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Committee holds mandatory school-holiday bill after SEIU raises pay-timing concerns
Summary
Lawmakers held MC 9, a bill to codify recognition of cultural and religious school holidays, after union and MCPS staff warned it could create more unpaid 'no work, no pay' days for support staff; the sponsor said the bill codifies current practice but members asked for further negotiation.
The Elections, Education and Housing Subcommittee agreed to hold MC 9 for further negotiation after members heard disagreement over whether codifying certain school holidays would increase unpaid days for education support staff.
Sponsor Delegate Chao Wu told the committee the bill ‘‘codif[ies] what a school board is doing’’ and argued it recognizes Montgomery County’s diversity. He repeated that ‘‘we're not creating something new. We're just codify what a school board is doing,’’ and said the intent is to align observances with existing non-instructional or professional days.
Union representatives and school employees told the committee the change could reduce paychecks in some pay periods. A SEIU representative said hourly support staff ‘‘experienced 20 no work, no paydays on the school calendar’’ and warned codification could add more unpaid days depending on how observances fall in a calendar year. Jason, a school employee, said the impact ‘‘really depends on what day of the week they fall on’’ and that a non-instructional day inside a pay period can reduce the total paid days for that paycheck.
Essey McGuire, chief of staff for Montgomery County Public Schools, explained the school system tries to align professional days with observances but faces operational constraints such as snow days and scheduling. McGuire told the committee these are complex calendar trade-offs for operations and payroll.
Several delegates urged further talks. Delegate Charcutian and Delegate Kaufman recommended the sponsor work directly with SEIU and MCPS to find a solution such as paid professional development on those days or designating them as paid holidays — options the union said would carry a fiscal note. The chair announced the committee would hold the bill so stakeholders could negotiate possible technical fixes and compensation approaches before the delegation acts further.
The committee emphasized it wants to honor cultural observances while avoiding unintended harm to low-paid school workers and asked the sponsor and union to pursue a ‘‘grand bargain’’ that addresses timing and pay-period effects.
