Overview

The MCPS operating budget has been carefully crafted to boost academic achievement for all children and is aligned with our strategic plan, Our Call to Action: Pursuit of Excellence. Our previous investments have enabled us to strengthen our curriculum, reduce class size, provide full-day kindergarten, improve staff training, and focus initiatives on overcoming the achievement gap
among student groups. The reform efforts have produced extraordinary results:

• 88 percent of kindergartners are reading simple text compared with 39 percent five years ago. We have eliminated the achievement gap between White kindergarten students and their African American and Hispanic peers.
• 46 percent of the fifth grade class is taking sixth grade math compared with 2 percent in 2001.
• 69 percent of all high school students are enrolled in at least one Honors or Advanced Placement (AP) course.
• The success of our students in AP is unparalleled. Our students significantly outperform the nation and the state for every racial and ethnic group.
• For the second year in a row, all of our eligible high schools have been ranked in the top 3 percent in the nation by Newsweek magazine, with five high schools ranked in the top 100.

We are recommending an increase of 7.1 percent to continue this progress and that includes a 4 percent increase from local taxpayers. The 7.1 percent increase comprises 3.8 percent for negotiated salary increases; 1.4 percent for salary increments; 1.4 percent for employee benefits, including for retirees; and 0.5 percent for all other changes including inflation, initiatives, and utilities. The FY 2008 budget totals $1.98 billion, an increase of $132 million. When $16.1 million required to pre-fund retiree health benefits mandated by new rules is excluded, the total budget will increase $116.1 million, 6.3 percent above FY 2007.

This budget includes negotiated salary increases for our employees of 4.8 percent. It also includes about $9.6 million in additional resources to fund our middle school initiative and to improve elementary and high school programs. We will continue efforts to improve special education with innovative approaches to serve more children in the general education classrooms in their home school environment.

Even as we contend with rising health care and utilities costs, we continue to have among the lowest central administrative expenses of any school system in Maryland at 2 percent. That allows us to devote 80 cents of every dollar to instructional programs.

Our success over the past seven years is a direct result of the able leadership of the Board, along with consistent support from the county executive and the County Council. Together, I know that we will continue our progress with the investments included in the FY 2008 budget.

The Citizens Budget: FY 2008 (3.2MB PDF)