As rank-and-file employees in Montgomery County schools are threatened with decreased raises and increased class sizes next year, nearly 1,100 employees in the district’s top tier are earning more than $100,000.
The high number has bolstered the concern shared by many county residents that the school district enjoys top-heavy leadership while bemoaning impending reductions to its requested $2.1 billion budget.
The reductions, discussed at Wednesday’s County Council meeting and a school board meeting earlier in the week, could affect prized initiatives like middle school reform and low classroom size, in addition to decreasing teachers’ cost-of-living increases by 2 percent.
For teachers, the starting salary without a master’s degree is $44,200, which is the highest in the state.
A teacher who has been in the classroom for at least 19 years and has done coursework in excess of a master’s degree can earn up to $98,700 based on the regular salary schedule, and slightly more for taking on leadership positions.
“It’s the people who don’t touch the kids who are the highest paid,” said Rosanne Hurwitz, the parent of a student at Blair High School. “The biggest salaries, the most travel, they’re not looking at cutting that — they’re looking at cutting in the classroom.”
Possible reductions proposed by the County Council include $1.2 million and 15 teachers from the middle school magnet programs and more than $3 million and 26 teachers as part of
districtwide middle school reforms.
“What concerns me is that we’re not having a public discussion,” said school board member Sharon Cox, explaining the conversation about reductions should involve parents and community members, and should not be crafted
by Superintendent Jerry Weast and council staff alone.
Cox said many of the highly paid central-office-level administrative positions are unclear to the board and the public, fostering distrust in the community.
“Many supports provided at the central office are very helpful to schools in ensuring student progress, but it’s very important for us to discuss and explain that,” she said.
Schools spokeswoman Kate Harrison said a majority of the top-paid positions are administrators in the county’s 200 schools. “And the longer they stay, they continue to make more money, and that’s a positive.”
