On Dec. 14, MCPS Superintendent Monifa McKnight presented her $3.32 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year 2025 to students, teachers and county officials at Odessa Shannon Middle School. McKnight proposed a five percent increase from the current school budget and focused on increasing employee compensation and benefits.

At the presentation, Board of Education President Karla Silvestre shared that the budget will further academic growth and increased support for staff that MCPS has observed in the past fiscal year. According to Silvestre, the budget aims to increase student proficiency in math and reading, improve two-way communication between schools and families, foster safe and inclusive schools and increase the recruitment, retention and equitable distribution of a diverse workforce.

During her presentation, McKnight said she anticipates a more than three percent raise for employee compensation next year, requiring $99.4 million. U.S. History teacher Colin O’Brien believes that the raise is important to increase both teacher retention and quality.

“You can tell that we put a lot of money into our system and we hire some of the best teachers,” O’Brien said. “I feel that the county appreciates me for what I do, and it compels me to continue being a teacher and feel proud to be a part of [MCPS].”

Additionally, the county saw a 65% increase in serious incidents this year, which MCPS defines as any incident that includes any level of “risk, harm or threat of harm to staff or students, seriously disrupts school operations, or concerns staff or students and could escalate to a community concern or elevated police or legal matter.” McKnight plans to allocate more funding towards strengthening the Department of Investigations and Compliance unit and combating hate, bias and bullying. 

“We must be better able to swiftly and investigate any claims of wrongdoing in the district and take appropriate action,” McKnight said in the presentation.

However, the Board of Education now lacks a key element of last year’s budget: federal relief funding. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government granted Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds across the nation. MCPS received $125 million from ESSER Funds this year, which the Board of Education primarily allocated toward mental health resources, curriculum resources and technology. This funding, however, expires in September of 2024 and the county will only allocate $33 million to preserve these essential services in the coming fiscal year.

“While the federal relief ends this year, our students’ needs will not,” McKnight said. “Now it is up to us as a community to maintain our positive trajectory and build on our successes.”

At the presentation, McKnight highlighted the improvements the county has made through the budget, a trend she wants to continue with her proposal. Last summer, investments in research-based instructional practices for educators trained 3,767 teachers in the science of reading education, resulting in an 11% increase in elementary school students who are at or above benchmark reading levels. Investments in restorative justice programs led to a 40% decrease in Black/African-American suspension and an 81% reduction in repeat offenses for students who participated in restorative justice, she said. 

MCPS paid for all AP exams this year, which prompted higher-level class enrollment, with 26,000 students enrolled in over 56,000 Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes. McKnight also emphasized the “pressing need” to continue funding school social workers to improve and support student mental health, she said at the meeting.

McKnight’s proposed budget requires a $157.3 million increase in funding compared to last year. With the loss of federal relief funds, McKnight acknowledged at the meeting that the situation was complicated, but she advocated that increasing the budget was necessary in order to continue this year’s trend of observed successes.

“I see a future in which our children are not only good students, but also good citizens equipped with the competencies that our employers seek, our communities benefit from and that families value,” McKnight said. “That’s the pathway we’re on and [we] will continue to invest in for all our students.”

Senior Ronit Das Varma believes that the current state of MCPS is fine, and a budget increase is unnecessary.

“I think the budget we have right now is going well and students and staff are happy,” Varma said. “I don’t think we need to increase it for minor changes like these.”

Senior Deaglan Mannix, on the other hand, believes that the employee salary raise is crucial, but wonders where the funding will come from.

“Teachers don’t get paid enough, so setting aside money to increase their salary is a good idea,” Mannix said. “But I don’t know how we’ll pay for it assuming we don’t decrease something or increase taxes.”

During her presentation, McKnight recognized the three pillars from the MCPS Strategic Plan that hold up the school system: academic excellence, well-being and family engagement, and professional and operational excellence.

“Do we wish to forge ahead holding these pillars up, or hit pause endangering the foundation?” McKnight said. “That is the choice in front of us.”