Spending needs to be targeted at improving student performance
Jared Smith, the new CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corp., faces a big turnaround challenge. Our local economy is stagnant and our growing poor and senior populations are burdened with inflated residential property tax assessments.
It will be interesting to see if he does anything with the last economic development plan approved in 2022, or whether he just starts over. The last plan did not include job performance targets, regional road transportation strategies, or a rigorous analysis of our competitive strengths and weaknesses in the region.
The plan also totally ignored two bedrock county service elements that corporations evaluate before relocating: schools and water and sewer service. Yes, a lot of work also needs to be done for timely permitting, and to reduce stifling regulations and high taxes. But in addition, both Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission (WSSC) have been operating as poorly supervised state monopolies for years and it shows in their high costs and poor performance.
MCPS has a sky-high overhead rate of 45% vs. 37% for Fairfax County Public Schools for non-instruction spending, which drives high taxes. MCPS operates as a monopoly not adequately serving low-income students, and has blocked access to charter schools. The result is dismal academic proficiency levels for English at 35%, and math at 15%...
https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/12/06/opinion-reinvent-mcps-to-help-bolster-moco-economy/
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