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Montgomery County council highlights mental‑health investments as students raise burnout concerns
Summary
Students pressed council members about mental‑health supports and school workload; council members pointed to social workers in schools, the Be The 1 peer program, joint committee hearings and coordination with MCPS as budget priorities while urging further community input on capital repairs.
Council President Kate Stewart and several County Council members told students at the annual Montgomery County youth town hall that mental‑health services are a top budget priority as teenagers described mounting burnout from heavier workloads and after‑school commitments.
The session began with Anuva Malu, the student member of the Board of Education, asking how the county budget would prioritize student well‑being. Stewart said the council was “really prioritizing the issue of mental health,” and described coordination with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), nonprofit partners and internal county departments to support youth services.
Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee, pointed to increased investments in MCPS staffing and said the council has strengthened its partnership with the Board of Education. “We are going to be doing even more than we have in providing more mental health services, and we have worked on providing social workers in schools,” he said.
A student, Ash Jones of Northwest High School, described heavier grading policies and homework load that they said were producing burnout. Albornoz and other council members recommended a combination of policy review and direct services: more counselors and social workers in schools, programs run through the Department of Recreation, and partnerships to expand access to after‑school supports. Stewart also promoted the county’s Be The 1 peer outreach program and gave the crisis line 988 as an immediate resource for students in need.
Councilmember Lori Ann Sales noted a forthcoming joint public hearing of the Health and Human Services and Public Safety committees, and an Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) report that will examine mental‑health crisis response.
The council emphasized that funding decisions rest in the county budget process and that they would continue working with MCPS leadership to prioritize both operating costs (staffing and programming) and capital needs such as school building repairs. Several members urged students to keep providing input through school channels and to attend or submit testimony to upcoming committee hearings.
