Maryland's Largest School District
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Montgomery County Board of Education will hold four (4) public hearings to receive testimony regarding the FY 2027-2032 Capital Improvements Program. The hearings will be held in the Patricia B. O’Neill Board of Education Room on the dates listed below and will be open to the public. Registration is required to provide testimony at the hearings. As space is limited, interested individuals are encouraged to register as early as possible.
Consistent with the Board’s goal of providing orderly and inclusive opportunities for public testimony, the hearings will proceed based on the following:
Once the registration period has closed, speakers will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to submit their written, video, or audio testimony to the Board Office, as well as the due date for the submission of their testimony. The confirmation email and all follow-up communication will be sent to the email provided in the registration form. All written, video, and audio testimonies for the hearing should be submitted to BOETestimony@mcpsmd.org. Testimonies that do not adhere to submission instructions and deadlines may forfeit their speaking spot.
The agenda for each hearing, including the list of speakers, will be posted no later than noon on the day of the hearing at https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/.
For more information, visit: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/community/participation.aspx
Broadcasts of Public Hearings
All hearings are available to view live (and will be available after the hearings on demand) on the MCPS webpage:
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/index.aspx
Hearings also will be broadcast live on Comcast Channel 34 & 1071 HD, Verizon FIOS Channel 36, RCN Channel 89 & 1058 HD), MCPS home page http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org, MCPS YouTube Channel http://youtube.com/mcpstv.
Watch in Spanish: MCPS Spanish YouTube Channel http://youtube.com/mcpstvespanol
Additional information about public hearings may be found in the Board of Education Handbook.
The Board of Education designates time during each business meeting and regular work session for public comments. The process for signing up and providing public testimony is outlined below. If you have questions regarding this process, please submit them to BOETestimony@mcpsmd.org.
Unless otherwise notified, the sign-up period typically opens to the public one (1) week prior to the meeting at 6:00 p.m. and closes three (3) days prior to the meeting at 9:00 a.m.
The Board’s business meetings and regular work sessions will be open to the public, and in-person public comments will be permitted. The Board will also continue to accept pre-recorded audio and video submissions for individuals who wish to remain virtual. All testimonies will be made available to the public on BoardDocs. Individuals who want to provide public comments will register using the online registration form and will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis.
In addition to the online sign-ups, the Board will return to the practice of in person, same day sign-ups when space allows. Unallocated slots may be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, on the day of the meeting.
Safety Procedures for In-Person Public Comments and Observation: Please avoid in-person attendance if you are experiencing symptoms of illness. If you choose to bring a sign, please ensure it is no larger than 8.5” x 11”. Signs may not be mounted on sticks.
The first twenty (20) speakers who sign up for public comments during the designated sign-up process are afforded two (2) minutes to speak. Public testimony slots that remain available following the closing of the sign-up process may be filled on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the meeting by signing in with Board staff no later than fifteen (15) minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the open session.
In addition to the twenty (20) testimony slots available to the public, separate testimony slots will be reserved at each business meeting and regular work session for a designated representative of each MCPS employee association. Each association representative will be afforded two (2) minutes to speak.
The Board is interested in hearing a broad range of perspectives from the community. Accordingly, when the Board receives more requests than the allotted number of testimony slots, first priority will be given to individuals who have not testified at a Board business meeting or regular work session within the previous 30 calendar days.
Once the public comment sign-up period has closed, speakers will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours with instructions about how to submit their written testimony in advance to the Board Office. For speakers providing video or audio testimony, instructions will be provided on how to prepare video/audio comments for submission. Please adhere to the submission deadline and instructions included in the confirmation email. All written, video, and audio comments for the meeting should be submitted to BOETestimony@mcpsmd.org.
While public input on policies, programs, and practices is encouraged, public comments are not the proper avenue to address specific student or employee matters. Comments regarding specific student or employee matters shall be directed to the Board or superintendent, as appropriate, through separate communication.
Those who are unable to sign up or are not selected to provide comments during the meeting may email their comments to BOETestimony@mcpsmd.org. Emails sent to this address are automatically distributed to all Board members and leadership staff.
Additional information about public comments may be found in the Board of Education Handbook.