Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight discussed her $3.15 billion proposed operating budget Wednesday morning at Rolling Terrace Elementary School in Takoma Park.
Rolling Terrace is a dual language school, which is an investment area in the budget.
The budget is a $235.4 million, or 8 percent, increase over the school system’s current budget, per a release from MCPS.
Investment highlights include competitive salaries for recruitment and retention, increasing dual-language programs in three schools, establishing two additional innovative calendar schools, adding seats in pre-k and early childhood education, expanding the college tracks advisory program, removing all costs for AP and IB exams, introducing school bus tracking software and providing literacy resources for the youngest children.
“The board and I really believe that the investments are going to really make a difference on teaching and learning for our students,” School Board Vice President Shebra Evans said Wednesday. “We’re going to be able to address the learning loss that occurred during the pandemic, as well as most importantly make investments in our staff.”
The budget allotts $119.2 million to go toward cost of salaries.
McKnight first presented the budget Monday evening. In a response Tuesday to the proposal, the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) noted understaffing in schools and the county’s high cost of living.
“While the cost of living in Montgomery County has risen more than 60% since 2002, teacher salaries have fallen by 15-17% when adjusted for inflation,” MCEA said.
On Wednesday, McKnight acknowledged Montgomery County is an “expensive place to live” and said MCPS wants employees to be able to live in the community they work in.
“In order to do that, we must be competitive in how we compensate them and we must learn from all of the things that we’ve heard from our educators and support staff in so many different ways that makes the environment one that provides them what they need to be successful,” she said.
MCEA applauded McKnight’s proposals to expand pre-K, dual-language immersion and to waive AP and IB test fees, but also urged MCPS to “offer free meals to all students and eliminate fees for field trips and other student activities.”
The school board will hold budget public hearings on Wednesday, Jan. 11, and Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. Per MCPS, the board will tentatively approve a budget on Feb. 7, 2023. After that, the budget will go to County Executive Marc Elrich and the county council for consideration.
The council will approve a final budget in May 2023.
