The Montgomery County Board of Education approved a $3.72 billion Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget on June 4 that eliminates 415 positions across Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), including all 46 English composition assistant positions countywide. The decision follows months of budget discussions as MCPS works to close a $36 million gap between the district’s funding request and the amount ultimately approved by the County Council.
While the cuts affect employees throughout the district, students will feel the impact through the loss of a resource that is relied on for writing assignments, college applications, scholarship essays and other academic support. “Every time, without exaggeration, that I have visited it I have left more knowledgeable and rhetorically effective; with the Writing Center’s support, I have won contests and been accepted into prestigious programs,” junior Daniela Naaman said.
President of the Board Grace Rivera-Oven described the reductions as “agonizing choices,” according to the MCPS website.
The financial challenges facing MCPS extend beyond staffing reductions. “One-third of the CIP requests are unfunded. More than half of the projects were delayed. There are facility planning dollars that have been zeroed out,” Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor said during a May Board of Education meeting.
Among the positions eliminated were the English composition assistants, who work directly with students throughout the writing process. Teachers invite them into classrooms when major writing assignments are introduced, allowing students to receive individualized support. They also staff school Writing Centers and provide one-on-one assistance outside of class. “A lot of times it’s very normal for students to be a little reticent to ask for help. By pulling us into the classroom, we’re there, and it’s a little less stigmatizing than, say, coming to the Writing Center during lunch,” English composition assistant Regina Gretschel said.
The Writing Center is especially busy during the fall, when students are seeking help with their college essays. “Being a rising senior, I can confidently say that I have not been so anxious about the college application process with my knowledge of strategies that the English Composition Assistants have shared with me patiently, enthusiastically and extensively, as well as the comfort of their guidance through the process,” Naaman said.
Not only do these cuts create a significant uncertainty for employees whose jobs were on the line, but they also remove an important source of academic support for students preparing for life after high school. “MCPS has a good reputation of graduating college-ready students. This is foundational to starting your life as an MCPS graduate, going out into the world, going to college,” Gretschel said.
Although district leaders said the reductions were necessary to balance the budget, the elimination of English composition assistants represents a significant change for schools across the county. For students who relied on writing support services, the effects of the Board’s decision will likely be felt beginning next school year because Writing Centers will remain open for the rest of this school year.
