Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA, teacher’s union) president Jennifer Martin has provided an update stating that MCEA has learned it is unlikely that there will be any layoffs.
“We’re winning, but we can’t stop now” Martin said. “There’s still no commitment to prevent furloughs, to honor open contracts, or to put every teacher in a placement that doesn’t disrupt their lives and the lives of their family.”
In a community message sent three days ago, on Tuesday, June 4th, MCPS interim Superintendent Dr. Monique Felder wrote, “on the final funding amount approved by Montgomery County Council has resulted in an FY 2025 Operating Budget deficit of approximately $30 million. This situation means reducing services to meet the district’s operational needs.
As a result, one of the strategies we will implement this coming school year, will see a one-student-per-class increase across all grade levels. This decision will result in staffing changes among teachers. On Monday, school principals received their annual staffing report. This report reflects the teacher allocation for their schools for the next school year and includes the reductions based on a one-student-per-class increase. Principals are currently reviewing these reports and working with their central services partners to ensure any reduction in teacher numbers has the least impact on student learning.”
MCEA is holding a “March to Support Educators” on Monday, June 10th at Veterans Plaza in Downtown Silver Spring (1 Veterans Pl.). It is described as an “an urgent rally and march as we demand the Board of Education and County Council stop the cuts to our classrooms. Increased class sizes, staff layoffs, and cuts to vital programs have far reaching negative impacts on our students and our schools. Together we can hold elected leadership accountable and make sure we have a world class quality school system.”