Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Council Vice President Will Jawando met with the press Wednesday afternoon to urge Councilmembers to totally fund the proposed Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) $3.65 billion capital budget.
To make the numbers work, the two men called for an increase in the income tax rate from the current 3.2% rate to the 3.3%.
For someone making $100,000 adjusted income, that would mean an additional $100 in taxes a year, or $2 a week, Elrich said, calling that amount well worth it to meet the increasing needs of MCPS students.
“This is not the kind of increase people should be worried about,” Elrich said, adding that increase “isn’t breaking anybody’s back.”
A fully funded MCPS budget would include hiring 160 new special education teachers, 500 fulltime paraeducators and 52 security staff, Elrich added, “This is an investment in the health of our county.”
Students are coming to MCPS less prepared than in the past, he said.
According to Jawando, students enter MCPS with “the steepest needs in a generation.”
There is a 37% increase in students whose primary language is not English, he pointed out. Of the 160,000 students MCPS serves, 23,000 have a disability that needs to be addressed.
During the current school year, 600 newly arrived refugee students enrolled in MCPS. Also, Jawando said, “nearly half our students are in poverty.”
He pointed out a fully funded school doesn’t include extras. Rather, “This is us trying to catch up,” he said. If not, “We are not going to see the improvements” in scores parents are seeking.
But County Councilmembers have expressed reluctance to increase the income tax rate, saying in the current economic climate, it is too difficult to determine how much money that would bring in.
Federal workers are losing jobs and may be reassigned out of Maryland. All of which could affect the amount of income tax residents would pay.
Elrich countered if Councilmembers are so concerned about revenues, they shouldn’t have given developers of partially vacant buildings who convert their facilities to housing units a 20-year tax abatement.
Now is the time to step up when the federal government is making drastic cuts, Jawando said.
Jawando warned if the school budget is not fully funded, teachers will burn out and leave the district. Education tests scores will drop, and MCPS will face lawsuits from parents saying their child isn’t being given the necessary education.
The Council can reduce the amount of money MCPS requested, but it cannot tell MCPS what to do with the dollars approved. The county can’t tell MCPS how many teachers to hire or how to spend its money, Erlich said, adding that is true of other county departments.
