As 2024 comes to an end, and with it a somewhat tumultuous year for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), 2025 is shaping up to be another potentially challenging year for the district. From upcoming annual operating budget deliberations to federal education changes, here are some of the issues that are sure to make news in the coming year:
Budget discussions
On Dec. 18, Superintendent Thomas Taylor introduced his fiscal year 2026 operating budget — a $3.61 billion spending plan, which represents a 9% increase in funding from the current fiscal year 2025 plan. Taylor said the budget is focused on fundamentals and bringing stability to the district. The proposed budget includes adding almost 700 special education staffers and cutting 81 staff positions from the central office.
While local leaders have said the proposal shows the clear need within the district, County Council President Kate Stewart and County Executive Marc Elrich both said there are many issues to consider, including other county needs, during upcoming budget deliberations.
Now that Taylor has presented his proposal, Elrich will review it and release his recommended fiscal year 2026 county operating budget, which will include his proposal for MCPS funding, by March 15, as required by the county charter. The council will review the proposal and adopt a county operating budget in May 2025.
In June 2024, the council approved a $3.3 billion MCPS operating budget for fiscal year 2025 — $30.5 million less than what the school board had requested. As a result, the school board made several spending cuts, including eliminating the school system’s online learning program, the Montgomery Virtual Academy, and increasing class sizes.
While the school board unanimously adopted the budget for fiscal year 2025, which started July 1, it wasn’t without disappointment.
“In eight years [on the school board], I’ve never been on a budget where I had the worst taste in my mouth ever,” former school board member Shebra Evans said in June. “This is not a budget that makes me happy at all. To me there are no winners. There are no winners in this budget, particularly for our students.”
With an even larger budget proposal from Taylor as the county faces other financial pressures, the upcoming budget deliberations may prove to be equally, if not more, difficult.
President-elect Trump to bring in changes
President-elect Donald Trump will officially take office Jan. 20 and has promised sweeping reforms for education at the federal level. Trump has advocated for closing the Department of Education, withholding federal funding from schools that don’t follow certain expectations and creating funding preferences for schools that implement initiatives such as giving “parents the right to vote for the principals who direct their children’s education.”
Trump is also expected to target diversity, equity and inclusion within schools and focus on the exclusion of transgender students from Title IX, the federal law that outlaws sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funding, and activities such as sports.
Trump also has proposed mass deportations of undocumented workers and an overhaul of the federal workforce. Both moves could impact students and county schools. The administration also could implement other changes that would impact education.
Local education leaders have expressed concern that federal funding, particularly for money awarded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Title I, could diminish or even be eliminated. IDEA and Title I provide funding for students with disabilities and children from low-income families, respectively.
Education leaders also have raised concerns that Trump’s rhetoric could cause fear among local immigrant families, who may not feel comfortable sending their children to school. They’re also concerned about how cuts in the federal workforce would impact county families.
What exactly will happen under the Trump administration remains to be seen. But going forward, it seems likely that MCPS, along with other school districts nationwide, could be facing the fallout from education changes on the federal level.
Boundary study
On Dec. 5, the Montgomery County school board approved a $1.3 million boundary study contract for an analysis that will impact 19 of MCPS’s 25 high schools.
The boundary study is required because of the expected completion of three MCPS capital projects for the 2027-2028 school year, according to an MCPS staff presentation. The projects include the reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School in Rockville, an expansion of Damascus High School and the construction of the new Crown High School in Gaithersburg.
The boundary study would determine the attendance areas for the three high schools and alleviate space needs across the district, according to board documents. In addition to the 19 high schools, it would also include 31 middle schools.
Analyses of boundaries have divided the MCPS community in the past. In 2019, MCPS conducted a countywide boundary analysis. The analysis sparked debate over the value of school diversity versus students attending schools close to their homes. Hundreds of residents attended forums and community feedback meetings on the topic, with one forum resulting in jeers and yelling from attendees.
Both Superintendent Thomas Taylor and school board President Julie Yang have acknowledged how emotional a boundary study can be, but have said determining new boundaries is necessary with the opening of the three new schools. The study is expected to offer plenty of opportunities for residents to share their views in the coming year.
