By Adam Pagnucco.
As first reported by Fox 5, MCPS and its employee unions have sent a letter to the county council warning them that reducing the executive’s recommended budget for schools may endanger MCPS’s collective bargaining agreements.
The letter was signed by the school board president, the superintendent and the presidents of MCPS’s three employee unions. Its text is reprinted below.
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Fox 5 reporter Tom Fitzgerald discussing the letter and the status of MCPS’s budget.
Joint Letter from Board President Silvestre, Superintendent McKnight, and the Three Employee Associations Concerning MCPS Operating Budget Funding
Dear Council President Glass and Councilmembers:
As you are faced with important budgetary decisions in the coming days, we respectfully write to provide you with important context ahead of the full Council’s consideration of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Operating Budget. On Thursday, May 4, the Education and Culture Committee recommended a floor of funding a 7-increment increase and a ceiling of funding a 9-increment increase. We collectively have analyzed the Committee’s action and considered the impact on the MCPS budget and our ability to fund negotiated agreements.
For over five months, we have bargained night and day in good faith to determine how to fairly compensate the MCPS workforce with wages that are competitive with surrounding jurisdictions and county government, recruit the best and brightest, and retain employees. Thanks to the collaborative hard work, all associations have reached tentative economic agreements with MCPS; however, at least an 8-increment increase is needed to fund our negotiated agreements.
Additional funding greater than an 8-increment increase remains essential to support the requested accelerators, including Blueprint requirements, that the Board tentatively adopted to equitably improve academic outcomes, differentiate resources based on needs, and better allow the system to achieve the results and accountability our community expects.
Thank you again for your partnership as we seek to meet the needs of our students, staff, and community. We look forward to our ongoing collaboration.
Sincerely,
Karla Silvestre
President, Board of Education
Monifa B. McKnight, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Christine Handy, Ed.D.
President, Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals
Pia Morrison
President, Service Employees International Union
Local 500
Jennifer Martin
President, Montgomery County Education Association