“Congratulations. We have a budget for next year,” proclaimed Board of Education (BOE) President Julie Yang following Tuesday afternoon’s unanimous approval of a $3.6 billion budget. It is 8.2% higher than the current budget.
“It has been a very long, difficult, but also rewarding process for all of us,” Yang said.
The $3.595 billion Fiscal Year 26 budget includes 659 special education positions at a cost of $44 million. Also added 47 new positions to assist students whose first language is not English. That comes with a $4.3 million investment.
45 new security positions made it into the budget at a cost of $2.8 million.
The approved budget, which represents 99% of the requested budget, includes salary increases so Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) can retain its current teachers and attract new ones as well.
“Our priority throughout this budget process was to protect the classroom,” said Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor. “We worked diligently to ensure that any necessary adjustments to the final budget would not impact direct classroom instruction or student services. We are grateful for the collaboration and partnership with the County Council, our Board of Education and our associations, all of whom share our unwavering commitment to the success of every MCPS student.”
The adopted budget also allocates additional material resources to schools with large student populations receiving Free and Reduced Meals, special education and Emergent Multilingual Learners.
Another $30 million was allocated so MCPS could follow the Maryland Blueprint for Education requirements.
Originally, the BOE received requested $3.61 billion. The county councilmembers worked with BOE members to create a budget that didn’t require a real estate or income tax hike.
Instead, the district employee benefit fund for retirees will receive a total one-time investment of $50 million from its reserve, $25 million in both FY 2025 and FY 2026, to shore up underinvestment in previous years.
Montgomery County allocated $2,412,640,584, and the state contributed slightly more than $1 billion. The federal government will add $107 million.
