The Montgomery County School District will cut a virtual academy, increase some class sizes and delay expanding its pre-K program under an operating budget unanimously approved by the School Board on Tuesday.
The school system also will cut more positions in its central office, and leave some vacant teacher and staff positions unfilled. But officials said “it is likely that no currently employed teachers will face a job loss,” a shift from an earlier projection that around 120 positions could be cut.
“There are no easy reductions to take,” Interim Superintendent Monique Felder said Tuesday. “We recognize that every reduction to the budget has a significant impact.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, several attendees — many from the virtual academy — heckled board members during the budget discussion and urged them to preserve the program. As the vote happened, a woman in the crowd yelled, “You’re full of crap!” to board members. Shortly after, she walked out of the room and was followed by security.
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The budget vote in Maryland’s largest school system comes weeks after the Montgomery County Council approved a budget allocating about $30 million less than the district requested. The district will receive about $3.3 billion from the county, which council members say was 99.2 percent of its request.
School systems throughout the region also are grappling with higher costs for health care, school maintenance and the looming expiration of covid relief. In Maryland, districts are receiving more state money for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future law, but it is designated for certain uses.
Cuts to programs and operations
The budget approved Tuesday will increase classes in some, but not all, Montgomery schools by one student.
Guidelines for the 2023-24 school year show that the elementary schools have set caps — no more than 24 students can be enrolled in a kindergarten-level class, for example. But at the middle and high school levels, a formula is used that considers overall enrollment, the number of students who are a part of the free and reduced lunch program, among other factors.
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The increase in class size is expected to reduce the school system’s workforce by a little over 120 positions, but most of that might be absorbed through retirements and other vacancies, according to a budget document released by the school system.
The district also is delaying a plan to convert 520 seats in its pre-K program from part-time to a full-day schedule. The school system planned to add about 100 positions, including teachers, paraeducators and speech pathologists, to help expand the program. But it now plans to add only five positions for a pre-K program at Stonegate Elementary School in Silver Spring. A district spokeswoman did not have an update on how many seats will be added next school year as a result of Tuesday’s vote.
The school system will also cut its virtual academy, which was created as a result of the pandemic. There were 708 students enrolled this past school year, said district spokeswoman Liliana López.
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Central office also will see cuts, including eliminating a deputy superintendent position that has been vacant since Patrick Murphy left the system earlier this school year.
The district also is cutting the chief medical officer’s unit, which will eliminate about six positions. The school system hired Patricia Kapunan as chief medical officer in 2022 to guide the district through its covid response and later worked on its response to an increase in fentanyl-related overdoses among youth.
In all, the district said it is cutting 95 full-time positions from central office, with about 20 of those eliminated after the county budget vote. Officials said that the work of those employees will be taken on by other office staff but warned that “we may experience a delay in services provided.”
Impact to teachers
The threat of teacher cuts fueled concern among employees. On Monday, members of the Montgomery County Education Association rallied in Silver Spring to push back against potential position cuts and furloughs. The union is also asking the County Council to allocate an additional $10 million toward the schools in a special appropriation.
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“There will be more work for each of us,” union President Jennifer Martin said at the rally. “It’s creating chaos.”
In an interview Tuesday, Felder said that furloughs should not be an issue.
But more than 200 teachers will likely be involuntarily transferred to balance some of the gaps. Staff development teachers also lost some hours, according to the budget document.
Chief Operating Officer Brian Hull said principals are working with district officials to try to make those staff members full-time again, though it “may not happen across the board.”
As for the virtual academy, School Board member Rebecca Smondrowski (District 2) said during the meeting Tuesday that she would like to request a supplemental appropriation from the County Council to continue the program.
County Council President Andrew Friedson (D) said that the council already increased funding for the school system by about $26 million above County Executive Marc Elrich’s recommendation and that additional money was “not in the cards” as of Monday.
Friedson criticized the district for threatening what he called “draconian actions like breaking contracts and laying off employees would be necessary.”
“That is unfathomable and unconscionable,” he said, “and it just to me, reflects the need for greater accountability, transparency and improved fiscal management.”
