After postponing their budget vote, County Councilmembers reconvened Friday and approved a $7.9 billion operating budget by a vote of 9-2.
Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Dawn Luedtke voted against it.
The council voted to increase funds for Montgomery County Public Schools by $143 million, but still not the full $179 million increase requested from the school system. It was a straw vote and the final vote is next week on May 21.
Watch more on the council’s vote below @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/qU1BxqWdxv
— Maryam Shahzad (@maryam_mcm) May 15, 2026
MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor recently said in a video that personnel cuts may be coming as the council struggled with the budget. Taylor released another video after the vote Friday talking about reductions due to a nearly $36 million dollar shortfall.
“I know many, many of you are worried about your jobs right now,” Councilmember Will Jawando told audience members, who work in MCPS.
“I know some of you are sitting next to colleagues who might lose theirs,” he said.
According to a statement from MCPS after the vote, “While the impact will not be as severe as the worst-case scenarios, reductions to programs and positions remain necessary.”
Councilmembers decided by a vote of 7-4 (Friedson, Evan Glass, Luedtke and Kate Stewart against) to move funds from the Capital Improvements Program — which is for infrastructure projects — and move it into the operating budget in order to save some school jobs.
It was emotional.
“One of the hardest things for me in the last year has been talking to parents and many of you about the conditions in the schools and in your facilities,” Councilmember Stewart said while holding back tears.
Stephanie Maldonado, a paraeducator at Thomas Edison High School of Technology, told MCM on Thursday, “These workers create such a connection with these students as well, it’s so sad seeing it just get ripped apart.”
As for why the vote was postponed in the first place, Council President Natali Fani-González explained during a media briefing Friday afternoon that “moments before I was walking into [Thursday’s] session, I had colleagues — a couple of colleagues — who said that they needed more time.”
Luedtke said during Friday’s council meeting, “I was prepared to vote on a budget yesterday with many compromises and that was far from perfect… and then yesterday literally as we were ready to vote, suddenly that transparent process was replaced by indecision, behind-closed-doors deal making and major last-minute changes that exacerbate our structural deficit.”
Fani-González mentioned “internal dynamics” on the council this year with three members running for county executive.
Councilmember Sidney Katz added, “It concerns me that this budget has become a vehicle for no compromise, but for a way that someone can do something so they can send another press release. Our system is broken.”
In a split vote this week, councilmembers approved a progressive income tax structure — which will raise the tax for those who make more than $150,000 but cuts income taxes for those making less.
There is no property tax increase, but they eliminated the Income Tax Offset Credit (ITOC). Approximately 200,000 homeowners will lose the ITOC deduction of $692 from their property bills, according to County Executive Marc Elrich.
In a statement after the vote, Elrich said he has been “criticized relentlessly” for recommending a property tax increase.
“…and yet, the Council found a different way to also raise property taxes by $140 million, by eliminating the Income Tax Offset Credit (ITOC). They realized, like I did, that we needed to raise taxes to meet the needs to help the county thrive,” Elrich stated.
