Three Weeks After Cutting 415 Positions, MCPS Board Gave Its Chiefs a 6.23 Percent Raise

By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — The Montgomery County Board of Education voted unanimously on June 25 to give the school system’s chiefs, deputy chiefs and associate superintendents a 6.23 percent raise for fiscal year 2027. On June 4, the same board voted 7-1 to eliminate 415 existing and proposed positions to close a budget gap. The cuts consisted of roughly 255 existing positions and 160 proposed positions that will not be filled, and MCPS has said 159 of the affected positions were already vacant.

Bethesda Today reported the raise on July 6. It covers what MCPS spokesperson Liliana López called “positions not on the salary schedule,” including chiefs, deputy chiefs and associate superintendents who are not represented by the administrators’ union. MCPS spokesperson Chris Cram told the outlet the figure combines a 3.25 percent general wage increase with a step increase.

What the pay records show

Salary data obtained by Bethesda Today through Maryland Public Information Act requests shows the level of compensation among MCPS’s highest-paid administrators:

• In fiscal year 2025, 15 employees, including chiefs such as Chief of Schools Peter Moran and the general counsel, were paid nearly $250,000. Four associate superintendents and two deputy chiefs were paid $225,768.
• In fiscal year 2026, Superintendent Thomas Taylor had a reported salary of $406,253, up from $360,000 the year before. That put him nearly $120,000 ahead of the next-highest paid employee.
• Also in fiscal year 2026, 11 employees were paid more than $280,000, including the school board’s chief of staff and the chief financial officer.

“For a chief earning $280,000, a 6.23 percent raise works out to roughly $17,400 a year.”

When MCPS hired former county police chief Marcus Jones as its chief of security and compliance in 2024, a district spokesperson said chief-level pay was $249,322, up from $242,060 the year before.

For a chief earning $280,000, a 6.23 percent raise works out to roughly $17,400 a year. That figure is MDBayNews arithmetic, not an MCPS number.

The district’s explanation

“The 6.23 percent adjustment, meanwhile, includes some of the highest-paid administrators in the school system.”

Taylor told the board the raise was “actually a net savings this year” because of the position reductions. Board member Rita Montoya noted that the increase is not new and happens every year for employees outside the union contracts.

Both points deserve a hearing. Neither answers the question taxpayers are likely to ask. The County Council funded the school system $36 million below what the district requested, though the approved budget still included a $143 million increase, and the board closed the gap by cutting positions. Bethesda Today reported that many of the eliminated positions, including social workers, family engagement specialists and pupil personnel workers, provide support to students and families. The 6.23 percent adjustment, meanwhile, includes some of the highest-paid administrators in the school system.

A pattern, not a one-off

“None of these items proves misplaced priorities by itself.”

MDBayNews has followed this tension before. A February analysis of federal staffing data found MCPS added 1,769 full-time employees from the 2018-19 school year forward even as enrollment fell. In August, we reported that the district was advertising a communications job with a pay band topping out at $171,348, two months after the cuts. MCPS has since said the postings came from realigning existing positions and do not add to the communications department’s total headcount, and that the division has two fewer MCPS-TV positions than before.

None of these items proves misplaced priorities by itself. Taken together, they raise a fair question about where a district puts its money when the budget tightens, and who absorbs the cuts when it does.

“Taken together, they raise a fair question about where a district puts its money when the budget tightens, and who absorbs the cuts when it does.”

What to Watch

• Fiscal year 2027 pay data. Bethesda Today has obtained the prior two years of top salaries through public records requests after each fiscal year ended. The next release would show what the 6.23 percent raise looks like in actual pay.
• Senior headcount. Taylor tied the “net savings” to position reductions. The board’s documents could show which nonscheduled positions were eliminated, whether the number of chiefs, deputy chiefs, and associate superintendents changed, and what the 6.23 percent adjustment costs before those reductions are counted.
• The list of cuts. Bethesda Today cited the district’s list of cuts. A breakdown of student-facing roles versus central office roles would show where the reductions landed.

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Sources: This article draws on Bethesda Today (Bethesda Magazine) reporting, including “MoCo school board votes to cut 415 positions to close $36M MCPS budget gap” (June 4, 2026), “MoCo school board cut hundreds of MCPS positions. What happens next?” (June 10, 2026), “MCPS chiefs, deputy chiefs, associate superintendents among employees to receive pay raise” (July 6, 2026, updated July 21, 2026), “A look at the top 100 salaries of MCPS employees” (July 31, 2026), “Top 100 salaries of MCPS employees in fiscal year 2025” (Sept. 5, 2025), and “Former county police chief to earn almost $250K as head of MCPS security” (Aug. 2, 2024). Moderately MoCo’s report on MCPS’s response to the communications postings supplied the realignment explanation. Montgomery Community Media’s coverage of the June 4 vote supplied the vacancy count and the $143 million increase. It also draws on MDBayNews’ prior reporting, “More Bureaucrats, Fewer Students: What’s Really Happening Inside MCPS?” (Feb. 19, 2026) and “MCPS Cut 43 Social Workers to Close a Budget Gap. It’s Now Hiring a Content Creator for Up to $171,348.” (Aug. 7, 2026), which relied on WTOP and Bethesda Magazine coverage of the board’s June vote.

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