Chants of “Fully fund!” rang out Thursday evening outside the Isiah “Ike” Leggett Executive Office Building in Rockville as leaders of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and local education organizations gathered to demand the county government fully fund the district’s $3.65 billion fiscal year 2026 operating budget request.
“The consequence of underfunding and under-supporting our school’s budget will be costly, more costly than funding it,” MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor said during the press conference at the county government building that drew about 100 educators and MCPS community members. “It will show up in teacher turnover. It will show up in staff turnover. It will show up in unfulfilled maintenance requests and unmet learning needs.”
The Montgomery County school board tentatively approved a $3.65 billion operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Feb. 4.
The unanimously approved budget reflects an increase of $36.7 million from Taylor’s proposed budget but a reduced request for county funding. The change is in large part due to anticipated additional state funding that comes with mandated spending to meet state education reform requirements.
The tentatively approved proposal is now with County Executive Marc Elrich, who is reviewing it while preparing his proposed fiscal year 2026 county operating budget, including MCPS spending, that he is expected to release in mid-March.
Taylor presented his proposed spending plan for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, in December, describing it as an attempt to provide the district with “long-term stability.”
His recommendation represents a nearly 9% increase over current spending. The proposed $300 million total increase in MCPS spending from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2026 comes in the wake of a difficult budget season in 2024 in which the county school board had to make significant spending cuts. The cuts were needed to close a spending gap after the County Council approved a fiscal year 2025 MCPS operating budget that was $30.5 million less in spending than the school board requested. The operating budget for fiscal year 2025, which ends June 30, is $3.32 billion.
Taylor was joined by several speakers during Thursday’s event, dubbed the “People’s Press Conference” and organized by the Montgomery County Education Association, which is the local teachers union.
Taylor told the crowd the school board’s budget wouldn’t solve all the issues within the school system.
“What this budget does do is, it puts us on a path. It puts us on a path to excellence. It puts us on a path to solving these problems,” Taylor said. “It will take several years and a lot of teamwork … to navigate through this mess.”
School board President Julie Yang noted the budget was about “more than just education” because a strong public school system was the foundation of a thriving community.
The additional $300 million included in the budget would help pay for spending that includes an expected 3.25% base salary increase for staff and the proposed addition of 688 special education positions, according to MCPS officials.
Pia Morrison, president of SEIU Local 500, a union that represents education staff, said the council needed to fully fund the budget to address the growing needs of staff and students, particularly in special education, which is often overlooked.
“Investing in special education is not just a moral imperative, it is a legal and social responsibility,” Morrison said. “When we underfund special education services, we are failing our most vulnerable students.”
Drawing attention to the number of leaders and community members gathered at the event, Montgomery County Education Association President David Stein said “it should be clear” the MCPS community was united in demanding a fully funded budget from the county government.
While MCPS has asked for additional money, the state government is facing a $3 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2026. Leaders in the MCPS community have also expressed concerns about the potential loss of federal funding with a new presidential administration in office.
“We face very difficult and uncertain economic times, but what we are asking the county executive and the County Council to do now is hard and it takes courage,” Stein said. “It takes courage to make hard decisions during hard times.”
Other proposed budget expenditures include $5.47 million for an equity addition to the school material funding formula, which would provide more funding for underserved schools, and 52 additional security positions.
Heidi Kakan, a student at Northwest High School in Germantown and a member of the Minority Scholars Program, shared at the Thursday event that as a freshman she was excited to attend the Germantown school due to its diversity. But that excitement diminished when she was bullied for being Middle Eastern. Kakan said school security was particularly important to ensure students from all backgrounds feel safe in schools.
“Diversity is a superpower, but it is unable to persist without the power of education and security,” Kakan said. “These two aspects are the foundation to a solid community where each student has the opportunity to thrive.”
