Amid a budget season that officials have called “sobering,” more than 100 community members urged the Montgomery County Council to fund the programs and priorities they most care about during two budget hearings on Tuesday that spanned more than seven hours.
Calls to fully fund spending requested for Montgomery County Public Schools and other county services topped the list of concerns during the council’s four public hearings Monday and Tuesday in Rockville on Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich’s proposed $7.65 billion county operating budget plan for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1. Two hearings were held Monday, which also had more than 100 speakers, and the second two hearings were held Tuesday at 1:30 and 7 p.m. as part of the council’s normal meeting agenda. The hearings were so popular that all slots for public speaking were filled and each hearing had a waitlist for additional speakers.
Prior to Tuesday’s hearings, councilmembers were briefed on Elrich’s budget by council staff. The spending plan represents an increase of 7.4% from the county’s current $7.1 billion operating budget. Elrich is calling for a 3.4% property tax rate increase in order to fully fund Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) $3.65 billion budget request for the upcoming fiscal year.
Speakers representing dozens of community nonprofits testified throughout Tuesday’s hearings, urging funding for issues ranging from literacy programming to immigration support services. While the goals of the programs differed, most speakers delivered a similar message of concern that changes at the federal level will increase demand for nonprofit services.
“Our immigrant and undocumented neighbors are living in fear and anxiety. Parents are scared to take their children to and from school. Many are reluctant to seek services,” said Erika Conner, a member of the executive committee for the Montgomery County Community Action Board, the county’s designated anti-poverty group. “We ask the council to do everything in your power to support these residents through increased immigration legal services and mental health services and other programs. Our board is extremely concerned about the potential cuts to federal programs.”
The evening hearing also was dominated primarily by testimony from speakers urging the council to retain the MCPS funding outlined in Elrich’s budget proposal.
“Public education is under fire and facing some of the most difficult conditions I’ve seen in my 30 years. … My elementary colleagues and I have seen drastic changes in our young children’s behavior as they enter school,” Michael Bayewitz, principal of Cloverly Elementary School in Silver Spring, told the council.
“Young students are entering schools with great social, emotional, behavioral and educational needs,” he said. “MCPS is not asking for the sun, moon and stars … this is a budget aimed at addressing long overdue, overdue areas of chronic need.”
Teachers, paraeducators rally for funding for MCPS
Before the Tuesday evening hearing, nearly 200 MCPS staff from all three employee unions and district leaders gathered outside the council office building in a rally to push the council to fully fund the district’s $3.65 billion budget request.
“It is an honor to stand with you, to defend our future because that’s what’s really on the line,” MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor told the crowd. “It’s not just our future, for our kids, but for our entire community.”
County school board President Julie Yang said she knew that county revenues are tight, but the board would work with the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), SIEU Local 500, the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP) and the council to find a path forward.
“Our schools are not a line item on the budget sheet, they are where dreams are shaped … and where communities are built,” Yang said.
MCAAP President Christine Handy, the leader of the union representing administrators, said those attending the rally weren’t “asking for luxury,” they were “demanding what is right.”
The district’s recommended budget includes an expected 3.25% base salary increase for staff and the proposed addition of 688 special education positions, among other expenses, according to MCPS officials.
Several of the speakers said special education in MCPS was facing a crisis, and that not fulfilling the district’s budget request would harm special education students. In a chant led by MCEA President David Stein, who leads the teachers union, the group said it would fight back against any proposed cuts to salary increases and funding for special education and school safety.
Stein said that while public testimony for the budget would begin Tuesday, the unions would continue to advocate for school funding after the hearings.
“This is the beginning, not the end,” Stein said.
Several MCPS paraeducators urged the council to approve Elrich’s recommended salary increases for paraeducators. Most of the paraeducators who testified said they rely on second or third jobs in order to pay their rent and other expenses.
“We’re caregivers, we’re counselors, we’re behavior specialists, we’re translators and even protectors. We help students learn how to communicate their needs, regulate their emotions and navigate social situations,” said Dawn Aumiller, an MCPS special education paraeducator. “Yet for all this, we’re treated as disposable. We face physical aggression, being hit, bitten, scratched or worse, without hazard pay, without proper recognition, and often without enough staff to keep us safe.”
Several speakers encouraged the council to pass a proposed funding increase that would allow for expansion of the Excel Beyond the Bell program into additional schools, including East Silver Spring Elementary School, Burnt Mills Elementary School in Silver Spring and Waters Landing Elementary School in Germantown. The program offers free after-school educational and recreational activities for students.
“We’ve done a lot to meet the social emotional needs of students and families. We’ve partnered with many organizations in order to connect our families with food, clothing, medical resources, job training and even housing support,” said Iraida Bodre-Woods, principal of East Silver Spring Elementary School. “These things have had an impact on students. There’s still a need to spend more time and resources in order to support closing of learning gaps.”
Several MCPS students also testified Tuesday, urging the council to fund restorative justice and intervention programs.
“Please ensure that those funds are directed towards school-centric solutions like restorative justice instead of just punitive measures like policing. This issue is deeply personal,” said Rajan Bell, a junior at Wheaton High School.
Bell shared the story of a friend from middle school who struggled with behavioral issues that did not resolve because she was subjected to disciplinary actions instead of participating in programs that would address the root issues of her behavior.
“The school relied on punitive measures such as suspensions and expulsions … leaving her missing school for days at a time, seriously impacting her learning,” Bell said.
Other priorities fight for attention
Only a couple of speakers testified against Elrich’s proposed tax increase Tuesday.
“I strongly oppose the operating budget, which threatens to burden Montgomery County residents and make the place I call home into an enclave that relentlessly taxes its constituents,” said Fitzgerald Mofor, who lives in Brookville ran for school board in 2024.
While education funding dominated more than half of Tuesday evening’s testimonies, other themes emerged throughout both hearings.
Several speakers urged the council to increase funding for the county’s parks Department. Montgomery Parks Director Miti Figueredo has claimed that Elrich underfunded the department’s spending plan in his proposal, and that she is concerned she will have to make major cuts and potentially layoff staff. Elrich has pushed back on these claims.
Former Planning Board Chair Jeffrey Zyontz suggested that Elrich had a spring tradition of underfunding the parks department, and that he was disappointed but not surprised by the decision.
“Every year, as the cherry blossoms come out and the [college] basketball championships are underway, the county executive gives an operating budget that … would not cover expenses,” Zyontz said. “It’s indefensible.”
Affordable housing, renters’ assistance and homelessness prevention also emerged as key concerns throughout the hearings.
“[We] strongly encourage you to include the highest possible level of funding for affordable housing,” Mary Kolar of the Montgomery Housing Alliance told the council. “Any reduction in funding would significantly disrupt the pipeline, delaying projects, making them more costly, and in some cases, derailing them altogether. We cannot afford to jeopardize projects that would supply much-needed dedicated affordable homes.”
Several other speakers urged the council to fund the recently announced plan to create a physical location for the MoCo Pride Center, which would serve the local LGBTQ+ community. Elrich announced his plans to fund the space at a Trans Day of Visibility celebration in Bethesda last week.
Lee Blinder, who runs an organization called Trans Maryland that partners with the MoCo Pride Center to provide resources to transgender individuals in the county, said the organization has seen an increased demand for services since President Donald Trump took office.
“We are receiving constant inquiries for support from trans and queer individuals and their families, and we need a dedicated position to address those inquiries who will work to increase cultural competency with partner organizations in the county as trans and queer people we live at the intersections of identity,” Blinder said.
The council is now tasked with reviewing the budget and proposed tax increase, making any necessary amendments, and approving a final budget in mid-May. A vote has not yet been scheduled.
Bethesda Today reporter Ashlyn Campbell contributed to this report.
