MoCo Considering School System Pay Cutbacks

Pay raises might be cut back, Weast says
Gazette Regional News, Wednesday October 8, 2008
by Marcus Moore

Given the bleak financial outlook for the county and state, the schools superintendent has talked with principals about possibly scaling back pay raises in next year's operating budget.

The talks represent a drastic change for Superintendent Jerry D. Weast and the public school system. They have flatly disagreed with at least one County Council member over cuts to employee pay increases the past two budget cycles.

Under the negotiated agreement, the school system's 22,000 employees are scheduled to receive a 5.3 percent pay increase for the next fiscal year.

But the county is staring at a $250 million budget shortfall for fiscal 2010, largely caused by the high price of fuel and flat home sales.

"Dr. Weast has been having conversations with lots of people, letting them know the fiscal 2010 budget situation is going to be dire," said Brian K. Edwards, Weast's chief of staff.

At this point, Edwards said, Weast has discussed the possibility of scaling back pay raises, but no decision has been made.

The county school system workers union will meet later this month with school board President Nancy Navarro to look at the fiscal 2010 budget forecasts.

"We have not seen the numbers," said Anna Oman, a spokeswoman for the union. "We believe that if the money does exist, it's the obligation of the county to fund the contracts."

School leaders are compiling the school system's spending plan for fiscal 2010, which begins July 1. Weast will unveil the budget in December.

The school system already has been hit hard by the economic downturn.

Last year, it gained approval for a $2.07 billion spending plan for fiscal 2009, about $41 million short of its initial request. And with the potential shortfall looming for next fiscal year, the school system froze hiring and cut spending to save money. It is still waiting on an additional $5.68 million from the county to help pay for diesel fuel for buses.

In fiscal 2009 budget discussions, the school system did not want to scale back pay increases. But council Vice President Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist 3) of Gaithersburg, later joined by Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (At-large) of North Bethesda, said that all county agencies should reduce pay increases by 2 percent.

"I think the superintendent is right to do that," Andrews said Tuesday of Weast's recent talks with principals. "He recognizes that the increases are not affordable this year, and there will have to be changes made to them."

The renegotiation of school system contracts "would make sense given the fact that they would not have full funding" in the budget, said Robert L. Monsheimer, education chairman for the Montgomery County Taxpayers League. "It had to come. It's good that they're at least looking at it."

Eliminating cost-of-living increases across all county agencies would save the county $125 million, including $75 million in the school system, Andrews estimated.

"To protect the classroom, that's what we're going to have to do," Andrews said. "It's not something anyone wants to do, but I think it's necessary. We want to keep the progress going that we're seeing in the school system."

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