The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) voted “overwhelmingly” Wednesday evening to ratify the contract put forth by the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education (BOE).
The contract was worked out assuming that the entire amount for schools that County Executive Marc Elrich included in his proposed budget would be adopted. The county council, which is expected to vote on the proposed budget Thursday, has whittled down Elrich’s proposal.
The county council is expected to vote Thursday on the Fiscal Year 2024 $6.7 billion budget that includes a 4.7 cent property tax increase. That rate is slightly less than half of what County Executive Marc Elrich proposed. He called for a 10-cent property tax increase with most of the proposed funding going toward MCPS.
According to a news release from MCEA, “The contract addresses working conditions by including innovative ideas like a pilot program to provide more planning time for elementary school teachers and making a substantial investment in professional development, trauma-informed teaching and learning, and restorative practices.”
The contract calls wage increases as of July 1. All 10-month MCEA unit members will receive a general wage adjustment of $5,602 plus a step for eligible members. All 12-month members will receive a general wage adjustment of $6,583 plus a step for eligible members.
According to Latechia Mitchell, a teacher at Stedwick Elementary, 98% of the members who voted were in favor of the contract.
Some council members have let it be known that they aren’t happy with MCEA, noting that union members pushed the idea that if Elrich’s entire budget was not fully funded, then the teachers would lose out on part of the proposed raises.
In what appeared to be an attempt to smooth over hard feelings, MCEA President Jennifer Martin said in a news release, “We must commend the board of education for seeing the need for additional resources. We’ve seen a real improvement in collaboration, oversight, and transparency.”
However, she added, “That said, it’s important to remember that we operate under the belief that we don’t have permanent friends or permanent enemies, we have permanent issues. Our focus has always been our students’ learning conditions. We are unapologetic in our continued work to improve our school system.”
