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McHale urges Montgomery County council committee to reject proposed ESOL cuts, cites rising demand
Summary
McHale representatives told the Education & Culture Committee April 27 that proposed cuts to their FY27 funding would force reductions in classes and instructors even as demand rises: midyear data show 3,185 unique learners and 40 grant applications requesting $2.35 million, compared with about $1.5 million distributed in FY26.
McHale representatives told the Montgomery County Education & Culture Committee on April 27 that proposed budget cuts would “have a direct and significant impact” on the network of organizations that provide adult ESOL classes across the county.
A McHale representative said the organization supports 30 programs run by 24 distinct community, faith-based and social-service groups and reported 3,185 unique learners in the first half of the fiscal year. “Reducing our budget will jeopardize our ability to build on our FY26 successes,” the McHale representative said, warning that cuts would force programs to reduce classes and could lead to instructor losses.
Rudy Zhang, McHale’s director of programs, presented midyear data showing 3,185 unduplicated learners and 3,760 total enrollments for July–Dec 2025, and a delivery mix of 149 in-person, 109 online and 22 hybrid classes. Zhang also reported 40 grant applications requesting $2,350,000 this grant cycle—about a 21% increase in applicants and a 25% increase in requested funds versus last year—while McHale distributed approximately $1,500,000 in FY26.
Council staff advised the committee that the FY27 recommendation includes a 2.5% inflationary increase to the McHale NDA (the packet lists a recommended FY27 figure of $2,652,000.78). Committee members asked about McHale’s partnerships and plans to expand library-based programming; McHale said it has a right-of-entry agreement with the Montgomery County Public Library system and is exploring convenings and conversation clubs but is constrained by staff capacity.
The committee gave preliminary approval to a same-services budget for McHale and left decisions about any countywide nonprofit budget adjustments to full-council reconciliation. The full council will determine final funding levels.
