Parents, school staff, and community advocates in Montgomery County expressed their concerns during a recent Board of Education meeting, urging the restoration of ten pupil personnel worker (PPW) positions proposed for elimination in the superintendent’s FY27 operating budget. Monique King, representing the Montgomery County Pupil Personnel Worker Association, highlighted the critical role of PPWs in supporting students, warning that the proposed cuts would lead to average caseloads soaring to approximately 3,700 students per worker, well above the Maryland-recommended level of 2,500.
Advocates encompassing various school clusters and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) representatives spoke about the vital services provided by PPWs, which extend beyond mere attendance monitoring. These services include helping families with residency issues, providing behavioral support, and assisting students with experiences of homelessness, trauma, or involvement with the court system. Notably, Rachel Bonas, from the county’s Head Start parent advisory, emphasized that PPWs are essential partners in delivering early childhood support.
Numerous cluster coordinators and school principals voiced their concerns that cuts to PPWs and family engagement specialists would critically impact services for high-need students, further burdening the remaining staff. In response, Board members sought specific cost estimates and caseload forecasts from the staff. Board President Grace Vera Oven assured the audience that the next budget draft they review would include a proposal for restoring the positions, with additional data to be provided in subsequent briefings.
The superintendent’s staff committed to presenting a revised budget draft for the board’s evaluation in February. The advocates also emphasized the need for transparent, school-level data on counselor and security staffing, itinerant assignments, and the application of proposed staffing standards, urging that any restorations be clearly indicated in the version sent to the County Council for clarity during their March-April discussions. While no formal vote was taken on the PPW staffing during the hearing, board members indicated that the requested data would be addressed in upcoming work sessions along with the new budget draft.
This community engagement is a hopeful sign of how local voices can shape educational policy and ensure the support structures needed for students’ success remain intact.