Superintendent Proposes $1.98 Billion FY 2008 Operating Budget

Previous Budget Investments Help Class of 2006 Set New Record for Advanced Placement (AP) Participation and Performance

Superintendent Jerry D. Weast unveiled a $1.98 billion Fiscal Year 2008 operating budget to the Board of Education Wednesday, and cited a new record-setting performance by the Class of 2006 in Advanced Placement (AP) courses as evidence that previous budgetary investments are yielding excellent returns.

The Class of 2006 broke the previous AP record set by the Class of 2005, with 56 percent of the class taking at least one AP exam and 45 percent scoring well enough to earn college credit.

The FY 2008 operating budget builds on seven years of steady academic progress and positions the school district to help all students achieve even greater success with key investments in staff and proven programs. The proposed budget includes an increase of $132 million over the FY 2007 budget, a 7.1 percent increase, and funds a new salary agreement with the three employee associations. It also includes numerous targeted investments to continue efforts to reform and improve middle school, strengthen special education, improve high schools, add more counselors, expand the Poolesville High School whole-school magnet program and increase foreign language translation services.

“The 2008 budget is an investment in our people – the staff members who each day devote themselves to ensuring a brighter future for our community,” Weast said. “This budget builds on previous successes and continues our efforts to close the achievement gap and deliver a top quality education to every student.”

Previous investments in student success have produced unprecedented results:

-The Class of 2006 set numerous historic highs in AP performance.
-Newsweek magazine once again ranked all 23 eligible high schools in the top 3 percent in the nation, including 5 in the top 100.
-88 percent of kindergartners are reading simple text, and there is no achievement gap between White students and their African American and Hispanic peers.
-46 percent of fifth graders are taking sixth grade math, compared to 2 percent six years ago.

“We have proven that when you have high expectations for students and staff and when you invest your resources wisely, you can indeed achieve great things,” said Weast.

The FY 2008 budget is the result of a close collaborative process between MCPS, its employee associations and its parents. Throughout the process, MCPS sought and received a great deal of feedback, which helped shape the initiatives included in the budget.

The FY 2008 budget devotes 80 cents of every dollar to instructional programs. Central administrative costs remain among the lowest in the state for any school district at 2 percent.

MCPS and its employee associations recently reached a tentative, three-year agreement on salary increases. Employees will receive a salary increase of 4.8 percent in FY 2008, 5 percent in FY 2009 and 5.3 percent in FY 2010. The cost of the FY 2008 increase totals $69.9 million.

The FY 2008 budget includes a $3.7 million investment in middle school reform – the first installment of a three-year, $10 million plan. Five schools will be included in the first phase of middle school reform, which focuses on enhancing staff skills, providing an accelerated curriculum with an emphasis on math and reading skills, and improving the leadership structure of middle school. The budget also includes funding for 16.5 new middle school counselors.

In special education, the budget will fund the implementation of a new staffing model that apportions staff to schools based on the intensity of services students receive. This model will expand from two to 12 schools this year and will help MCPS work toward its goal of educating more special education students in their home schools while giving them greater access to a rigorous curriculum.

Additional investments will be targeted to:

Increase supports in high schools to support High School Assessment proficiency.
Expand online courses for high school students.
Expand Poolesville High School magnet program.
Add 15 elementary assistant principals.
Add 14 instructional data assistants.
Add staff for elementary art, music and PE classes.
Provide more team leaders in elementary school.
Develop a pilot program to help ESOL high school students with interrupted education.
Increase translation services to families with limited English skills.
Provide training and tools for support professionals.

The FY 2008 budget also includes a $16.1 million contribution to a retiree health trust fund mandated by new accounting rules. Excluding this required contribution, the entire budget increase only totals 6.3 percent.

The FY 2008 budget increase of $132 million will require a smaller increase in resources from Montgomery County taxpayers, due to an increase in state funding. The Montgomery County share will be $56 million (a 4 percent increase), and the state share will total $74 million.

The Board of Education will hold public hearings on the FY 2008 operating budget on January 10 and 11, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Carver Educational Services Center (CESC). Individuals who want to speak should call the Board of Education at 301-279-3617 beginning December 20. All participants are encouraged to identify the impact of their budget recommendations on the affected implementation of the Strategic Plan. Public work sessions will be on January 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the CESC Board meeting room. Adoption of the budget is scheduled for February 13.

Dr. Weast’s community presentation of the FY 2008 operating budget will be broadcast throughout December and January on MCPS Television, Channel 34, beginning December 14 at the following times:

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m.
Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m., 7 p.m., 11 p.m.