For every $1 in education funding that Maryland gives to Montgomery County, 76 cents goes to classroom expenses, while 24 cents pays for a generous package of teacher pension benefits. Prince George’s County, by comparison, pays out 87 cents of every state education dollar to teaching students and 13 cents to teacher pension benefits. The share of state aid going to classroom expenses in Montgomery has shrunk in the last decade as local boards of education promise teachers a higher level of benefits — which the state is responsible for paying.
| Educating the counties | |||
| Ranking | County | Per-pupil state aid for classroom expenses | |
| 1 | Baltimore City | $10,898 | |
| 2 | Allegany | $9,056 | |
| 3 | Somerset | $8,699 | |
| 4 | Wicomico | $8,194 | |
| 5 | Caroline | $8,080 | |
| 6 | Prince George’s | $7,169 | |
| 22 | Montgomery | $3,974 | |
| State average | $5,928 | ||
| Ranking | County | Per-pupil state aid for classroom expenses | |
| 1 | Worcester | $1,237 | |
| 2 | Montgomery | $1,219 | |
| 3 | Howard | $1,191 | |
| 4 | Kent | $1,135 | |
| 5 | Somerset | $1,094 | |
| 6 | Allegany | $1,077 | |
| 7 | Prince George’s | $1,045 | |
| Statewide average | $1,034 | ||
The growth in teacher retirement costs has been a main driver of the state’s ballooning pension liabilities, which has placed Montgomery under special scrutiny in the General Assembly this year.
“I’m from a county that does not have these higher salaries or these very cushy pension packages,” Del. Kathryn L. Afzali, R-Frederick County, said during a House Ways and Means Committee meeting. Turning to Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, she asked, “Could you justify for me why people of Frederick County or Garrett County should be paying — through tax dollars — the cost of negotiated salaries of people in other counties that are significantly higher?”
Montgomery County teachers earn an average salary of $70,000, which is $10,000 more than the state average.
Teacher pensions are costing Maryland roughly $924 million in fiscal 2011, up from $348 million in 2002.
And Montgomery’s teachers have the second-most expensive benefits packages in Maryland, costing the state roughly $185 more per student in fiscal 2012 than the statewide average of $1,034 per student. Worcester County’s teacher pensions cost $18 more per student than Montgomery’s.
At the same time, however, Montgomery receives less state aid per pupil for classroom expenses than 20 of Maryland’s 23 counties, as well as Baltimore City.
Leggett defended the teachers’ high percentage of state education dollars as a necessary benefit in Montgomery, where the cost of living is more expensive than neighboring counties.
“Personally, I wouldn’t characterize [the pensions] as cushy or cushioned, or even excessively high … when you look at the cost of living in Montgomery,” Leggett said, citing high property taxes, housing and fees.
In addition to cost of living, Montgomery’s students can be a challenging sell to prospective teachers, he added.
The county has the highest percentage of students with
limited English proficiency in the state. More than 13 percent of Montgomery’s students qualify as “limited English proficient,” compared with 12 percent in Prince George’s County and 6 percent statewide, according to the state’s independent Department of Legislative Services.
Leggett also cited statistics showing 30 percent of Montgomery’s students qualify for free or reduced price lunches — lower than the 40 percent statewide average.
