Education & Culture Committee Budget Review - April 22, 2026
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Education and Culture Committee Budget Review
The Education and Culture Committee met on April 22, 2026, from 9:39 a.m. to 11:55 a.m. to review the FY27 Operating Budget and Capital Improvements Program for the Arts and Humanities Council, Montgomery College, and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The committee heard presentations from agency leaders and staff, discussed multiple initiatives, and made recommendations for the full Council.
Arts and Humanities Council Non-Departmental Account (NDA)
- The County Executive proposed a 2.5% inflationary increase of $176,349 for the Arts and Humanities Council NDA.
- Ms. Jenkins, from the Arts and Humanities Council, requested an additional $1 million for grant-making to meet rising demand from new residents.
- Chair Jawando noted he had proposed a 5% increase for nonprofit funding overall, but no action was taken on the additional request.
- The committee unanimously recommended approval of the FY27 Operating Budget as submitted by the County Executive.
Montgomery College Operating Budget and CIP Amendments
- Montgomery College requested a $6.3 million increase above the maintenance of effort level (total county contribution $155.06 million), a 1.3% increase over FY26.
- The college also requested restoration of $3.625 million for Information Technology (IT) projects, which was cut from the CIP due to a deferral.
- Dr. Williams highlighted enrollment growth of 23% over five years, that 70% of students attend part-time, and that the college had not raised tuition since FY20 (twice in six years). The request covers non-discretionary costs such as compensation, part-time faculty, and IT infrastructure.
- The committee supported the CIP amendments necessitated by state aid adjustments and recommended restoration of the $3.625 million IT funding.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Operating Budget
- The committee reviewed multiple MCPS initiatives:
- Equity Add-on: $1.175 million (second year of a multi-year initiative) to provide principals discretionary funds for equity-focused needs (e.g., field trips, materials, extracurriculars). Committee expressed strong support and requested future impact analysis.
- Special Education Resource Teachers: 118.5 FTEs ($12 million) to place a resource teacher in every elementary school. Schools with 20+ special education students receive 0.5 FTE, 60+ receive 1.0 FTE. Committee discussed hiring and implementation.
- Staffing Standards: 420.8 FTEs ($34.8 million) to begin phasing in new staffing standards over six years, replacing current guidelines. The standards tie staffing to free/reduced-price meal tiers and special education percentages. Committee noted the need for exceptions and evaluation.
- Regional Program Model: Funding for planning and rollout of regional high school programs (10 school-based FTEs, 6 central office FTEs). The committee discussed timeline, equity concerns, staffing, and course offerings. Councilmember Mink raised detailed questions about comparability of new programs to existing magnets. Superintendent Taylor emphasized a cohort-based approach starting with 9th grade.
- Summer School: $1.8 million to expand in-person summer programs (six regional high schools and Ignite middle school academies). Committee supported the initiative.
- Secondary Literacy Support: 12 FTEs ($2 million) to add literacy specialists to cross-functional teams. Committee noted the need for improved secondary literacy outcomes.
- The committee also discussed the increase in McKinney-Vento (homeless) students (over 1,800 identified, with 27% growth) and the support provided by the district.
Key Outcomes
- Arts and Humanities Council: Recommended approval of FY27 Operating Budget as submitted.
- Montgomery College: Recommended approval of CIP amendments and supported restoration of $3.625 million for IT.
- MCPS: No formal votes taken; committee expressed support for the equity add-on, special education resource teachers, staffing standards, summer school, and secondary literacy support. The committee requested future worksessions on return on investment for the equity add-on, implementation of special education resource teachers, staffing changes due to enrollment, and the regional program model rollout.
- Next Steps: The full Council will consider the budget at a worksession on April 27, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. Welcome to the Education Culture Committee. It's uh Wednesday, correct? Yes. Wednesday, April 22nd. That shows you it's budget time when you forget which day it is. Um and we are uh have a full agenda, so I want to make sure we get started. We're gonna start with the Arts and Humanities Council, and Ms. Jenkins, you can come on down. You're in non-departmental account, and then we'll uh talk with Montgomery College about their both operating budget and a couple of CIP items, and then we will uh have our second MCPS operating budgets work session. Um we have a lot on that agenda, uh special education, emergent multilingual students, uh staffing standards and the regional program model. So we'll get started. So I'll turn it over to council staff and then we'll start with then Ms. Jenkins if you have anything to say after that. Thank you. Ms. Cummings. Thank you, Chair Jolando. Um today we have the FY27 proposed operating budget for the Arts and Humanities Council NDA. The county executive recommends an increase of 176,349 dollars or the 2.5 percent inflationary adjustment. Um walking through the packet a little bit, we have the NDA background starting on page one. Um the Arts and Humanities Council provides NDA provides funding for the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the county's designated local arts agency, and the support um includes general operating grants to the arts and humanities organizations. Um program grants to arts and humanities organizations not receiving general operating support, project grants to individuals, scholars, groups, and small organizations, organizations, technical assistance, and other support services for individuals and other organizations in the county matching funds for awardees designated to match private donations and operating expenses for Arts and Humanities Council. Um page two of the staff report on table two, we have an overview of grant applications that were awarded in FY26. And um on table three on page three, we have the anticipated increase for demand over FY26. Um on April 15th, 2026, the Arts and Humanities Council transmitted a memorandum to the committee requesting an additional one million for uh forty-seven thousand eight hundred hundred and thirty dollars for grant making purposes and FY27. And um just as a reminder, council staff um or sorry, council will take action on the 2.5 percent inflationary adjustment to nonprofit service providers um totality at a later date. Thank you. Thank you so much, Ms. Cummings. Ms. Jenkins, would you like to add anything or provide any additional color other than your glasses, which I always look forward to. Thank you very much for the opportunity. Um I think bottom line is that as I mentioned in my transmittal, uh demand has grown uh increasingly high over these last several years. And uh we see new residents coming to the table asking for support. Um the support that we're asking, the million uh that we're asking for is not um to pad our already existent grantees with more, but to meet the demand of new grantees coming to the table. Um so we've provided quite a bit of uh detail on that information, and I would ask that the council consider it. We understand the difficult time that we're in uh with our budget deliberations. Uh yet demand uh from residents is something that is required of us to report. And so I ask that you consider that we have many new people coming to the table in need of support and that you consider that in your deliberations. Thank you. I appreciate that. And uh yeah, there's always more demand and need than we can meet, and uh that weighs on all of us I know. Um I I will speak for myself. I on Friday I proposed a five percent increase in the nonprofit funding as part of our uh budget. While we can't decide that or act on that today, um it is my hope that should that happen. I don't know what that would work out for for to you, but it would be I don't know if it would be a million dollars, but it would be it would be something. Uh whatever five percent would be for you, is that that's what it would be. I guess it would be times because it's 2.5 is how much for you? Uh 176,000.
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