For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 1, 2024
From the Offices of Councilmembers Will Jawando, Gabe Albornoz and Kristin Mink
Today, the Montgomery County Council's Education and Culture (EC) Committee finalized their recommendations for the FY25 operating budgets for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and Montgomery College. This was the committee's fourth and final worksession to review the budget requests.
The committee unanimously recommended $49.5 million above the County Executive’s recommended budget for MCPS for FY25 for a total of $3.342 billion, including $3.125 billion in tax-supported funding.
"Education is a people-centered effort, and we must invest in the educators and staff who are working tirelessly to provide a world-class education for every student," said Committee Chair Will Jawando. "We look forward to working with our Council colleagues to approve a final funding level that will enable MCPS and Montgomery College to continue to attract and retain a highly qualified workforce and meet the growing needs of our students and families. Our children's future and our County’s competitiveness requires that we do."
"There are unprecedented challenges facing our children and families today,” said Councilmember Gabe Albornoz. "It's imperative that we provide MCPS with the necessary resources to address those challenges. It's our moral obligation to meet this moment with the urgency and priority that it deserves. I'm also very happy to continue to support the work of Montgomery College and appreciate the important role they play to connect our community, grow our economy, and prepare the next generation of leaders."
"The Education and Culture Committee has spent much of the last year digging deeper into the MCPS budget than the Council ever has before—getting into the weeds not just on the very limited new expenses for the coming year, but on the base budget," said Councilmember Kristin Mink. "I’m pleased the committee is bringing a unanimous recommendation to the full Council that balances the increasing needs of our student population with demands across County government. While we’re not able to fully address every pressing issue facing our schools in this budget, our recommendation represents a necessary investment in recruiting and retaining staff, and continuation of some of the most critical mental health and academic achievement programs that were launched during the pandemic on federal grant dollars that have now run out.”
The committee approved the County Executive’s recommended maintenance of effort budget for Montgomery College for FY25 at $334.7 million, including $148.4 million in County tax-supported funding. The committee also unanimously supported adding $350,000 to the reconciliation list for the Collective Impact Institute at Montgomery College.
The committee supported the college's use of $11.875 million of the college's fund balance to fund information technology projects, planning funds for the Rockville Theatre Arts renovation, and the new East County Campus. The college agreed to use an additional $8 million in fund balance for capital projects in FY26. Montgomery College’s total capital budget request is $462.4 million over six years.
The EC Committee's budget recommendations will now be considered by the full Council, which is slated to finalize the FY25 operating budget in mid-May. The committee worksession can be viewed here.
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Release ID: 24-173