County Council Likely to Recommend Against Some Salary Increases for County Employees, Teachers

County Council Likely to Recommend Against Some Salary Increases for County Employees, Teachers:

“In a county government where 80 percent of costs go to salaries and benefits, 90 percent for [Montgomery County Public Schools], moderating salary increases has to be part of the overall solution for finding the resources necessary for critical service improvements,” council member Nancy Navarro said at Thursday’s hearing.
As part of its budget request, the school board approved contracts that could mean an 8 percent raise next fiscal year for its employees eligible for second step-increases.
As currently negotiated, the salary increases for teachers, administrators, principals and support staff would mean $74.1 million in additional costs for the next fiscal year, a total that council members suggested should be reduced to allow funding to hire more teachers to decrease class sizes and to pay for more programming aimed at closing the achievement gap.
But that decision would be up to the Board of Education, which decides how to allocate the education funding the county provides for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).