By Adam Pagnucco.
Tonight, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor announced the basics of his FY27 recommended operating budget. While the entire budget is not yet published, we do know that he is recommending a $180 million (5.0%) increase, which is below last year’s $273 million (8.2%) increase and close to MCPS’s 4.0% annual growth rate since FY06.
I will have more when I see the published budget. For now, MCPS’s press release is reprinted below.
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MCPS Superintendent’s FY 2027 Recommended Operating Budget
Focused Resources that Support Teaching and Student Learning
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor presented his recommended Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Operating Budget, continuing a multi-year corrective approach designed to restore academic excellence, strengthen direct school support, and ensure fiscal responsibility.
Taylor proposed a $3.775 Billion Operating Budget, representing a $179.7 million (5%) increase over FY 2026. The increase, significantly smaller than the previous year, reflects an understanding of the current economic conditions, while prioritizing student learning, addressing structural budget pressures, and aligning resources with measurable outcomes. The budget also includes $11.5 million in central services efficiencies, including reduced contracts and zero-based budgeting, while honoring union contracts and reducing class size with direct school support.
See Details in Table 1A.
Key Themes Include:
- A System Built on People
MCPS is a system of people, not things. Nearly 88.4 percent of the total budget is staff salaries and benefits, with 79 percent of this year’s requested increase directly funding salaries and benefits, honoring negotiated agreements, stabilizing the employee benefits fund, and supporting workforce stability.
- Turning Declining Enrollment into Smaller Class Sizes
With projected enrollment down nearly 5,000 students over two years, the FY 2027 budget uses this moment to strengthen instructional conditions by reducing elementary class sizes averages by at least one student.
- Clear Staffing Standards that Strengthen Schools
The budget replaces flexible staffing guidelines with a five-phase plan to establish firm staffing standards, beginning with smaller elementary class sizes and guaranteeing a Resource Teacher for Special Education in every elementary school, learning center, and special school.
- Targeted Instructional and Student Supports
Investments strengthen math and literacy instruction through enhanced summer programming and expanded professional learning and training.
The FY 2027 Operating Budget reflects tough choices, disciplined prioritization in a constrained fiscal environment marked by declining enrollment, inflationary pressures, reduced federal funding, and rising fixed costs.
Key Investments:
- Compensation and Workforce Stability:
- $139.7 million investment in salaries and benefits, including a 3.25 percent general wage adjustment and step increases, honoring negotiated agreements with employee groups.
- School Staffing and Class Size Reduction:
- $34.9 million to implement robust staffing allocation standards and reduce elementary class sizes.
- $16.4 million to fund a Resource Teacher for Special Education in every elementary school, learning center, and special school.
- Targeted Student and Equity Supports:
- $1.2 million for differentiated school material allocations.
- $1.9 million for expanded summer learning opportunities.
- $1.7 million for additional school-based security staffing.
- $6.3 million for curriculum, instruction, and professional learning in math, literacy, early childhood, and Pre-K.
- Operational Stabilization and State Requirements:
- $40 million investment to stabilize the employee benefits plan.
- $3.4 million to meet Maryland Blueprint for the Future requirements.
The FY 2027 Operating Budget continues the superintendent’s emphasis on accountability and return on investment, ensuring that resources translate into tangible results for students and families.
- Money-Back Guarantee: By 2035, MCPS will reimburse families for the cost of remedial mathematics and literacy coursework at Montgomery College for any MCPS graduate who requires additional academic support to succeed in college or the workforce.
- Four or More! Commitment: By 2035, every MCPS school will earn a 4- or 5-star rating on the Maryland School Report Card, reflecting sustained excellence in teaching, learning, and school climate. We are proud to report that we are more than half way toward achieving this goal!
As of this year, 95.5 percent of MCPS schools are rated three stars or higher, and 52 percent have already achieved four or five stars, on the 2024–2025 Maryland School Report Card, demonstrating early progress toward these long-term goals.
Timeline for Budget Consideration
- Board of Education Public Hearings: Thursday, January 15, and Tuesday, January 27, 2026
- Board of Education Board Work Sessions: January 6, January 20, and January 29, 2026
- Tentative Board of Education Adoption: Thursday, February 19, 2026
- Final Adoption: Expected Thursday, June 4, 2026
Following Board approval, the budget will be submitted to the Montgomery County Executive and County Council for consideration. The County Council is expected to finalize the FY 2027 Operating Budget by May 2026.
Additional Budget Materials