Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor plans to eliminate more than 400 positions as a result of the county council’s Thursday vote to allocate less money than the school district had requested in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
The 400 jobs slated for reduction includes 162 vacant positions.
The council’s $7.9 billion budget adopted Thursday includes a $143 million increase from the current year, but was $36 million short of what school officials wanted.
“We tried above and beyond to advocate [for students and staff], said Board of Education President Grace Rivera-Oven. “MCPS is the only agency that is so scrutinized in the county for every penny, more than any other agency,” she said during a Thursday BOE meeting that occurred after the council’s budget vote.
“I think we have to ask ourselves why, when education is literally the brand of this county, why is it that we are so overly scrutinized over other departments,” Rivera-Oven said. “Every year we fight for every penny to make sure our kids get the best education.”
Superintendent Thomas Taylor appeared disappointed at the meeting.
“The reality is, a lot of the work isn’t going to be done. There will be a reduction in service,” Taylor said.
The school district’s operating budget was more than 98% funded, said Andrea Swiatocha, deputy chief of facilities at MCPS. Therefore, the school system needs to close a gap of at least $61 million, she said.
Because the council previously allocated $25 million for the district’s retirement fund, the gap really is closer to $36 million.
While Taylor’s proposal includes hiring 28 additional security staff members for elementary schools, it cuts many positions. He explained that while deciding what to cut, his goal was to “keep reductions as far away from the classroom as possible.”
In addition, 295 positions were cut from school-based services, 113 from support services and 28 from central services.
To county residents who wanted more positions cut from central staff, believing the district had too many administrators, Taylor said MCPS “is right in line” with Prince George’s County Public Schools central staff.
Under Taylor’s plan to reconcile the budget, the entire staff of college-career navigators would also be eliminated, as well as high school development teachers and English composition assistants. Social worker positions not involved in special education will also be eliminated.
Thursday afternoon’s meeting was filled with MCPS staff, many of whom were vocal in their opposition to the cuts and waved signs that read “Mental Health Matters” and “Save School Psychologists.”
Meanwhile, staff eligible for retirement were told they’d receive a bonus between $10,000 and $12,000 if they elect to retire, paving the way to keep MCPS employees on the list to be terminated employed.
“It’s devastating to think about how we will function without some of these essential staff in our buildings,” said BOE Member Natalie Zimmerman.
The six-year capital improvement program funding requestwas also slashed. MCPS received $1.85 billion as part of the program, which is about 67% of what it requested, according to Essie McGuire, MCPS chief of staff.
Damascus High School and Eastern Middle School infrastructure projects were fully funded. Programs to replace HVAC systems throughout the district were also approved for the next two years, but funding after that is set to decrease. Roof replacements also w
ere fully funded for the next two years, but not after that.
“This is very heartbreaking, because there are no really good options here,” noted BOE Member Brenda Wolff.
With MCPS enrollment is declining, during the 2026-2027 academic year, MCPS is projected to educate 10,000 less student than in 2019, for an estimated total 155,000 students expected to enroll.
Board of Education members will vote on the final school system budget allocations June 4.
View the details of the proposed job cuts here:
FY2027 Summary Potential Budget Reductions 260521
