Committee forwards $17 million MCPS special-education supplemental appropriation to full council

The Montgomery County Council’s Education and Culture Committee voted without objection on Feb. 26 to forward a $17 million supplemental appropriation from Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) fund balance to the full County Council.

Councilmember Jahwando, chair of the Education and Culture Committee, introduced the two-item agenda and described the first item as a supplemental appropriation from the MCPS fund balance for special education. Doug Prouty, senior legislative analyst, told the committee: “The allocation of 17,000,000 is going to be used for to fund current special education salaries and a variety of services for special education students.”

The MCPS presentation said the request is intended to address current-year needs, not to expand services. Ivan Alfonso-Windsor, chief financial officer for MCPS, explained that the district is using $10,000,000 from its current fund balance and reallocating $7,000,000 that had been targeted for an employee benefits plan to meet urgent special-education salary and service costs. Alfonso-Windsor said the district’s latest monthly financial report projects a $2,000,000 deficit assuming the $17 million supplemental is approved.

Why it matters: MCPS officials and Council members framed the request as a midyear correction tied to rising special-education staffing and contractual costs. Committee members tied the supplemental to broader budget concerns ahead of the county budget process and to federal and state policy changes that could affect families and MCPS revenue streams.

What happened next: With no objections, the committee referred the appropriation request to the full County Council for consideration and potential approval. A public hearing on the request had been held at the council on Jan. 28, and the supplemental was introduced to the Council meeting on Jan. 14, the committee packet shows.

Details and context: Committee discussion and MCPS staff emphasized that the supplemental is meant to cover current salary and contracted services cost pressures arising from higher-than-anticipated hiring and continued use of contractual services to cover vacancies for 1:1 peer educators and other special-education staff. The district reported about 24,403 students identified as receiving special-education services in its most recent count and said staffing shortages and vacancies can reduce its ability to bill Medicaid reimbursement for certain services.

What the committee recorded as action: The committee’s procedural action was a referral to the full Council. No committee roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript; the chair announced the referral was approved “without objection.”

Provenance: - Transcript excerpts supporting the coverage begin where the chair introduced the supplemental (Committee meeting, Feb. 26) and end where the committee moved the item to full council.