With a seven year loss of almost 10,000 students, the nationally ranked Montgomery County Public School system budget has grown by $1B in that same time.
In FY26 the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system posted the largest single year decline in student enrollment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Year over year decline from 2024 – 2025 totaled nearly 2,200 students. This brings the nationally ranked school system to a loss of nearly 10,000 students over the last seven years. In that time the school system budget has grown by more than a billion dollars.
For fiscal year 2027, MCPS has proposed an operating budget of roughly $3.8 billion—the largest in its history—which would account for more than half of the county’s overall spending plan. County Executive Marc Elrich has proposed a budget that accounts for all $3.8B of the school systems operating request. The proposal has drawn significant public engagement, including rallies and testimony from parents, educators, and advocates highlighting needs such as staffing levels, special education services, transportation, and class sizes.
This contribution exceeds FY27 mandated maintenance of effort funding by $202.8M. To fulfill the increase, County Executive Elrich’s proposal includes a 6.3-cent property tax increase dedicated to MCPS. The County Council is now reviewing the proposed budget through hearings and work sessions before final decisions later this spring.
