Montgomery County’s Superintendent of Schools Thomas Taylor told the county council that he’s focused on the tough fiscal picture ahead for the school system that educates more than 161,500 students.
“What is clear in my examination of the budget, and as illustrated in the data that you have before you today, is that our current path is not sustainable,” Taylor said at a county council work session on Tuesday.
Taylor and Board of Education President Karla Silvestre were among the school officials at the work session on the school system’s “cost drivers” — expenses that fuel the budget.
Craig Howard, the county council’s new executive director, explained that over a period of 10 years, FYs 2015-25, the operating budget grew by 3.9% on average each year.
In June, the county council approved a $3.3 billion operating budget for FY 2025.
Noting that nearly 90% of the operating budget is spent on staffing, Taylor said, “The system must engage in a thorough reevaluation of resource allocation.”
While referring to the pressures tied to funding, Taylor told the council, “We haven’t even talked about the ‘b-word’ yet.”
Taylor was referring to the state school reform plan known as the “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.” The 10-year plan, with a price tag that’s expected to hit the $4 billion mark in 2029, was passed in 2021.
Taylor said the “Blueprint is a big component of some of the initiatives that we have to talk about,” when it comes to paying for school operating costs.
Several council members made reference to their concerns about what federal funding for education might look like in the incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump.
Trump has proposed eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, which funnels billions of dollars in grant money to support education for students in poverty and those with disabilities, during his second term.
Council member Gabe Albornoz had questions that stemmed from what he called, “stuff that happened in our country last week,” when he asked Taylor, “The federal funding that we receive — how intertwined is that with the state and county funding (for the school system)?”
Referring to the potential for an overhaul or outright elimination of the federal Department of Education, Taylor explained that “this is a concern on lots of different levels,” especially when it comes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Title I funding for schools with a high proportion of low-income students.
Taylor told the council that, “Having that be a topic of conversation or something that is in jeopardy (even in part), “is really, really troubling.”
Council member Marilyn Balcombe told Taylor that she appreciated his desire to approach school finances from a zero-based approach: “I know that that’s a massive undertaking, but I also think it’s the only way that we’re going to really look at potential efficiencies.”
Montgomery County’s school budget represents slightly over half the entire county budget each year.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first of three work sessions planned between the school system and the county council ahead of the 2026 budget approval process.
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