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Students, teachers and parents press County Council to fully fund MCPS in FY26
Summary
More than a dozen students, teachers and parent groups told the council cuts would damage HVAC, special education, virtual options and career-readiness programs and urged approval of the MCPS FY26 operating request to support 160,000 students.
Students, teachers, parents and nonprofit leaders urged the Montgomery County Council to fully fund the Montgomery County Public Schools FY26 operating budget during the public hearing.
High‑school students and parents described crowded schools, deferred HVAC repairs and program losses they said undermine learning. Unani Galetto, a sophomore at Springbrook High School, said poor ventilation forced a school shutdown and affected students’ ability to learn. Student witnesses from Albert Einstein High School and Watkins Mill High School asked the council to prioritize special education positions, paraprofessionals and counseling staff.
Several speakers criticized the recent closure of the Montgomery Virtual Academy. Courtney Evans, representing the Montgomery Virtual Academy parent‑teacher coalition, said the district’s blended learning alternative fails to replicate the comprehensive synchronous instruction of the former academy, and that hundreds of students left the system when the program closed.
Teachers described classroom strains. Amber Lesnevich said supply freezes left her school without paper; she warned that growing class sizes and staff shortages reduce the time teachers can spend with students. Advocates for career and adult education programs (CREA/REA) said staffing cuts have halted admissions and threatened GED and career-readiness services for older learners.
Multiple witnesses framed full MCPS funding as a moral and practical imperative tied to equity and long-term economic opportunity, and called on the council to approve the board of education’s request rather than accept deeper cuts.
The hearing record shows strong public support for preserving MCPS staffing and programs; council budget deliberations are expected to follow the scheduled committee sessions.
