Message from school community outlines possible budget cuts

In a statement to the community delivered Friday afternoon, Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) President Karla Silvestre and Interim Superintendent Dr. Monique Felder released a statement on the budget that will be adopted on June 11.

Responding to reports of rising class sizes and teacher layoffs, school officials listed some of the many items they could cut because of a $30 million gap between what the Montgomery County Council allocated and what the BOE requested for FY 2025 funding.

Items on the chopping block include:

• Reduction of central office staff
• Reduction of middle and high school staff development teacher allowances from full-time to reduced hours
• Increasing a student’s class size. This will potentially result in the elimination of 100 to 150 positions. Some of these reductions will be addressed through reductions, retirements and other expected vacancies.
• Removal of Montgomery Virtual Academy
• Delaying the expansion of pre-kindergarten by postponing the creation of additional full-day pre-kindergarten classrooms
• Reduction of additional CollegeTracks counseling services at some high schools
• Preserving therapeutic mental health support by reallocating funds to provide these eligible services through a different grant
• Contract service reductions affecting a number of contracts
• Reduction in musical instrument repair services provided to schools affected by poverty.

If class sizes increase, fewer staff may be needed, Silvestre and Felder wrote in the community post. The reduction would affect all employee groups and would be implemented in accordance with the procedures described in the agreements negotiated with employee associations, according to the community message.

Silvestre and Felder also wrote: “We understand the seriousness of these potential decisions and the challenges they present. We would like to emphasize that these considerations do not reflect the dedication or quality of the work of our staff.

They concluded their message by stating, “Even in the midst of these difficult circumstances, our commitment to providing the best possible education to every MCPS student remains steadfast. »