Budget Request will Allow the District to Address Learning Disruption and Student Well-Being, Expand Early Childhood Education and Provide Critical Supports in Schools 

By a unanimous vote the Montgomery County Board of Education tentatively adopted a $2.96 billion operating budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. The budget, which represents a $179.6 million increase in spending—about 6.5 percent—that the district needs to provide critical direct academic, safety and social-emotional supports to students, while managing ongoing operational, salary and benefit costs. 

The tentatively adopted budget is an increase of $30,928,748 over Interim Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight’s initial budget recommendation, released on Dec. 16, 2021. These important additional investments will directly support the academic goals identified in the MCPS Strategic Plan and provide critical social, emotional, and mental health support for students and staff.

Proposed expenditure additions are driven by enrollment changes, new schools and spaces, employee supports such as salaries, benefits and healthcare costs and more.

“We are grateful that the Board understands these extraordinary times call for an extraordinary operating budget for MCPS in FY 2023,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Monifa B. McKnight. “The additional investments in our budget are critical to mitigating the impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning, and supporting the needs of our students and staff as we rebuild trust with the community and respond to social-emotional well-being, mental health, and safety and security concerns.

Board President Brenda Wolff added: “Ensuring students and staff have the necessary resources to learn is foundational work of the Board of Education. We have listened to many audiences tell us that now is the time to provide mental health supports, enhance safety and invest in the foundational academic pillars of literacy and math. This budget does that.”

The vast majority of the  operating budget funds classrooms and classroom supports. 94% is identified for these supports.

Important Investments in FY 2023 Operating Budget

• Well-being, safety, and security investments
• Testing coordinator stipends and an additional consulting principal to assist new principals in most poverty impacted schools
• Expanding early childhood learning opportunities
• Digital learning enhancements including funding for new Human Capital Management System
• Full-time staff development teacher in every school and reading specialist in every elementary school
• Welcome Center for newcomer students to MCPS
• Strengthening career pathways for employees
• Employee salaries
• Health care costs

The Board will submit its budget request to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the Montgomery County Council on March 1. The County Council will hold public hearings in April before passing a final budget no later than June 1. After the Council’s action the Board of Education will vote again in June to adopt a final FY 2023 Operating Budget.

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