MCEA has released a statement responding to Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor’s recommended $3.61 billion budget for the fiscal year 2026 operating budget. It can be seen in full below:
Per MCEA: The Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent’s recently released operating budget rightly centers the needs of students and educators and promises to deliver critical resources we need for student success.
“We are heartened to see a budget that acknowledges the problems we face and begins to lay out a plan to fix them,” said MCEA President David Stein. “MCEA members have been voicing concerns about these issues for many years, and we are glad the Superintendent is addressing some of them in this funding proposal.”
MCEA was pleased to see that the proposed budget makes special education a top priority, reflected in the budget’s intent to hire an additional 688 positions that are critical to fulfilling MCPS’s stated commitments to provide special education services. “In reality, this funding is merely getting the system to the point where it is fulfilling the previous obligations it made to special education students and their families,” President Stein noted.
The proposed budget also reflects a commitment to recruiting and retaining talented educators by providing wage increases for MCPS employees comparable to those of Montgomery County government employees. “There is a nationwide educator shortage, which means educators have options. They can work in Montgomery County, or they can work for other school systems. We want and need them to come and stay here,” said MCEA Vice President Danillya Wilson.
The proposed budget also includes reductions in Central Services and MCEA is waiting to learn the details before weighing in on them.
MCEA believes the superintendent’s funding proposal is reasonable and prudent, particularly when considering the chronic underfunding of MCPS schools over the past fifteen years. “We’re calling on the Board of Education to adopt the Superintendent’s budget. Once that occurs, we are counting on the County Executive and Council to fully fund the MCPS budget,” President Stein said. “This is a budget that provides hope to thousands of students, families, and educators, who are committed to Montgomery County schools and need to see those commitments reciprocated.”