A letter from Peter Moran, Montgomery County Chief of Schools, sent out Friday at 6:10 p.m. detailed the cuts the Board of Education is planning to balance its budget.
Montgomery County Education Association called the cuts “draconian,” noting they include “alarming staffing reductions.”
“The decision to target classroom teachers for these reductions is a blatant disregard of the crushing workloads teachers have already carried. Year after year, educators continue to be forced to do more with less. This trend isn’t sustainable and clearly has a negative impact on students,” MCEA leaders said in a news release.
According to Moran’s School Allocation Execution Report, the size of kindergarten through 12th grade classes will be increased by one student.
Only classroom teachers are impacted by staffing reassignments. These will not affect counselors, school psychologists or pupil personnel workers, according to Moran’s letter that was sent to school principals.
Staff reductions at the elementary school level could impact art, music and physical education allocations as well as reading initiative allocations, according to the letter.
In the higher grades, the onus for the staffing cuts is placed on the principals. They are asked to “absorb the .4 staff development teacher reduction at your school.” These reductions could make it necessary for fulltime teachers (considered 1.0 teachers) to teach fewer classes.
Principals need to report the staff member they have identified for involuntary transfer to the Office of Human Resources and Development (OHRD) by Wednesday at noon.
On Thursday, OHRD staffing coordinators will confirm that the staff member identified for involuntary transfer is accurate based on position and seniority. Then, on Friday, OHRD will be available for questions.
“We recognize that this process will be difficult for your staff and difficult for you to communicate. Staffing changes like this can be unsettling as the positive relationships we build are what make schools special,” Moran wrote.
“Unfortunately, the budgetary restraints make these staffing changes unavoidable. Please know that we are committed to working closely with you and your staff to support you with these transitions. We deeply respect your leadership and commitment to doing the difficult and necessary work on behalf of your school communities,” Moran wrote.
In response, MCEA President Jennifer Martin stated in a news release, “We cannot stand by while our leaders erode the quality of education our students receive. This is a fight for the needs of our children. We implore County Executive Elrich and the council to use their power to help us fight for the schools our students deserve and to help right what has become a sinking ship.”
MCEA officials said that “chronic underfunding and gross mismanagement of the MCPS budget has caused the system to hit a breaking point. Urgent changes must be made to prevent leadership from further eroding the quality of education our county’s children receive.”
They urged Montgomery County not to balance the budget on the backs of students and asked residents to contact Elrich and councilmembers to speak out. “We must also demand that they use their power to call for an immediate investigation into MCPS by the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) to ensure transparency and accountability in their use of public funds. ”
MCEA officials also asked that the county call for a full audit of MCPS’s financial structures, especially as it searches for a new superintendent.
Last month, county councilmembers were informed by MCPS that 143 teaching positions were on the chopping block.
County councilmembers recently adopted a $7.1 billion operating budget that includes $3.3 billion for MCPS. That is 99.2% of what the district requested, or about a $30 million reduction.
