WTOP NEWS: Maryland’s largest public school systems — Montgomery County and Prince George’s County Public Schools — have proposed multi-billion dollar budgets to keep their systems running.
Here’s a look at the current budget proposals and how officials plan to use the funds for their students, staff and community.
Montgomery County
Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Monifa McKnight is proposing an operating budget of $3.3 billion — one she says will continue some of the critical services coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The spending plan McKnight outlined at a meeting Thursday night would boost spending by $157 million above the current operating budget. Of that, she said, about $100 million would go “straight to the more than 3% raise in employee compensation for next year.”
McKnight also said the school system would have to brace for a reduction in federal dollars in the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, funds.
“Right now, 125 million ESSER dollars are paying for mental health resources, curriculum resources, technology and so much more,” she said.
But, McKnight said, that funding would shrink by $92 million.
According to the school system’s news release on the budget, “The superintendent seeks to move $33 million in support for essential programs and personnel currently funded by these dollars,” and that would include funding for social workers, school psychologists, parent community coordinators and restorative justice specialists.
Among the costs driving the budget request up, said McKnight, is $15 million related to inflation and $8.2 million that would support initiatives in the state’s education reform plan, known as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
McKnight said she’s directing staff to find cuts of 8% at the central office level, which are estimated to produce $14.3 million in savings. The move would also result in 73.6 full-time equivalent positions, according to the school system’s news release.
MCPS has a student enrollment of more than 160,000 students. Roughly 44% of students qualify for free and reduced meals, and more than half “have been impacted by poverty,” said McKnight.
Public hearings on the budget are scheduled for Jan. 18 and 25.
The county council will have the final say on the FY-2025 budget in May after a series of work sessions and public hearings.
Prince George’s County
Meanwhile, Prince George’s County School Superintendent Millard House II is proposing a $2.8 billion spending plan that will try to close a $97 million budget gap.
In a release on the budget, House said “The FY 2025 budget is unlike any other cycle we have faced in recent years,” explaining that declining enrollment combined with a state funding mandate and the expiration of COVID relief funds have created budget challenges.
Among the priorities in the budget: $88.2 million for employee compensation “enhancements,” $42.2 million for “direct school funding,” $24.1 million to go towards state-mandated school reforms and $7.3 million for safety and security updates.
In order to help close what the system described as a $97 million budget gap, the superintendent proposes cutting central office expenditures by $12.6 million.
The school system also plans to adjust what it calls its “lapse/reserve funds” by $37.9 million and make early payments on other programs totaling $46.3 million.
The FY-2025 Proposed Annual Operating Budget proposal is available online and, the county says, supports the school system’s PGCPS Transformation 2026 Strategic Plan.
