Montgomery County Public Schools will operate next year with a $2.16 billion budget after the Montgomery County Board of Education approved the budget for the 2013 fiscal year at its last meeting.

The budget is an increase of about $73.2 million, or 3.5 percent, over last year’s, accounting for an estimated 2,400 additional students in the system. It also includes pay raises for administrators, teachers and staff—the first in three years.

“This budget is not only an investment in our students, it is an investment in sustaining the future of Montgomery County as a great place to live and work,” Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr said in a release.

“MCPS has a national reputation for excellence and if we are going to sustain that excellence, we must reward and retain the employees who are doing such tremendous work," he said.  

Despite the increase in funds, no “major new initiatives or programs” were included in the budget, according to a statement from the school district. Per pupil spending was stagnant at $9,759 per student, which is less than the per student rate in 2009, MCPS said.

About $27.2 million of the budget will go to cover teacher pensions, which were previously billed to the state of Maryland.

In a contentious move that drew the ire of local leaders, the General Assembly passed a measure that will gradually shift some of the cost for teacher pensions to county or city school districts.