County Council, MCPS officials to discuss Blueprint for Maryland’s Future

Plus: Briefing on zero waste efforts, public hearing on special education budget appropriation

January 28, 2025 10:00 a.m.

The Montgomery County Council is expected to discuss the status and implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s 2021 landmark education reform law, with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials when it meets Tuesday.

The council will also receive a briefing on the county’s ongoing efforts to produce “zero waste” in its waste disposal practices and hear from the public on an appropriation to MCPS to fund special education.

The council will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:

Blueprint for Maryland’s Future

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The council will meet with MCPS officials to discuss the status and implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s 2021 education reform bill. MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s proposed $3.6 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2026, which starts July 1, includes increased funding for implementation of Blueprint requirements.

Tuesday’s briefing will focus on how the mandates in the Blueprint will impact the fiscal year 2026 budgets and subsequent budgets.

Taylor’s proposed 2026 fiscal year budget allocates $10.9 million for meeting the Blueprint’s requirements to pay student fees for dual enrollment programs and AP/IB exams, expanding pre-kindergarten and adding salary supplements for high-quality teachers.

According to the proposal, the pre-k expansion would cost $7.4 million and include adding 13 full-day general education classes, 13 full-day special education classes and 10 special education collaborative model classes, plus 91 full-time equivalent positions. Another $2.1 million would go toward covering fees for students who take college courses through dual enrollment and who take AP and IB exams. About $1.4 million is allocated for salary supplements for teachers who receive National Board Certification.

“We want to make sure that children in our public school system receive the support they need and education they deserve. … However, budget shortfalls are realities that we need to grapple with,” council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) said during a media briefing Monday. “The governor and the [Blueprint] Accountability and Implementation Board have proposed a suspension of the implementation of collaborative planning time for teachers, and they are also looking at a decrease of about $25 million in state aid for [MCPS] in fiscal year 2026.”

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During a Jan. 14 budget work session, several MCPS officials voiced disappointment in the proposed decreased financial support from the state and a lack of guidance on how to move forward.

Zero waste initiative

The council will meet with officials from the county’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and waste experts to discuss progress toward the county’s goal of producing “zero waste.”

The briefing will review waste programs and their efficacy, as well as the county’s state-mandated Ten-Year Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, and ideas for future programs and systems to limit the county’s waste.

In November, the county government extended its current contract with a private contractor for trash incinerator services at its Dickerson facility until 2031, but is planning to move toward a more environmentally friendly option, according to officials.

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DEP Director Jon Monger told reporters at a media briefing in November the county is looking for a more sustainable option to the incinerator at the county’s Resource Recovery Facility at 21204 Martinsburg Road, which can contribute to harmful air quality.

Special education appropriation

The council will hear from the public on a $17 million budget appropriation that MCPS is requesting to help pay for special education services and faculty.

According to a council staff report, MCPS projects a budget deficit this fiscal year due to higher than anticipated expenditures, primarily for special education services. The county school board requested the budget appropriation and County Executive Marc Elrich (D) has recommended that it be approved. The funding would come from the school system’s unappropriated funding reserve balance, not the county’s general reserves.

“MCPS reports that the over-expenditures in instructional and special education salaries are primarily the result of absorbing costs associated with hiring staff members who may have been in positions cut from the FY25 budget into prior vacancies,” the staff report says. “These costs are due to the placement of more experienced staff with higher salaries into positions which had been planned to be filled by new staff.”

If approved, the $17 million appropriation would fund current special education salaries and services as well as pay for providing one-on-one services and staff support, including private nurses and speech therapy.

The Montgomery County Council is expected to discuss the status and implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s 2021 landmark education reform law, with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials when it meets Tuesday.

The council will also receive a briefing on the county’s ongoing efforts to produce “zero waste” in its waste disposal practices and hear from the public on an appropriation to MCPS to fund special education.

The council will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Stella Werner Council Office Building in Rockville for its regular weekly business meeting. Here’s what to expect:

Blueprint for Maryland’s Future

The council will meet with MCPS officials to discuss the status and implementation of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the state’s 2021 education reform bill. MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s proposed $3.6 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2026, which starts July 1, includes increased funding for implementation of Blueprint requirements.

Tuesday’s briefing will focus on how the mandates in the Blueprint will impact the fiscal year 2026 budgets and subsequent budgets.

Taylor’s proposed 2026 fiscal year budget allocates $10.9 million for meeting the Blueprint’s requirements to pay student fees for dual enrollment programs and AP/IB exams, expanding pre-kindergarten and adding salary supplements for high-quality teachers.

According to the proposal, the pre-k expansion would cost $7.4 million and include adding 13 full-day general education classes, 13 full-day special education classes and 10 special education collaborative model classes, plus 91 full-time equivalent positions. Another $2.1 million would go toward covering fees for students who take college courses through dual enrollment and who take AP and IB exams. About $1.4 million is allocated for salary supplements for teachers who receive National Board Certification.

“We want to make sure that children in our public school system receive the support they need and education they deserve. … However, budget shortfalls are realities that we need to grapple with,” council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) said during a media briefing Monday. “The governor and the [Blueprint] Accountability and Implementation Board have proposed a suspension of the implementation of collaborative planning time for teachers, and they are also looking at a decrease of about $25 million in state aid for [MCPS] in fiscal year 2026.”

During a Jan. 14 budget work session, several MCPS officials voiced disappointment in the proposed decreased financial support from the state and a lack of guidance on how to move forward.

Zero waste initiative

The council will meet with officials from the county’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and waste experts to discuss progress toward the county’s goal of producing “zero waste.”

The briefing will review waste programs and their efficacy, as well as the county’s state-mandated Ten-Year Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, and ideas for future programs and systems to limit the county’s waste.

In November, the county government extended its current contract with a private contractor for trash incinerator services at its Dickerson facility until 2031, but is planning to move toward a more environmentally friendly option, according to officials.

DEP Director Jon Monger told reporters at a media briefing in November the county is looking for a more sustainable option to the incinerator at the county’s Resource Recovery Facility at 21204 Martinsburg Road, which can contribute to harmful air quality.

Special education appropriation

The council will hear from the public on a $17 million budget appropriation that MCPS is requesting to help pay for special education services and faculty.

According to a council staff report, MCPS projects a budget deficit this fiscal year due to higher than anticipated expenditures, primarily for special education services. The county school board requested the budget appropriation and County Executive Marc Elrich (D) has recommended that it be approved. The funding would come from the school system’s unappropriated funding reserve balance, not the county’s general reserves.

“MCPS reports that the over-expenditures in instructional and special education salaries are primarily the result of absorbing costs associated with hiring staff members who may have been in positions cut from the FY25 budget into prior vacancies,” the staff report says. “These costs are due to the placement of more experienced staff with higher salaries into positions which had been planned to be filled by new staff.”

If approved, the $17 million appropriation would fund current special education salaries and services as well as pay for providing one-on-one services and staff support, including private nurses and speech therapy.

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