Montgomery County Public Schools announced Monday afternoon that no current teachers are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the district’s plan to increase class sizes for the next school year.
The increase in class sizes–which was anticipated to lead to layoffs of up to 150 educators–is one of several budget-cutting moves that MCPS is undertaking to close a $30 million gap in its roughly $3.3 billion spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1.
According to the MCPS announcement, “current and anticipated teacher vacancies, such as resignations and retirements, are projected to eliminate reductions in teacher positions.”
“Current projections for available open positions for general education teachers number approximately 256, while teachers impacted by involuntary transfer or as a result of the class size guidance increase are numbering” about 230, the email announcement stated. “These are daily calculations as the number of vacancies fluctuates. There also are still 90 open special education teaching positions. Therefore, it is likely that no currently employed teachers will face a job loss.”
The email announcement directed to MCPS staff comes after teachers union President Jennifer Martin announced that educator layoffs were “unlikely” in a video message posted Friday on social media.
“We’re winning, but we can’t stop now,” said Martin, head of the Montgomery County Education Association. “There’s still no commitment to prevent furloughs to honor open contracts, or to put every teacher in a placement that doesn’t disrupt their lives and the lives of their family.”
Dozens of union members rallied late Monday afternoon in downtown Silver Spring to raise support for increasing the MCPS budget on the eve of the school board’s expected vote Tuesday to approve a fiscal year 2025 spending plan.
The MCPS email did not state how many teachers would be facing reassignments or transfers, but said it is “usual when transitioning from one school year to another.” Staff in the MCPS human resources department have begun communicating with employees who are facing reassignment and teachers will be notified by June 13, according to the email.
On Tuesday, MCPS Interim Superintendent Monique Felder wrote an email to families that the district was planning to increase class sizes and reduce the amount of its central office staff as part of its efforts to reduce the multimillion-dollar deficit in next year’s school operating budget.
The decisions come as MCPS grappled with making budget cuts following the County Council’s adoption of a $7.1 billion county operating budget for fiscal year 2025, which includes roughly $3.3 billion for the school district.
The council’s allocation funds 99.2% of the school board’s recommended budget and is the highest-ever amount of funding for MCPS, but district officials say it is not enough to fully fund all programs and services. District officials said at the time that a possible increase in class sizes was likely to result in the layoffs of up to 150 educators.
Monday’s email explained the operational needs of MCPS have become “very expensive” due to the loss of federal COVID-19 relief funds, implementing the state-mandated Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform bill and the “rising inflationary costs” of materials and services.
“It is important to note that MCPS does not stand alone on this issue as other local school jurisdictions in Maryland are increasing class size guidelines by one or more students,” the email stated.
Following the council vote, Felder and Board of Education President Karla Silvestre notified families of several budget adjustments the district was considering including class size increases, reductions in central office employees, delaying pre-kindergarten expansion and reducing services from CollegeTracks, which offers college access services to underserved students.
MCPS also acknowledged community concerns regarding the impact of an increase in class sizes and reiterated that the class size increase would add no more than one student per class at each school level and that some classrooms may not even see an increase.
“These decisions are based on the enrollment and specific programmatic needs at individual schools,” the email explained.
“While a class size increase is never the first choice, an expected operating budget deficit of $30 million … requires that savings be identified and achieved through various measures,” the email said. “By adding no more than one student per class, we can ensure that we remain within the typical national trends for average class sizes, while still meeting the needs of our students.”
The district also acknowledged how grappling with the budget deficit and making cuts is “difficult,” but said that avoiding job cuts for current educators is a “significant positive step.”
In addition, the district’s email said upcoming changes such as the loss of more than 20 positions in central services, the cutting of programs such as the Montgomery Virtual Academyv and the delaying of pre-kindergarten expansion would “undoubtedly have an impact.”
“In central services alone, when combining the superintendent’s proposed budget reductions from December of 2024 and including the most recent position reductions, the total reduction in central services is nearly 95 positions, a total of nearly $18 million,” the email stated.
In addition to the teachers union’s Monday afternoon rally and another protest that members held at a May 23 school board meeting, families and students from the Montgomery Virtual Academy have staged a sit-in and protests at the school board headquarters to demand the county continue funding the program.
