By Lori Jaffe

Last month, two volunteer groups, the Montgomery County Taxpayers League (MCTL) and the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County (PCMC) held the Montgomery County Public Schools budget review - “MCPS FY2027 Operating Budget Palooza.”  As we watched, it brought to mind the old saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Below are some of the highlights.

This November we have several good candidates who will run for office, including the County Council and the Board of Education. Remember what was unearthed in the analysis and vote for change.

• The MCPS budget (3.77 Billion) is roughly half of the total Montgomery County budget (6.6 Billion). The County Council funds MCPS.

• MoCo economic conditions are stagnant. The average taxpayer’s personal income has increased 1%. Population growth is “muted,” i.e. 0.6% annually. Unemployment is up.

• Despite our economic conditions, “(t)his year, the Superintendent is proposing a 5% increase over last year’s budget, to $3.778 Billion.”

• Funding of MCPS by the taxpayers through the council is on a per pupil basis. In the past, when the student population was increasing, it made more sense for MCPS to ask for more money. But now that the student population is decreasing, it doesn’t make sense for that request to increase.

• The administration overhead is 45%! For this year, it’s an increase of 7.7% to local taxpayers. For world class businesses, the goal is 10%. In the Fairfax County school system, the overhead is 37%.

• If MCPS requests more than the state mandated requirement, they must provide a significant justification and detailed explanations to the council but they haven’t provided a justification.

• Money is “fungible.” Two years ago, the “emergency” funding for MCPS schools, for which the taxpayers absorbed nearly a 5% increase in property taxes, provided over $200 Million in additional revenue but much of this money went to the general county government activities, not the school system.

• Our schools are aging. County Executive Marc Elrich and Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez are actively considering a targeted property tax increase to fund school construction projects because they don’t have the money to pay for them. Sound familiar? Montgomery Perspective explains why we don’t have the money.

• In Superintendent Taylor’s letter (below), he indicated that MCPS had cut 50 Full Time Employees (FTE) but it did not show that they had added 65 FTEs in other places. Therefore, they did not actually cut $11 Million.

• During the last four years, teachers’ salaries skyrocketed, with the average MCPS teacher making $107,000 for 10 months as opposed to the average teacher’s salary in Fairfax of $95,000 for 10 months. The average MCPS annualized salary is $127,000.

• MCPS gives teachers more time to work with other teachers on collaboration and planning. Therefore, MCPS had to hire more teachers at a higher cost for less actual student instruction time. Now MCPS is requesting a 3.25% raise plus a step increase for their teachers as stated in their contract.

• Student proficiency is not an effectiveness evaluation criterion for teachers. Teachers get raises regardless of whether their students are learning or not. (Our top ranked schools do not make the top 100 nationally.)

• MCPS is requesting $40 Million to cover the employee benefit plan deficit. Dr. Taylor said that even if MCPS receives the $70M in FY 2028 and $40M in FY 2029, the plan will NEVER become solvent. It is simply unsustainable.

• MCPS wasted $1.5 Million defending the Opt-out ban.

• From Montgomery Perspective: On Taylor’s First Budget: Compensation: MCPS’ benefits are generous compared to the private sector. MCPS is the only school district in Maryland that gets both a core defined benefit pension and a supplemental pension. MCPS employees pay 12.17% of their premium costs while private sector workers nationwide pay an average of 21% of their premium costs for themselves and 33% for their families.

• An additional portion of the state pension plan shifted to the county government. Local taxpayers are now on the hook to fund both pension plans.

• MCPS wants $34M in 2027 to add back staff so the class size for lower income students is lowered by an average of one student. Lowering by one student will make no difference. MCTL will testify on this in April at the County Council.

• All overhead activities have to be in alignment with the strategic plan. But MCPS lists additional central services spending that do not align with that plan.

• State law says that taxpayers pay for college and career readiness for all students, regardless of the student’s financial need. There is no monitoring of student grades to determine the Return On Investment.

• Student Resource Officers were taken out. Now we are having shooting incidents. MCPS wants $28 Million, part of which would go to fund elementary school safety. But the problem is - they list elementary school safety under discretionary funds. Is the safety of our children optional?

• Superintendent Taylor recommended that our only public charter school should be closed. There is no mention in the new budget of charter schools.

• The Montgomery County Office of the Inspector General reported: “MCPS made purchases exceeding $25,000 without Board approval, in violation of law and regulation.”

• MCPS authorized $12 Million in credit card spending in FY2025, but the last time the Board of Education discussed this was ten years ago! The BOE never discussed $11 Million for weapons detection and Air China expenditures.

• Electric bus lease: $16 Million was spent in FY26 but the Board of Education has not discussed this lease since 2021! The contract has since expired and has been determined to be illegal by the Maryland State Board of Education.

Many thanks to the MCTL and the PCMC for letting us know what's going on - and what's not being done - like proper oversight. Let’s face it, we need accountability and transparency at the County Council, and School Board. This November, use your vote wisely. Thank you.

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Lori Jaffe is the Party Secretary for the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, volunteer coordinator and Member of the Executive Board. She can be reached at [email protected].