Protesters erupted in discontent inside council chambers after the council president announced that Thursday’s budget session would be delayed until Friday.
Councilmembers were set to wrap up operating budget deliberations and take votes on the overall operating and capital budget agreements.
“We have more discussions to have among colleagues, so we’re going to postpone this session until tomorrow,” Council President Natali Fani-González said. The statement was immediately followed by protest from audience members, many of whom work in Montgomery County Public Schools.
Protest erupts after council postpones budget session until tomorrow @mymcmedia pic.twitter.com/uzC4xdRGQN
— Maryam Shahzad (@maryam_mcm) May 14, 2026
“We’ve been here since 8:30 this morning hoping that we would make some progress towards funding the budget,” said John Robertson, a social worker at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown. “So we were completely surprised, kind of knocked the wind out of us a little bit today.”
Earlier this week, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor released a video saying that personnel cuts may be coming as the county council struggles with the budget.
Many in the audience were affiliated with SEIU Local 500, the union representing paraeducators, part-time faculty and other support staff in MCPS. They want the council to fully fund the school system’s $3.8 billion budget request.
The council’s final budget vote is expected May 21.
