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Schools

Montgomery County School Spending to Increase by at Least $100M

Pension issues and local funding will drive spending over the next four years.

While Montgomery County spends approximately half of its annual $4 billion budget on K-12 education, that figure is expected to grow by more than $100 million over the next four years, according to a recent Washington Post article.

Two state mandates uncovered by Montgomery County Council staff will drive the increased spending—the shift of teacher pension costs from the state to the counties and the “maintenance of effort” rules that require schools to maintain a level of per-pupil funding at least equal to the previous year, The Post reported.

Montgomery County Council Member Valerie Ervin (D-Dist 5) described the increases in education funding as “a runway train.”

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Montgomery County Council staff director Stephen Farber described the increases as “a good example of how the strictures of the pension law and the [maintenance of effort] law are affecting the county budget,” and called on state lawmakers to amend the law to “eliminate its punitive, overreaching provisions.”

Council Member Marc Elrich (D-At Large) told The Post that “we do have to have a discussion about [maintenance of effort],” based on his increasing concern about “the dwindling amount of money that is not already set aside to fill some law or mandate.”

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