Good morning.

It is October 26th, just after 9 30.

This is the Education and Culture Committee.

And we're glad to be back here after a little little hiatus.

We are talking about a very important topic this morning, uh the implementation of the FY27 budget, which uh

uh

we know there were some difficult decisions that were made, and we want to make sure we're monitoring as we head in to next year's budget, which is almost upon us uh of where things are and and what we need to be looking out for.

Um just as by way of uh background and I'll turn to staff in a second.

The council uh provided a budget that was below the board's request, but uh but higher than we initially anticipated it was going to be able to be, but you had to MCPS was forced to eliminate, and you'll correct me if I'm wrong, 415 full-time position equivalent positions, resulting in 46 reductions in force and 162 involuntary transfers.

Um and I just want to put say that these are real people

and uh

real jobs and that have an impact in the classroom.

Um we've heard, I know this committee and the whole council had heard from and still here from social workers or poop of personnel workers and others who have been impacted um either personally or their parents uh or the students in the classrooms.

Um I personally had a a young a young woman advocate who was senior last year and said she would not be going to college if it wasn't for her uh guidance counselor uh who was on this list to be to be let go and just that type of thing is happening and it just I think it's important to understand these when you talk about the numbers.

Um we know that uh

these

are difficult budgetary times for the council and for the county and for the country.

Um and so we we're we have to make tough decisions, but we want to do it with full information, understand what the impact is, and so we can prioritize the best we can.

And I know the school board shares that goal and and as does the as MCPS administration and staff.

Um so we're excited to uh excited is probably the wrong word.

We are eager to talk about these things because of the importance uh for them for our kids and families.

Um so uh with that I'll I'll briefly turn it over to council staff just to tee us up and then I'll ask Ms.

McGuire to make her a few say a few words about her weekend and but no, but no, but about about this topic, and then we'll get into the discussion.

Uh Mr.

Proudy.

Thank

you, Church Rwanda.

So we do have a slide that to take you through which highlights um a number of different areas in terms of the reductions that MCPS made and adjustments they made in terms of different positions and workloads.

We will go through that.

Um, but MCPS would like to have a brief statement to start us before we do that.

Ms.

McGuire.

Thank you.

And thank you uh for having us here this morning.

Certainly the the puts and takes of last year's budget, as you pointed out, are still reverberating.

And so we really appreciate the opportunity to come here today and really talk through sort of how we got to where we are and how we're doing this year.

Um as we start, I do just want to highlight that you know, part of the um, I just want to highlight the time trajectory that this process was on.

A lot of what we'll be talking about today um and a lot of what's summarized in the packet are a lot of the changes that happened at the end of the process, and that end was certainly very impactful.

But this was a process that started in December of last year, just over a year ago.

The state law and the county process and charter do require that the school system is pretty early out of the gate.

Um and so the superintendent's budget followed by the board in February, and then through the council process in the spring, a lot changes in that time period and last year especially.

There was a lot of change in that time period.

At each of those points between December with the superintendent and then February with the board, and then again in the spring.

At each of those points, MCPS did work to make adjustments and to be up to date with employees and to try to communicate.

Um but again, that process does keep evolving.

Information evolves, the fiscal picture evolves.

And so I just want us to again kind of keep that picture in mind as well, which is some of the numbers you see here either were added to by things that happened earlier or were the culmination of things that happened earlier as well.

Um I would say too that even at the end, um we we were getting uh puts and takes in different information again, which is all part of the process.

Not a criticism, just wanting us to be um mindful uh of that dynamic as we go forward.

As we were making these difficult decisions, which um again both the council and the school board were charged with.

Um we really MCPS and the and the Board of Education worked to prioritize our core mission in a context of declining enrollment.

And that context of declining enrollment is challenging.

It's challenging because it challenges us to strategically focus the resources that we have and the resources that um ultimately we'll be working with.

Um but a change in the enrollment does necessarily um often impact a change in positions, and that is in a system, a school system, a public school system, that's a correlation and a dynamic that will continue that will continue this year.

While we talk about changes in positions, I do just also um it's it's they are all people.

Every person is behind one of these numbers, as you said, Mr.

Jawondo.

Um the scale of MCPS, though, is also something to keep in mind.

Um there are over 12,000 teachers in MCPS.

And so when we see some of these numbers, when you have 12,000 people, there's always going to be movement, right?