By a vote of eight to three, Montgomery County Councilmembers opted not to raise the county’s general obligation bond limit as requested by County Executive Marc Elrich.
Therefore, the bond limit will remain at $300 million a year for the next six years. Elrich asked that the limit rise to $330 million to cover expenses requested by the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) for capital improvement projects that included new HVAC equipment at some schools to get rid of the mold.
Elrich called for a total bond limit of $2.19 billion over the next six years.
Voting to raise the limit were Councilmembers Will Jawando, Kristin Mink and Laurie-Anne Sayles. The other eight councilmembers did not want the county’s debt raised.
Many of the councilmembers voting not to increase the bond limit any higher than they did in October of 2025 said they understand the schools need work, but raising the county’s debt in a time of fiscal uncertainty is not the way to go, especially if the county wants to retain its Triple A bond rating.
“We know the need is great,” said Councilmember Kate Stewart. “I appreciate the bind we are in,” agreed Council Vice President Marilyn Balcombe. However, she said, “We are in a volatile economic condition right now.”
“We have had a lot of really tough discussions with MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools) about the schools and about the current state of those buildings,” Balcombe noted, “There are so many unanswered questions that we need to work out.”
Even if the next budget funded all the BOE asked for to fix its infrastructure, it would still take 18 months to begin the work and four years to complete, Balcombe said. “What the public wants, and what parents want, and I can say that because my kids are in these schools, is for stuff to get down.”
However, she added, she could not agree to providing additional funds until MCPS officials “tell me how it is going to get done.”
Councilmember Shebra Evans, a former BOE member, called it “a tough decision” that she was not prepared to make after only sitting on the council about two months. “I am very passionate in support of the needs” of the schools, she added.
Jawando, who proposed the motion to increase the bond limit, said that the county can’t keep kicking the can down the road and that infrastructure repair costs will only continue to increase.
“No one ever wants to increase our debt,” Laurie-Anne Sayles said. However, she said, “I do not want to delay.”
Mink called the proposed increase “fiscally responsible,” noting, “If we don’t address capital projects now, the operating expenses and the operating costs for the deferred maintenance will pile up.”
The day after the council’s vote, Elrich said in a news briefing, “What we are doing makes no sense.” Leaving the limit at $300 million is “absolutely inadequate” to handle the school district’s needs.
Last year, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor, Ed.D., requested $2.704 billion to upgrade school facilities under his Capital Improvements Program and budget.
His said the district was $740 million behind in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning projects, and more than 40 HVAC systems are not functioning properly.
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