By Adam Pagnucco.
David Stein, president of the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), has released a video on X declaring victory over the county council’s passage of a huge budget increase for MCPS. He says, “It happened because we came together” and discusses the work of “all the family members” in getting the money. Stein’s comments echo my analysis of the rebuilding of the MCPS family, an advocacy model from the days of former Superintendent Jerry Weast that looks likely to continue.
Stein’s video is embedded below along with a transcript of his remarks.
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Today the County Council voted to fund 99.8% of the MCPS budget – a win for Montgomery County students, families, and educators! pic.twitter.com/HDCd4zjbjW
— Montgomery County Education Association (@mceanea) May 22, 2025
Hello everybody. Today is a really great day because the county council officially passed a budget which is going to mean a school budget for next year of over $3.6 billion. And that’s really great news for our students, for our educators, for the families of Montgomery County.
How did this happen? It happened because we came together. The MCEA members, the members of our sister unions, SEIU 500, MCAAP, the school board, the superintendent, all the communities, all the family members, came together and the county council listened. And today they did the right thing. They passed a budget that almost completely fully funds our ask for this year. And it’s going to mean a huge difference for the students and the schools and our members and families around the county.
So this is a great day. We haven’t fixed all the problems. We have a lot more work to do and we’re going to continue to do that work. But let’s today take this day to say yes, the county council listened. We made sure that they understood what the needs of our students and our schools are. So peace out!