Montgomery Council Committee to Discuss MCPS FY12 Operating Budget Request

Release ID: 11-080
Release Date: 4/4/2011
Contact: Neil Greenberger 240-777-7939 or Delphine Harriston240-777-7931
From: Council Office

ROCKVILLE, Md., April 1, 2011—The Montgomery County Council’s Education Committee at 2 p.m. on Monday, April 4, will start its review of the operating budget request for Fiscal Year 2012 from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The school system has requested a total of $2.2 billion for next year, an increase of $101 million (4.8 percent over the FY11 approved level).

The Education Committee, which is chaired by Council President Valerie Ervin and includes Councilmembers Phil Andrews and Craig Rice, will meet in the Third Floor Conference Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The meeting will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) and also will be available via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov.

The MCPS budget request does not include a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for employees, but does include $32.4 million for continuing salaries, including step increases and associated benefits. The funding request includes $17.5 million to address an anticipated enrollment increase of 2,645 over the FY11 enrollment. It also addresses needs for increased enrollment of students with Limited English Proficiency and students from families with low incomes. For the current school year, approximately 13 percent of students participate in ESOL services and nearly 31 percent are eligible for Free and Reduced Priced Meals. Both figures are expected to increase in FY12.

At 3:30 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room, the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, which is chaired by Council Vice President Berliner and includes Councilmembers Nancy Floreen and Hans Riemer, will hold a worksession on Bill 8-11 that would create a five-cent charge on each paper or plastic bag provided by a retail establishment to a customer at point of sale, pickup or delivery. The bill is intended to inspire consumers to use more reusable bags, which in turn could lead to fewer bags littering the environment. A March 31 public hearing on the fee, which was proposed by County Executive Isiah Leggett, had more than 25 speakers.

At 9:30 a.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room, a joint meeting of the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Floreen and includes Marc Elrich and George Leventhal, and the Public Safety Committee, which is chaired by Phil Andrews and includes Councilmembers Elrich and Council Vice President Berliner, will discuss a recommendation of the Organizational Reform Commission that the County merge its Park Police force into the County’s Police Department.

At 11 a.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room, the PHED Committee will review a supplemental appropriation of $710,000 for the Montgomery County Revenue Authority that would be for the Germantown Indoor Swim Center.

At 2 p.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room, a joint meeting of the PHED Committee and the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee will receive a briefing on the progress of a consultant’s study on re-evaluating the parking space requirements in the County Zoning Ordinance regarding commercial and mixed-use developments—especially in Metro Station Policy Areas. The study also is looking at alternative models of providing for, and funding of, the construction, operation and maintenance of public parking facilities.