The Montgomery County school board has unanimously approved three amended contracts along with a revised Culture of Respect compact with three employee unions, resulting in a $20 minimum wage for all Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) staff and increased autonomy for teachers regarding individual planning time.
“It’s serendipitous that we’re looking at the culture of respect and that now all of our staff in MCPS will be making at least $20 an hour,” board member Natalie Zimmerman said before the vote during Tuesday’s board meeting. “That is a way that we show that we respect our workers and respect our staff … paying them well and showing that we value them.”
The agreements are subject to the County Council’s approval this spring of the school board’s recommended $3.65 billion MCPS operating budget as part of the county’s fiscal year 2026 spending plan. County Executive Marc Elrich has proposed a 3.4% property tax increase to fully fund the school board’s request as part of his recommended $7.6 billion county operating budget for the coming fiscal year.
Wage increases
The contracts with the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), SEIU Local 500 and Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP) include a new 3.25% annual pay increase for inflation and “step increases,” which are salary increases that employees receive as they enter a higher level of employment.
MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor told the board that working with the unions was one of the “top five” things he enjoyed about being superintendent.
“These agreements are more than just the words that are written on paper,” Taylor said on Tuesday. “It’s really about our strategy to keep our schools safe and moving forward, we want the very best for our staff — a competitive salary and excellent working conditions to help attract and keep a diverse and talented workforce.”
Under the contract with SEIU Local 500, which represents district support staff, no MCPS employee will be paid less than $20 an hour. This includes such school staff members as paraeducators, building maintenance and cafeteria workers. According to the fiscal year 2025 support services salary scale, the current lowest pay is $18.65 for support staff.
The agreement approved Tuesday represent a renegotiation of a three-year contract that lasts from fiscal year 2023 to 2026.
The contract with the union also solidified the minimum number of hours that bus drivers work at 55 hours every two weeks, representing an increase, according to Dana Edwards, chief of district operations. Edwards said the development was “significant in terms of retention as well as a good recruitment tool.”
According to the contract amendments, transportation operators or attendants must be assigned at least 55 work hours every two weeks if requested. This is a change from the four hours per day, or 40 hours every two weeks if employees work 5 days a week, that was previously listed in the contract.
More planning time freedom
The contract for MCEA, the local teachers union, gives teachers more freedom over their individual planning time and addresses stipends for coaching athletics teams and serving as sponsors for extracurricular activities, Edwards said.
The approved changes are amendments to the MCEA’s fiscal year 2023 to 2027 contract.
According to the contract amendments, elementary school administrators can only direct teachers’ use of planning time twice per month. Except in an emergency, administrators must give teachers 48 hours of advance notice if they are directing teachers what to do with their planning time. The entire planning block can’t be utilized, and at least 10 minutes need to be left for the teacher to use the time as they wish.
The schedules of elementary school teachers must include at least seven hours of planning related to instruction per week, which is unchanged from the previous contract.
For middle and high school teachers, administrators can only control four planning periods per month. As with the elementary educators’ schedules, administrators must give teachers 48 hours’ notice of direct use of planning time and the entire planning block can’t be utilized by an administrator’s plans.
Also, middle and high school teachers will continue to be assigned no more than five regular classes when a school is organized on a seven-period schedule, with the two other periods acting as planning periods, according to the contract. Teachers of vocational subjects may be assigned to teach the equivalent of six classes when a school is organized on a multiple-class schedule, with the rest of the periods going toward planning time.
During Tuesday’s public comment period, MCEA President David Stein said the amended contract would “jointly enhance the autonomy” teachers have over planning time and that it was a “truly a big step.”
“But a contract isn’t worth much if it isn’t honored in every building,” Stein told the board. “And that is the challenge that lies before us.”
Edwards also said the new contract addressed teacher stipends. The contract increased stipends for some extracurricular activities, primarily those in athletics, and established guidelines for a joint MCEA and MCPS stipend work group.
The amendments to the fiscal year 2023 to 2025 MCAAP contract, Edwards said, focused on retention and recognition for employees.
According to the contract amendments, administrators who have been employed with MCPS as an administrator for more than five years will be eligible to receive a $2,000 annual longevity supplement. Those employed for longer than 10 years as an administrator are also eligible to receive a $2,000 annual longevity supplement. The amendment is a $500 increase to the supplement compared to the previous contract terms.
MCAAP President Christine Handy told Bethesda Today on Thursday the union was happy to sign the agreement but noted that it was dependent on the County Council’s approval of the proposed MCPS fiscal year 2026 operating budget.
Board member Brenda Wolff recognized improvements to the contracts, but said some of them were still “baby steps.”
“We still have a ways to go on some things, and I’m glad to see that we’re now at a point where we’re actually listening and communicating with each other,” Wolff said.
Culture of Respect Compact
According to school board documents, the first Culture of Respect Compact was adopted in 2005. The compact was developed during the 2004-2005 school year with the input of the three unions, three deputy superintendents and the “chief school performance officer.”
The original compact, the documents said, described the culture those involved believed should exist in MCPS.
“It reflected the values and behaviors expected of all individuals in their interactions with students, staff, parents, and others involved in the school system,” school board documents said.
The compact was reprinted in 2011 to include the school board, superintendent and union leader signatures. After the district’s antiracist audit completed in 2022 recommended incorporating antiracism into the compact, it was redesigned during the 2023-2024 school year.
“This is a joyful moment, and this is a moment to signal that we’ll continue to do the important work and continue [working] on the relationship forward,” board President Julie Yang said during the meeting Tuesday.
Taylor said the compact reflected the district’s belief in the strength of its diverse workforce and emphasizes the “importance of collaboration, transparency and mutual respect.”
“It’s been a refreshing joy to know that we can both fuss at each other and laugh with each other and still get a lot accomplished in and move forward together,” Taylor said on Tuesday. “I’m happy to sign this compact to solidify how we will continue to work together in the years to come.”
Stein said during public comment period the compact wasn’t about committing to agreeing about everything but was about respecting each other and keeping communication channels open even when there are disagreements.
Handy echoed that thought Thursday, saying the compact is “an amazing agreement” that outlines expectations for how employees are treated and how they interact with one another.
“Our only hope now is that all of our employees will read it and that they will really be committed to the culture that we aspire to have in Montgomery County Public Schools,” Handy said.
