Superintendent warns Montgomery County Public Schools may face cuts after county budget shortfall

Superintendent Thomas Taylor warned Montgomery County Public Schools employees that a county budget shortfall could force reductions to the district's planned budget increases, potentially affecting positions and services.

"Our financial situation is bad," Taylor said in a recorded message to staff, noting that MCPS is the single largest part of the county's operating budget — "about 48% of the county's operating budget." He said county council is weighing cuts to the school system's budget request in 10% increments, which he estimated at roughly $17,900,000 per tranche.

Taylor said county leaders were aware of multiyear employee contracts negotiated two years ago at the council's request and called those agreements a "major sticking point" in the process. "They asked us for multiyear contracts so that they could plan better, and we held up that end of the agreement," he said.

He gave figures to explain the scale of the problem: "To balance the county's budget shortfall of 150,000,000, our entire planned increase of 179,000,000 is on the table for consideration," he said. Taylor said he has provided county council a detailed list showing what he would likely recommend to the Board of Education at each 10% tranche level.

Taylor warned that any reduction, even trimming planned increases, would reduce the district's ability to function and could touch "every aspect of our school district operations and services to kids and their families." He said the proposed reduction plan is "designed to keep any potential reductions as far away from the classroom as humanly possible," but acknowledged that in some cases that may not be possible.

The superintendent said the district has sent emails to some employees indicating that their position or job classification might be listed for possible reduction; he emphasized those notices are not final or comprehensive. He said the county council is expected to finalize planned reductions this week, with a county vote scheduled for May 21. After that vote, Taylor said he will recommend a final budget reconciliation to the Board of Education for action by June 4.

Taylor closed by acknowledging the difficulty of the moment and urging staff to support one another, promising to continue sharing information as it becomes available.

The district did not announce any formal motions or decisions in the message; the timeline for county action and the board's subsequent vote are the next procedural steps.