Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland
| Montgomery County Public Schools |
|---|
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| Rockville, Maryland |
| District details |
| Superintendent: Thomas W. Taylor |
| # of school board members: 7 |
| Website: Link |
Montgomery County Public Schools is a school district in Maryland.
Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...
- Superintendent
- School board
- Elections
- Budget
- Teacher salaries
- Academic performance
- Students
- Staff
- Schools
- Contact information
Superintendent
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This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates. |
Dr. Thomas W. Taylor is the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools. Taylor was appointed as superintendent on July 1, 2024. His career experience includes serving as superintendent in Stafford County Public Schools in Virginia, Deputy Superintendent in Chesterfield County, and as a principal.[1]
Past superintendents
- Monifa Bellinger McKnight was the interim superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools. McKnight was appointed early 2021, and took office June 30, 2021. McKnight's previous career experience involved working as deputy superintendent, principal and director for Secondary Leadership Development Program.[2]
- Jack R. Smith was the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools from 2016 to 2021. Smith's previous career experience includes working as the interim superintendent of schools and treasurer of the Maryland State Board of Education, the chief academic officer for the Office of Teaching and Learning of the Maryland State Department of Education, and a teacher.[3]
- Larry Bowers was the interim superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools from 2015 to 2016. Bowers' previous career experience included working as the district's chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and director of the department of management, budget, and planning.[4]
- Joshua Starr was the superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools from 2011 to 2015. Starr's previous career experience included working as the superintendent of Stamford Public Schools in Connecticut.[5][6]
School board
The Montgomery County Board of Education is composed of seven members. Five adult members are elected to specific districts and two adult members are elected to at-large seats. Additionally, a student representative is elected by his or her peers to serve a one-year term.
| Office | Name | Date assumed office |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery County Board of Education At-large | Rita Montoya | December 1, 2024 |
| Montgomery County Board of Education At-large | Karla Silvestre | 2019 |
| Montgomery County Board of Education District 1 | Grace Rivera-Oven | December 1, 2022 |
| Montgomery County Board of Education District 2 | Natalie Zimmerman | December 1, 2024 |
| Montgomery County Board of Education District 3 | Julie Yang | December 1, 2022 |
| Montgomery County Board of Education District 4 | Laura Stewart | December 1, 2024 |
| Montgomery County Board of Education District 5 | Brenda Wolff | December 3, 2018 |
Elections
Members of the board are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis. Elections are held in even-numbered years.
Four of the seven seats on the Montgomery County Public Schools school board in Maryland are up for general election on November 3, 2026. A primary is scheduled for June 23, 2026. The primary filing deadline for this election is February 24, 2026, the general filing deadline for this election is August 3, 2026, and the general write-in filing deadline is October 8, 2026.
Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.
Join the conversation about school board politics
Public participation in board meetings
The board maintains the following policy regarding public testimony during board meetings:[7]
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The Board of Education designates time, during regular board business meetings, for public comments. The Board is interested in hearing a broad range of perspectives from the community during this time. The process for signing up and providing public testimony is outlined below. If you have questions regarding this process, please submit them to BOETestimony@mcpsmd.org. A. Sign-Up Instructions – Regular Board Business Meeting Public Comment Individuals may sign-up to provide public comment at the next Board of Education business meeting HERE. The sign-up period typically opens to the public one week before the business meeting at 6:00 p.m., unless notified otherwise. The meeting will be open to the public and in-person public comments will be permitted. The Board also will continue to accept pre-recorded audio and video submissions for individuals who wish to remain virtual. All testimonies will be made available to the public on BoardDocs. Individuals who wish to provide public comments will register using the online registration form and will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition to the online sign-ups, the Board will return to the practice of in person, same day sign-ups when space allows. Unallocated slots may be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, on the day of the meeting. In order to sign-up in person, please arrive at least 15-20 minutes before the start of the open session and sign the form. In person sign-ups will close 15 minutes before public comment begins or when all slots are filled. Safety Procedures for In-Person Observation and Public Comments
B. Sign-Up Confirmations Up to 20 speakers, will be accepted to provide public comments. These speakers will be accepted as follows:
In the event that the slots reserved for associations/organizations are not filled, those speaking slots will be offered to those individuals who have signed up to speak on an agenda topic on a first-come, first-served basis. C. Public Comment Format & Content Each individual speaker, association and organization will receive two (2) minutes to provide testimony. Once the slots for public comment are filled, speakers will receive a confirmation email with instructions about how to prepare video/audio comments for submission. Please adhere to the submission deadline and instructions which will be included in the confirmation email. All written, video and audio, comments for the meeting should be submitted to BOETestimony@mcpsmd.org. This is not the proper avenue to address specific student or employee matters, especially those matters on appeal to the Board. Comments about the actions or statements of individual staff members are not appropriate for Public Comment and should be referred to the Superintendent of Schools or processed through available channels. Those who are not able to sign up or not selected to provide comments during the meeting, may email comments to BOE@mcpsmd.org. Emails sent to this address are automatically distributed to all Board members and leadership staff. Additional information about public comments may be found in the Board of Education Handbook.[8] |
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School board meetings
The following articles were produced by Citizen Portal using artificial intelligence to analyze public meetings. Citizen Portal publishes articles based on the availability of meeting broadcasts, so the number of articles provided may vary by district. Although these articles are not produced or edited by Ballotpedia, they are included here as a supplemental resource for readers.
District map
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[9]
| SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal: | $364,477,000 | $2,303 | 10% |
| Local: | $2,337,338,000 | $14,772 | 66% |
| State: | $838,473,000 | $5,299 | 24% |
| Total: | $3,540,288,000 | $22,374 |
| TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenditures: | $3,239,385,000 | $20,472 | |
| Total Current Expenditures: | $2,864,178,000 | $18,101 | |
| Instructional Expenditures: | $1,825,000,000 | $11,533 | 56% |
| Student and Staff Support: | $304,234,000 | $1,922 | 9% |
| Administration: | $293,820,000 | $1,856 | 9% |
| Operations, Food Service, Other: | $441,124,000 | $2,787 | 14% |
| Total Capital Outlay: | $280,271,000 | $1,771 | |
| Construction: | $227,378,000 | $1,437 | |
| Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $2,431,000 | $15 | |
| Interest on Debt: | $45,485,000 | $287 |
Teacher salaries
The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.
| Year | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2025[10] | $62,558 | $127,334 |
| 2023-2024[11] | $59,640 | $124,416 |
| 2020[12] | $50,503 | $111,043 |
Academic performance
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[13]
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | 34 | 61 | 20 | 14 | 25-29 | 48 | 53 |
| 2020-2021 | 27 | 53 | 15 | 10 | 20-24 | 39 | 41 |
| 2018-2019 | 48 | 76 | 30 | 25 | 40-44 | 62 | 69 |
| 2016-2017 | 50 | 77 | 32 | 28 | 35-39 | 61 | 70 |
| 2015-2016 | 52 | 77 | 34 | 29 | 40-44 | 62 | 70 |
| 2014-2015 | 46 | 71 | 29 | 25 | 35-39 | 56 | 62 |
| 2013-2014 | 77 | 92 | 62 | 61 | 70-74 | 84 | 91 |
| 2012-2013 | 82 | 94 | 69 | 71 | 80-84 | 88 | 93 |
| 2011-2012 | 86 | 96 | 75 | 77 | 80-84 | 91 | 95 |
| 2010-2011 | 85 | 95 | 72 | 76 | 80-84 | 89 | 94 |
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | 54 | 77 | 44 | 31 | 45-49 | 69 | 75 |
| 2020-2021 | 45 | 65 | 34 | 25 | 35-39 | 59 | 65 |
| 2018-2019 | 55 | 78 | 41 | 33 | 50-54 | 68 | 75 |
| 2016-2017 | 49 | 72 | 34 | 27 | 45-49 | 61 | 68 |
| 2015-2016 | 51 | 73 | 36 | 30 | 45-49 | 62 | 69 |
| 2014-2015 | 52 | 72 | 36 | 30 | 40-44 | 62 | 70 |
| 2013-2014 | 87 | 94 | 79 | 77 | 80-84 | 92 | 95 |
| 2012-2013 | 89 | 95 | 82 | 81 | 90-94 | 94 | 96 |
| 2011-2012 | 90 | 96 | 83 | 84 | 90-94 | 94 | 97 |
| 2010-2011 | 90 | 95 | 83 | 84 | 85-89 | 94 | 97 |
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | 90 | 97 | 91 | 80 | >=50 | 93 | 97 |
| 2020-2021 | 91 | 97 | 91 | 83 | >=80 | 96 | 97 |
| 2019-2020 | 89 | 97 | 91 | 77 | >=50 | 95 | 97 |
| 2018-2019 | 89 | 97 | 90 | 76 | >=50 | 93 | 96 |
| 2017-2018 | 88 | 97 | 90 | 76 | >=80 | 94 | 95 |
| 2016-2017 | 90 | 97 | 88 | 79 | >=80 | 93 | 96 |
| 2015-2016 | 90 | 96 | 88 | 80 | >=80 | 93 | 96 |
| 2014-2015 | 89 | 96 | 87 | 80 | >=50 | 93 | 95 |
| 2013-2014 | 90 | 97 | 86 | 80 | >=80 | 93 | 95 |
| 2012-2013 | 88 | 96 | 84 | 77 | >=80 | 93 | 95 |
| 2011-2012 | 87 | 95 | 82 | 77 | >=80 | 91 | 94 |
| 2010-2011 | 87 | 94 | 81 | 75 | 60-79 | 92 | 94 |
Students
| Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 160,223 | -0.2 |
| 2022-2023 | 160,554 | 1.4 |
| 2021-2022 | 158,231 | -1.5 |
| 2020-2021 | 160,564 | -2.9 |
| 2019-2020 | 165,267 | 1.6 |
| 2018-2019 | 162,680 | 0.7 |
| 2017-2018 | 161,546 | 1.6 |
| 2016-2017 | 159,010 | 1.7 |
| 2015-2016 | 156,380 | 1.2 |
| 2014-2015 | 154,434 | 2.0 |
| 2013-2014 | 151,295 | 1.7 |
| 2012-2013 | 148,780 | 1.6 |
| 2011-2012 | 146,459 | 1.7 |
| 2010-2011 | 144,023 | 1.6 |
| 2009-2010 | 141,722 | 1.7 |
| 2008-2009 | 139,282 | 1.1 |
| 2007-2008 | 137,717 | -0.1 |
| 2006-2007 | 137,814 | -1.1 |
| 2005-2006 | 139,398 | 0.0 |
| 2004-2005 | 139,393 | 0.1 |
| 2003-2004 | 139,201 | 0.2 |
| 2002-2003 | 138,983 | 1.5 |
| 2001-2002 | 136,895 | 2.0 |
| 2000-2001 | 134,180 | 2.6 |
| 1999-2000 | 130,720 | 0.0 |
| RACE | Montgomery County Public Schools (%) | Maryland K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 13.7 | 6.8 |
| Black | 21.6 | 32.5 |
| Hispanic | 35.2 | 22.8 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 5.2 | 5.3 |
| White | 23.8 | 32.2 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Staff
As of the 2023-2024 school year, Montgomery County Public Schools had 11,712.54 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 13.68.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten: | 255.20 |
| Kindergarten: | 560.00 |
| Elementary: | 6,203.44 |
| Secondary: | 4,693.90 |
| Total: | 11,712.54 |
Montgomery County Public Schools employed 948.10 district administrators and 579.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
|---|---|
| District Administrators: | 948.10 |
| District Administrative Support: | 314.46 |
| School Administrators: | 579.00 |
| School Administrative Support: | 889.38 |
| TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
|---|---|
| Instructional Aides: | 2,525.19 |
| Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 507.85 |
| Total Guidance Counselors: | 581.40 |
| Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 270.05 |
| Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 311.35 |
| Librarians/Media Specialists: | 203.12 |
| Library/Media Support: | 128.28 |
| Student Support Services: | 1,195.80 |
| Other Support Services: | 4,441.26 |
Schools
Contact information
Montgomery County Public Schools
15 W. Gude
Suite 400
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: 240-740-3000
About school boards
Education legislation in Maryland
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
| Maryland | School Board Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Montgomery County Public Schools
- Maryland Association of Boards of Education
- Maryland State Department of Education
Footnotes
- ↑ [https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/superintendent/#:~:text=Dr.,tenure%20on%20July%201%2C%202024. Montgomery County Public Schools, "Thomas W. Taylor, Ed.D., M.B.A. Superintendent," accessed April 17, 2025]
- ↑ Orangeburg native named acting head of Maryland school district, "The Times and Democrat," March 28, 2021
- ↑ Montgomery County Public Schools, "Dr. Smith’s Biography," accessed April 1, 2021
- ↑ Montgomery County Public Schools, "Larry Bowers, Interim Superintendent," accessed April 1, 2021
- ↑ Montgomery County Public Schools, "Superintendent of Schools: Biography," accessed November 9, 2019
- ↑ Fox 5 DC, "EXCLUSIVE: Former MCPS superintendent Joshua Starr speaks out after resignation," September 21, 2015
- ↑ Montgomery County Public Schools, "Public Participation: Public Comments at Board Meetings," accessed April 1, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ Montgomery County Public Schools, "10-Month Teacher & Other Professional Salary Schedule* Effective July 1, 2024," accessed April 17, 2025
- ↑ Montgomery County Public Schools, "10-Month Teacher & Other Professional Salary Schedule* Effective July 1, 2023," accessed February 5, 2024
- ↑ Montgomery County Public Schools, "FY 2020 Salary Schedules, Effective July 1, 2019," accessed April 1, 2021
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, ""State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation,"" accessed February 25, 2021
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