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SEIU Local 500 urges board to restore 12‑month positions, calls cuts a 'pay cut' for support staff
Summary
A representative from SEIU Local 500 told the board that budget reductions eliminating 12‑month positions and shifting staff to 10‑month schedules amounted to pay cuts for educational support workers and urged the board to restore positions and identify summer work.
Christopher Connell, director of political and legislative affairs for SEIU Local 500, told the Montgomery County Board of Education on July 16 that recent budget decisions eliminating 12‑month support positions and moving employees to 10‑month schedules had left many workers with thousands of dollars in lost wages.
"These aren't just line items in a budget. These are district employees who keep our school district running every day of the year," Connell said, adding that staff perform work beyond classroom instruction, including technology support and central office operations. He urged the board to "revisit these reductions, identify commensurate summer work where it exists, and restore 12 month employment whenever possible."
Connell warned that forcing experienced support staff to seek second jobs or leave MCPS would hurt students and remaining staff. The union asked the board to pursue alternatives to cuts that would preserve employee stability and noted members already struggle with rising housing, food and health‑care costs.
Board members thanked him for testifying; no motion or formal response was made on the record at the meeting. The union’s testimony appears on the record as part of the public comment segment.
