As reported in The Gazette, the Montgomery County school board and the county council have reached an agreement on a $24.4 million budget reduction ending pending legal action that was previously reported.

The board will not sue the council as it had threatened and will not require school employees to take unpaid leave as the council had proposed, school board President Patricia B. O’Neill said Wednesday.

The agreement ends a battle between school officials and the council over deeper cuts beyond the $137.7 million County Executive Isiah Leggett had proposed for Montgomery County Public Schools.

Of the $24.4 million in cuts, $19.7 million come from the MCPS operating budget and $4.7 million will be cut from its Capital Improvements Program. An added $2 million from MCPS’ fiscal 2010 operating budget will carry over to 2011 to pay for an energy tax.