Montgomery College officials approved in January a $345.5 million fiscal year 2026 operating budget request, which represents a 3.3% increase over the current fiscal year’s spending but doesn’t require more county funding or a hike in tuition, according to budget documents.
“With a keen awareness of the current fiscal climate, this budget asks for no new County dollars,” college President Jermaine Williams and the Montgomery College Board of Trustees Chair Cloria Aparicio Blackwell explained in a letter to County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council President Kate Stewart. “The College’s revenue sources from the County, State, and student tuition, combined with judicious use of fund balance, will support operations for [fiscal year 2026].”
The proposed budget comes amid a difficult budget cycle this year for local and state government as Maryland faces a nearly $3 billion deficit. Montgomery County Public Schools is asking county officials to approve its $3.65 million budget request, which presents a 9% increase in its spending for fiscal year 2025, which ends June 30.
The Montgomery College Board of Trustees, the legal governing body for the community college, approved its budget request at its Jan. 22 meeting. The school’s proposal heads to Elrich, who will review it while preparing his proposed fiscal year 2026 county operating budget that is expected to be submitted to the County Council in March.
The college is asking for roughly $148.4 million from the county, the same amount of money it received in fiscal year 2025 according to budget documents. The college’s 2025 fiscal budget request was fully funded by the County Council.
College officials included about $56.1 million in state funding – the same amount received in fiscal year 2025 – in the budget proposal, although the college is expecting additional state funding, according to the letter.
While tuition won’t increase in the next fiscal year, the college expects to receive about $72.6 million in revenue from tuition, a 13.6% increase from the amount received during fiscal year 2025 due to increased credit hours, the letter explained. According to the letter, total credit hours increased by 7% during the 2024-2025 school year when compared to the 2023-2024 school year. The college is also anticipating a 2% growth in the number of full-time equivalent students for the fiscal year 2026.
The college has campuses in Takoma Park/Silver Spring, Rockville and Germantown. The community college also operates workforce development and continuing education centers and off-site programs throughout the county. According to the letter, over 45,000 students took credit and noncredit courses across its locations during the last year. The college is a federally designated Minority Serving Institution – 30% of its students are Hispanic and 24% are Black.
The college is also planning on using $29.2 million from its fund balance in both its proposed capital and operating budget, according to the letter. A fund balance is the total accumulation of operating surpluses and deficits for the college. The fiscal year 2026 operating budget request asks the council to appropriate nearly $12.7 million of its fund balance for the operating budget. The rest of the $29.2 million – about $16.5 million, will be put toward the school’s capital budget.
The college’s projected expenditures for its tax-supported funds are projected to increase by $10.6 million, or 3.7% compared to the current fiscal year, for a total of $294.3 million. According to the letter, the increase is anticipated to support compensation for current faculty and price escalations in contracts and utilities. Of that funding, $97.3 million will go toward instruction, $48.7 million will go toward academic support and $37.1 will go toward student services.
The college is also planning to spend $22.7 million on its Workforce Development and Continuing Education Fund, which helps students of all ages access career programs, training, certifications, summer camps and lifelong learning programs, according to the letter. The Workforce Development and Continuing Education Fund doesn’t require contributions from the county, according to budget documents.
