Montgomery College budget holds tuition flat; council committee flags pension shift and agrees to seek seed funding for collective‑impact institute

The Montgomery County Council’s Education and Culture Committee reviewed Montgomery College’s proposed FY26 operating budget Wednesday, April 23, with college officials stressing the package is a “maintenance of effort” plan that holds tuition steady while asking the county to absorb a newly shifted state pension cost.

The budget keeps tuition flat and would preserve pay increases and other core services for the college’s roughly 45,000 students, college officials said. The committee heard details on enrollment trends, an expected increase in state aid, and a separate request to seed a “Collective Impact Institute” partnership with Montgomery Moving Forward and other stakeholders.

Why it matters: College leaders told the committee the budget sustains operations without raising tuition, but a state decision to shift pension costs onto local governments would increase Montgomery College’s local funding need unless the county offsets that change. Committee members signaled support to move the college’s…