dist. 3) said, pointing to issues like on-time buses and working heating and air conditioning. “These are the bread-and-butter concerns, and [these are] the things we are going to focus on.”
Yang, a former elementary school teacher and MCPS college and career counselor, who’s served on the board since 2022, took over the president’s role from fellow member Karla Silvestre upon her election at the Dec. 5 school board meeting. Yang represents District 3, which includes Bethesda, North Bethesda, Kensington and Potomac.
Yang told MoCo360 Monday afternoon during an interview about her priorities at school board headquarters in Rockville that her “desire to serve” and the trust of her colleagues led her to seek the one-year term as president. She is leading the board as members say goodbye to a tumultuous year and head into 2025, which may also pose significant challenges to the board.
Reflecting on the past
The last year and a half were challenging for MCPS and the school board following the 2023 mishandling of sexual harassment allegations against a former middle school principal, the departure of former Superintendent Monifa McKnight in February, budget troubles and the Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General’s release of several scathing reports about the district, including one concerning the district’s electric bus contract.
From these challenges, Yang said the board learned it needs to be “more front facing,” to engage with the community and to ensure it is proactive instead of reactive in its oversight role.
After a four-month nationwide search this year to replace McKnight, the board hired Thomas Taylor, an MCPS graduate and the former superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools in Virginia, to lead the district. Taylor, who took the helm in July, has been doing a “wonderful job,” Yang said.
“He came with [a] deep understanding of education … . He also brought with him a good sense of humor,” Yang said. “I think we are going in the right direction.”
2025 priorities, hopes and challenges
The board is expected to face some daunting issues in 2025, including the adoption later next spring of the MCPS operating budget for fiscal year 2026 that Taylor is set to present Wednesday. Other potential challenges include an upcoming boundary study that will impact almost all high schools in the district and possible issues arising from the upcoming Trump administration.
This year, Yang said the board is focused on actions that will “move the needle” in a positive direction but recognized the challenges that lie ahead.
The boundary study, an issue that has divided the MCPS community in the past, is a particularly emotional issue for families, Yang said. The board’s role, she said, is to make sure the process is done transparently and with community engagement.
The boundary study is a result of the upcoming opening of Rockville’s Charles W. Woodward and Gaithersburg’s Crown high schools, as well as an expansion of Damascus High School, according to school board documents. It would include 19 of the county’s 25 public high schools and 31 middle schools. Taylor recently released an explanatory video on the study, where he also acknowledged the emotional nature of the topic.
“We need to figure out where our kids go,” Yang said. “We are dealing with family’s routines and families have a sense of belonging and take pride in their schools, so I understand all of that emotion.”
Yang also said she’s heard concerns from families over Trump taking office, particularly with his goal to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, which actually would require an act from Congress, according to Vox.
“We can’t … control what happens at a federal level, but locally in our schools, our students have to feel safe physically and safe psychologically and receive a high-quality education,” Yang said.
In November, Taylor reassured families that schools will remain a safe space for children regardless of their immigration status following Trump’s election promise to conduct mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Cuts in federal education funding could also impact the district; federal funding currently makes up roughly 3% of the MCPS budget. Yang said if there are changes to federal funding, the board will keep the community informed and work with other elected leaders to navigate the issue.
As for its upcoming budget deliberations, Yang said the board is planning to focus on its “values of excellence and equity” as well as student achievement. Yang said the district plans to evaluate programs to determine their efficacy and to allocate resources where needed.
Taylor presented a preview of the budget Dec. 6 and is scheduled to present the entire spending plan at 6 p.m. Wednesday at school board headquarters in Rockville.
Yang said the board’s policy committee is also planning to review several policies to improve the board’s oversight of MCPS and ensure that oversight initiatives are implemented diligently throughout the district.
In addition, Yang said she is excited to see positive changes resulting from measures MCPS and the board put in place this school year, including a new literacy curriculum and the addition of math coaches in elementary and middle school.
“[The board is] looking for unity and purpose, and I have a feeling that we’re going to work well together, and everyone is focused on improving our schools,” Yang said.