With school programs and 800 jobs at risk, top Montgomery County education officials lined up before the County Council Monday morning to plead for their $2.1 billion budget request, already shorted more than $50 million on the county executive’s recommendation.

Superintendent Jerry Weast blamed a shortage of state and federal dollars for the system’s dire financial situation, even as the number of poor and non-English-speaking students has skyrocketed in the county.