Editor’s note: This story, originally published at 11:59 a.m. March 14, 2025, was updated at 1:54 p.m. to include comments from County Council President Kate Stewart and councilmember Andrew Friedson, as well as information on the council’s public hearings on the proposed budget. It was updated again at 5:54 p.m. on March 14, 2025 to include comments from the Montgomery County Education Association.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich announced Friday he is proposing a 3.5% property tax rate increase in order to fully fund Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) $3.65 billion budget request for the upcoming fiscal year.
The proposed property tax increase is part of Elrich’s recommended $7.6 billion county operating budget plan for fiscal year 2026, which he released during a briefing Friday morning in Rockville. The spending plan represents an increase of 7.4% from the county’s current $7.1 billion operating budget. The budget proposal now heads to the County Council for review and approval.
Elrich defended his proposed tax increase, noting “the most valuable asset this county has is its schools.”
“If we don’t fund these teacher positions, you can talk to Superintendent [Thomas] Taylor and any teacher about what’s happening in classroom [and what will happen] if we don’t do this,” Elrich said.
Taylor joined other MCPS leaders and local education organizations in late February in demanding the county government fully fund the district’s budget proposal. The proposal represents a a nearly 9% increase over the current MCPS budget. The additional $300 million included in the budget would help pay for spending that includes an expected 3.25% base salary increase for staff and the proposed addition of 688 special education positions, according to MCPS officials.
“The consequence of underfunding and under-supporting our school’s budget will be costly, more costly than funding it,” Taylor said during a press conference at the county government building that drew about 100 educators and MCPS community members. “It will show up in teacher turnover. It will show up in staff turnover. It will show up in unfulfilled maintenance requests and unmet learning needs.”
Elrich’s proposed tax rate increase is enabled by a state statute that allows jurisdictions to raise property tax rates to supplement public school funding. If approved by the council, homeowners’ tax rate would be $1.06 per each $100 of assessed value of their property.
The county school board responded to Elrich’s proposed budget in an email statement to Bethesda Today.
“The Board of Education recognizes the tough economic challenges Montgomery County leaders face in allocating resources,” the board said. “Our main responsibility is to advocate for the resources needed to ensure student success and well-being. Our proposed budget focuses on critical needs like improving math and literacy, enhancing safety, and advancing equity.”
Elrich said because President Donald Trump plans to lower federal taxes, he believes that will offset the proposed tax increase for property owners.
“Maybe there’s a silver lining,” he said. “Some things shift to us, and we can more effectively manage things going forward than we are under the current structure.”
He also argued that even if the increase is approved, the county’s property tax rate would still be lower than in neighboring counties, such as Howard and Frederick. “If being cheap was the path to victory, we would’ve won a long time ago,” Elrich said.
This is the second time since 2022 that Elrich has proposed a property tax increase to fund MCPS. That year, he proposed a 10% property tax rate increase to fund his proposed fiscal year 2023 budget. The council unanimously opposed such a high increase, and eventually settled on a 4.7% increase.
Elrich later noted when asked if he thought the council would support the proposed tax increase that he believed the county “wouldn’t be facing yet another large increase” if the council had approved his proposed the 10% increase in 2022. “The goal of that was to try to get this over with and put us in a better position going forward,” he said.
Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) responded to Elrich’s proposal in a press release Friday afternoon.
“With our community values under attack by the Trump administration, budget cuts looming at the federal and state level, and the possibility that the state will require the county to pay a larger portion of cost-sharing items such as teacher pensions, the council’s upcoming budget deliberations will likely be some of the most challenging since the start of the Great Recession,” Stewart said.
Stewart said she plans to center the needs of residents while “maintaining the fiscal stewardship that has enabled Montgomery County to weather economic storms, the COVID crisis, and maintain our AAA bond rating.”
Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) released his own statement, criticizing Elrich’s proposed property tax increase and vowing to vote against it.
“Right now, too many residents are struggling to keep up with rising costs. Our region and state face unprecedented fiscal instability, even before Elon Musk and the Trump administration’s newest assault on federal workers who make up such a large share of our local economy,” Friedson said. “I’ve consistently voted against property tax increases … I will once again oppose raising the tax burden on Montgomery County families.”
The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) teachers’ union praised Elrich’s focus on school system funding in a statement Friday afternoon.
“What this budget does is recognize the real needs that students and families have in our school district, while remaining cognizant of the fiscal challenges that we continue to face,” said MCEA President David Stein.
Elrich’s proposed tax increase is coupled by a proposal to increase the county’s homeowner tax relief program, increasing the available tax credit by 25% for qualifying homeowners.
“This is the hardest budget we’ve ever had,” Elrich said. “We could not fund everything that we wanted to fund … we are deeply constrained by resources, and the federal government has not been our friend. The things [the federal government] will not do are now things we have to do.”
Elrich said the county budget staff was also constrained in creating the proposed budget because the Maryland state budget has not been finalized by the General Assembly. The state budget for fiscal year 2026 must be approved by April 7, the last day of this year’s legislative session.
Elrich said the county’s expected funding from the state could range between $22 million and $60 million and he expected to amend his proposal following the finalization of the state budget.
“This budget is not our final budget,” Elrich said. “It’s not possible to close this out until the legislature closes [the state budget] out.”
What’s in the budget
Elrich said his budget proposal is focused on continuity of current services, with some enhancements where possible. This includes increased investment in public safety programs, including a new “Speed on Green” traffic camera program to catch speeding drivers and expansion of the police department’s Drone as First Responder program to include a fifth drone based in Germantown. Elrich said that depending on the final state budget, he hopes to also add a sixth drone based in the White Oak community of Silver Spring.
Elrich’s budget allocates $312.8 million to support affordable housing-related programs and funds, including $25.4 million for rental assistance. He also is proposing a $13 million increase to the county’s homelessness services funding. The county has continued to see an increase in its unhoused population over the past several years.
Elrich is also proposing the county provide free transportation on Ride On buses, noting that fare collection and enforcement has been costly and “burdensome.” The budget also proposes the funding of additional electric buses, with a goal of 112 total electric buses in the county’s fleet by July 2026.
The proposed budget also includes more than $379 million for climate and environmental initiatives.
In terms of workforce and economic development, Elrich is proposing a $2.5 million budget for WorkSource Montgomery, which supports county residents in job searches and has added additional programming following layoffs of local federal workers. He’s also proposing $580,000 for BioHub Maryland in Montgomery County.
Other enhancements Elrich chose to highlight in his briefing include additional funding for libraries, continuation of the free fitness pass program at county recreation centers, and funding for the Office of the People’s Counsel, which provides a county-funded attorney to represent constituents in land use decisions. The council has previously declined to fund this position, despite Elrich’s proposals.
Stewart encouraged county residents to share their thoughts on the budget with councilmembers and to participate in the council’s public hearings on the budget, which will be held on April 7 and April 8 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Those interested in testifying at the public hearings in person or virtually can sign up on the council’s webpage or by calling 240-777-7803.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
