Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Montgomery County Council and this evening is the fourth of five public hearings on the FY26 operating budgets and FY26 to 31 public services program and fiscal policy for the following. Montgomery County Government, Montgomery College, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, WSSC Water and Montgomery County Public Schools. Council committees will conduct work sessions on the budgets beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9th, and the full council work sessions will begin on Monday, May 5th. The committee schedule is available on the council's website. Everyone who has registered to speak has and should be afford the opportunity to testify. We ask that you keep a pause and noise to a minimum so not to distract the speakers so that we can also hear them. Also, per our rules of the hearing room, please don't hold up signs if you block the person behind you. And we ask that you keep the aisles clear so folks can get in and out. As a reminder of our public hearing testimony guidelines, your comments must be limited to issues relevant to the public hearing topic for which you are testifying and are appropriate for a public meeting. You'll hear a tone when your time is up and we appreciate everybody abiding by there a lot of time. I want to thank everyone for coming. I will also say I will, if I mispronounce your name, please just correct me. And I appreciate again everyone coming this evening. We have our first panel tonight, and we're going to start with Gloria, Apoceper, see, I knew I was going to do Apocerizio Blackwell. I said, Gloria, I had to be with you the the first one. I'm going to start with you. Sorry. Now, okay, good evening. My name is Gloria Aparisio Blackwell. I'm the Chair of the Montgomery College Board of Trustees. The board is grateful that we can count on you to help the college. With your support, MC will continue to unlock potential, transform life, and feel the workforce. Together with you, the college more than 45,000 students can seize opportunities like I did many years ago and then become the homegrown workforce our county needs. With a 7% increase in enrollment over the last year, we need your continued commitment. And we need your support to keep MC affordable. This budget will keep to issue flat. And this budget will enable the college to provide fair and reasonable compensation adjustment to the faculty and staff. And we do this without new funds, new county funds and pretty sure that you're going to upload that. Trustees are proud that the college remains a steadfast anchor in the community. This is clear with the college effort to bring MC to the community. As a result, the enrollment first time college students have risen for the past three years. The success of the East County Education Center, the center has served more than 50,000 residents in this first year has surpassed the thousand goals that we have. Efforts to immediately support displays further workers with any array of resources, including job fairs, short-term training credentials, and credit for prior work experience, and much more. We know that you're proud of Montgomery College as well. We are thankful for your support. On behalf of the Montgomery College Board of Trustees, President Williams, faculty of staff, alumni, like me, I ask you to please prove the college FY26 operating budget. I know you have a lot of demands. Thank you for all you do for our community and for Montgomery College. Thank you so much, go raptors. Thank you so much. Now we have ERAIDA Burruda. Thank you, good evening. I'm members of the council. I am Mirayda, both of them. I'm an educator with MCPS. I'm a member of the union of administrators and I'm principal of East Silver Spring Elementary School. I unite my voices with all of those who are advocating to fully fund the budget that supports the work we do to elevate teaching and learning. I'm also advocating for the needs of my school community. In the 2023 school year, we had a farm rate of 64 percent that students receiving free and reduced meals. In the 2024 school year, our farm rate was 80%. That's an increase of almost 20% in one year. That increase also brought us needs, increase needs, families with food insecurity, with homeless status, and also an increase in academic needs. We've done a lot to meet the social emotional needs of students and families, and we've partnered with many organizations in order to connect our families to food, clothing, medical resources, job training, and even housing support. These things have had an impact on students, but there is still a need to spend more time and resources in order to support the closing of learning gaps. At the end of last school year, there were 53% of our students in grades 3 through 5, who were performing on grade level in reading. There's still a lot of work for us to do in order to prepare our students. We began working with AIM and Montgomery last school year in order to begin learning more about Excel beyond the bell and how we would be able to bring that to our students. Those are the reasons why we are advocating for the after school program. This program will allow us to extend the learning day to provide students with more time in academics, with some time for recreation, and it also includes a hat meal. We know that the greatest learning impact comes when we're able to spend more time with smaller groups of students. We believe this extended learning opportunity will elevate the teaching and learning experience in our community. It will help our students strengthen their foundational skills and set them on the pathway to college and career readiness. I ask that you pass the budget to improve Excel beyond the bell for our school community and thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Diana Bird. Diana Bird. You can turn on your microphone. Yeah. Great. Good evening, councilmembers. I am a proud fourth grade teacher at Burt Mills Elementary School. I'm here today to ask for your support in funding linkages to learning for our school. Because I've seen firsthand how much our students need this. Every day I teach bright, curious, resilient kids, but I also see the weight that some of them carry. Kids who come to school tired because they didn't sleep well in a crowded home or who struggle to focus because they're worried about where their next meal may come from, who act out not because they're bad but because they're hurting and they don't have the words to ask for help. We talk a lot about academic success, but the truth is learning can't happen when basic needs are not being met. As educators, we know Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Before a child can focus on reading or math, they need to feel safe, cared for, and emotionally supported. That's exactly what linkages to learning would bring to Burt Mills. On-site therapists, case workers, and mental health services that meet families where they are. It's not just about responding to crises, it's about building long-term stability so our kids can truly thrive. So today, I'm asking you to please help us give our students what they need in order to succeed. Please fund linkages to learning at Burnt Mills Elementary. Your support could truly change the trajectory of a child's life. Thank you so much for your time and your consideration. Thank you. Thank you. Jeff Egan? I'm Jeff Egan. That's... Good evening, Council President Kate Stewart and members of the County Council. I'm in fifth grade at Burnt Mills Elementary School, otherwise known as BMEs. Today I'll talk about how we need linkages to learning at Bur meals. I came to burnt meals at third grade. My first day was at third day. I was worried about coming to a new school and not knowing anybody. I was really shy and scared until Carly and came up to me and said, do you want to be friends? I'm new too. We could play together at recess. I felt comfortable and less worried. Burnt meals is special because they try their best to provide as much as they can, like food bags every other Friday. I help with passing the food bags out. BMES also provides English classes for families, yoga classes, and Excel beyond the bell after school program. Our school also provides a cozy closet. This winter a lot of children didn't have coats. Miss Brown and Miss Gordon brought kids to the cozy closet in their office to size them with nice coats. Some kids even got gloves. That way we all could play outside for recess. Also, a blue and green van sometimes comes to support children with therapy. For example, one of my friends lost her biological father. She goes to the van on Fridays and Wednesdays and I think it helps her get her mind off of things, but the van is not permanent. We need a permanent therapist to help students and we need a case worker to help with newcomers and others. For example, me and my siblings, we work together to help my parents to fill some forms and we think and know that other people are struggling to fill out forms, especially for families who do not speak English. We think a case worker could really help these families. Members of the County Council, we ask that you support. The executive's recommended $414,000 for our new linkages to learning program at Burnt Mills Elementary School. I know everyone's really excited, but there's a lot of folks here who need to get a chance to speak. So if we could just hold you close to maybe the whole panel's done. Is that okay? I appreciate you. Yvonne Brooks, little. Good evening, council members. My name is Sheree Callahan and I am here representing Water's Landing Elementary School in partnership with Action in Montgomery. I moved here to Germantown four years ago with three of my four daughters. I came here during COVID and in the middle of a divorce after 13 years of marriage so as you can probably imagine, I need an environment of support and community. I grew up in a time where it took a village and I still believe that. I don't know about you, but I believe that. When I first moved to Germantown, I didn't know anyone. I came here, alone, no friends, no church home, no neighbors, no communities. So I pretty much say to myself, after about a year I met a staff member at Water's Landing Elementary named Miss Moore. She started connecting me to people, to resources, to staff members, and I began to kind of open up a little bit, even a couple of entities. Now I'm a dance dance mom for the Waters Landing Tides Dance Team. I'm a member of the Together We Drive Women's Group and a partner with Action in Montgomery. And most importantly, I'm a passionate parent and advocate for my children. So, along with the parents, the grandparents, the friends, the families, the loved ones, and the supporters that are here with me today watching and are all over Germantown, we want this award-winning Excel Beyond the Bell after school program at our school, because this will give our children an opportunity to engage in recreation through the power of play, social interaction, and skill building with friends, an environment that will stimulate learning, provide academic enrichment, nutritional wellness with hot meals, and community connection, which promotes a pathway to student success. And as you know, the students are future. They need to be successful. Water's landing is here together with East Silver Spring because we have a long-term vision that the children in Title I elementary schools will have the access to high quality after school programs. Today we ask members of the council, especially members of planning, housing, and park. We ask that you support county executives recommended $688,000 to expand Excel beyond the bill to waters landing and East Silver Spring Elementary schools. Because as I stated earlier, it takes a village. So we need you as part of our village. We are a community here in Germantown, and we stand to strong together as one from all walks of life, from every background, to advocate for our children, for our future. So please stand with us in support of Excel beyond the bill. Thank you. Thank you so much. Mola. Mola. Yeah. Mora. Yeah. Mora. Yeah. Me llamo Miguelina Tejada. Soy Maestra de tercero y grado. El Escuela Primario, Worsh Lending. Y un membra tipo de nuestra comunidad. Estoy aquí esta noche representando a todas nuestras familias. Para asegurar que nuestro sueño se haga realidad. Que es el vio de veo. I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I'm not going to say that I I El Víñón de Béu, y Vivi les brindaría a nuestros niños la oportunidad de socializarse, sentirse seguros y participar en actividades enriquecedoras, hacer amigos y relarse después de un día de clase. My name is Miguelina Tejada. I am a third grade teacher at Water's Landing Elementary School and an active member of our community. I am here tonight representing all of our families to help ensure that our dream becomes a reality, bringing Excel beyond the bell to Waters Landing Elementary School for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. As a teacher, I have witnessed inexperience how our children thrive and grow when they have a structure routine and support of adults around them. I recognize and would and truly believe that Excel beyond the bell will give our children the opportunity to socialize, feel safe, engage in reaching activities, make friends and unwind after a long school day. We know that the EBB program is extremely important and greatly beneficial, not only for our children, but also for our working parents. Many families in our community rely on after-school care for their children between the end of the school day and the end of the work day. Our families deserve to have affordable programs that offer the peace of mind that their children are safe, engaged, and climbing. Por eso, what is lending, se une a la espada primaria, es su sprint. Junto os creemos que nuestros niños deben tener acceso a las mismas oportunidades de alta calidad que otros estudiantes de nuestro distrito ya están disfrutando. Esta noche le estadimos a los miembros del Consejo del Condado. the especially the committee of members of the committee of the committee of the Planning Committee, Vivienda y Parques, that can be achieved this great task. We also ask you to support the recommendation of 168,000 of the executive of the Condado to expand the Excel Beyond the Bell in what is lending in East Surveyspring Elementary School together. We believe that our children should have access to the same high quality opportunities that other students in our district are already enjoying. Tonight we are asking the county council members, especially the planning housing and parks committee to support us in achieving this great goal. We also ask the U-Support of the County Executive's recommendation of $688,000 to expand Excel beyond the bill a waters landing in East Silver Spring. This is an important investment in our children, in our families, and especially for the benefit of our future communities. Let's give our children the opportunities they deserve to grow, learn, and be supported beyond the school day. Thank you. Woo! Woo! Now we can give you all around the applause. Thank you for our very first panel of the evening. We appreciate each and every one of you for coming out tonight. All right, our next panel is Linda Litzinghizer, Marla Schulman, Alexandra Bell, Liz Purcell, Ramatu B Bakori. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'm going to go to the you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Do we have Linda? Yes. Whenever you're ready, Linda, you can start. I'm so sorry. Good evening, Council President Kate Stewart and members of the county council. I'm a proud first grade teacher at Burtonel's Elementary, a community school dedicated to supporting each student and every family. Our amazing principal, Dr. Ashton, began a recent staff meeting with this quote, we build bridges and breakdown barriers. As educators, this describes the most important work we do, which often extends beyond the school day. This involves making sure families feel valued and supported and includes finding resources to support their health and well-being. When a first grader quietly requests an extra breakfast Andre so her mom can eat that day, or a father shares his fear that his family won't be able to find a doctor, you don't have to be a teacher to understand that our school community struggles to access necessities that many of us may take for granted. At Burnt Mills, our farms rate is currently 84%. This number proves that our families would benefit from additional programs that we are not yet able to provide. However, there is a clear solution. The partnership committed to healthy communities known as linkages to learning. We know physical and emotional well-being is fundamental to students' ability to grow and learn. Having a variety of services at our school will eliminate barriers by providing access to essential supports for our families. This will benefit students now and set them up for long-term success. As a community, let's ensure that our students and their families have the support they need to thrive. Thank you, County Executive Mark Elrich, for proposing $200,000 to add linkages to learning to Burt Mills. But we haven't crossed the finish line yet. Let's continue to build bridges and break down those barriers. We need county council to make this dream a reality. Thank you. Thank you. Marla Schulman. Good evening Council members. My name is Bill Schauman and I'm a member of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Silver Spring, a member of Action and Montgomery. Our church is located directly across the street from East Silver Spring Elementary School and over the years we've built a strong relationship with the school community. Tonight, I'm here to support the inclusion of funding in the FY26 operating budget for the expansion of the Exxal Beyond the Bell Elementary Program to two Title I schools east Silver Spring and water is landing. Montgomery County is home to one of the best departments of recreation in the country. One that has consistently shown its ability to build community support families and provide safe and enriching spaces for our youth. The Excel Beyond the Bell program is one of its most successful efforts offering academic support, recreation, and mentorship beyond the regular school day. Many parents work long or regular hours and they need to know their children are in a safe and nurturing space after 3pm. Not just for safety, but for their continued growth and learning. We are here together with Waters-Laniela Elementary School because we share a long-term vision that every child attending a Title I elementary school in Montgomery County should have access to this very high-quality program. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Alexandra Bell. Good evening, Council President Kate Stewart, members of the County Council. My name is Carlos Camacho. I was born and raised in Montgomery County and currently live in North Bethesda. Today I'm representing myself in action in Montgomery. I will testify in support of the county executive's FY26 budget but I would like to implore the council to increase its investment in quality affordable and accessible early childhood education. I embody three generations living in Montgomery County. Just as my parents came to the county to provide me with a solid foundation for success, I too am now attempting to do the same for my children. However, because of the high cost of childcare, I am doubtful I will be able to stay here in the county I love. My wife and I are both graduates of the University of Maryland and dedicated public servants. we earn about 140% of the median household income in Montgomery County and yet we still struggle to afford childcare for a two and a half-year-old daughter Dahlia Dahlia is vivacious and sweet. She loves going to the park and curious George's her favorite book and no one is more excited In Dahlia about the arrival of her new baby brother Leo who's two and a half months old when both D dolly and Leo need childcare, we are going to struggle. Already, like many other young parents, the current cost of childcare is forcing us to forgo critical milestones, such as purchasing a home and saving for retirement. And because of this, we will likely need to move outside of the county. Let me remind you, the data show, for every $1 spent on quality pre-K, Society receives anywhere from $4 to $12 in returns on investment, and positive impacts on educational attainment, employment, health, truancy, and criminality. Furthermore, 2017 meta-analysis found that on average, participation in pre-K leads to statistically significant reductions in special education placement, in grade grade repetition and increases in high school graduation rates. In other words, early childhood education is a priceless investment, but we only get one narrow window in each child's life to achieve this impact. Will I commend the county executive for his investment in MCPS and early childhood education? If we are serious about decreasing the achievement gap, then we must make a historic investment to make universal early childhood education a reality. As you examine the budget and committee, we urge you to ask, how will this budget help build capacity towards the blueprint goals for pre-K expansion? On what timeline, where all three and four year olds have access to full day high quality pre-K? How many seats will MCPS and HHS create in fill? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next I have Rammatoo Bakori. Good evening, Council President Stewart and members of the county council.. My name is Rama Tubakori. I'm back again today to speak with you about the need of affordable pre-K. I am a mother of six children from age three to twenty-two living in Montgomery, Village, Maryland. I am here to talk to about the need for affordable pre-K for our three and four years of children in Montgomery County. From my family pre-K on Child Care subsidy program and the work in parent assistant program has supported my children education and development. And it has also been very important to me because it gives me the opportunity to go to work. while my two youngest Fatima and Amir are in a healthy, safe, and learned environment. But even with this help, I still have to nearly come out with over a thousand dollar each a month to cover the care expenses. What we have right now is too fragmented, patching together scholarship with the mess of paperwork and is left apparent to pick to figure things out. As headache is very stressful to go through these bureaucratic requirements. And let me give you an example. For my first application was CCS, childcare scholarship. I had to reapply three times in order to get an approval. My first application was denied because the letter from my employer state and my salary was not enough. My second application was denied because the fund of my first pay stop was too small and I then had to escalate it to request a supervisor. So that's for someone like me who speak and read in English and is comfortable with technology. Imagine what is like for those who cannot. Isn't that just me? There are many others. And I just last week I was having a conversation with a family. They did apply for pre-K and Montgomery County. Wes Deni, the family Earth and Kintam DC because DC has the program available. A universal pre-k program will make easier for a lot of parents, including the children too. If today we get a promotion, we don't have to go through calculation whether we can afford this promotion because of the child care expense that we have to cover. The first step of getting the universal, getting us universal pre-K is to come up with a collective vision and plan for expansion. Council members, we commend the county executive for recommending $6.3 million more for working parent assistance program than last year. However, what we have currently is a fragmented system. There are 35,200 children aged 35, months to 60 months in Montgomery County and 29,300 children aged 35 to 60 months are enrolled in pre-K program. What is the point for the remaining 5,900 children for who they are not in off seat. So how will this year budget support a holistic approach that does not compromise the place in children in pre-K seat? Thank you. Thank you to our second panel. Thank you for everyone coming out tonight. I will call up now the next panel. Airelida, Ludesma, David Modi, Osslin Diaz, Grace Chi. And Dr.. Christine handy come up. So Oh, she's She's Dr. Handy's hobbling. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. There are LIDA. Buenos noches, membros del consejo. Folks could just be a little quiet so that we could hear the speakers. Thank you very much. Erolida. Buenas noches, miembros del consejo. Mi nombre es Arilei de Ledisma. Vivo en clasbor. Tengo tres hijos. Mi hijo menor y ya tiene cuatro años. Consejales del contado de Montgomery. Les pedimos que faciliten el acceso y la expansión de plazas de pre-kinder para nuestros niños. Los padres necesitamos información accesible y centralizada en varios lugares del condado durante todo el año. Servicios de interpretación disponible preferiblemente del personal bilingual y la creación urgente de más puestos de pre-kinder de todo el día para los niños de tres y cuatro años de nuestro condado. Good evening, Council Members. My name is Aralai D. Les Dema and I live in Cardsport. I am the mother of three children and my youngest son, Ian, is four years old. Montgomery County Council Members, we ask that you make it easier to access and expand pre-kindergarten spaces for children. Parents need accessible and centralized information in various locations throughout the county year round, preferably with bilingual staff available for interpretation, and the urgent creation of more full day pre-kindergarten spots for all three and four years old in North County. mi hijo necesitaba más ayuda del que yo podía brindarle en casa. Pero encontrar un programa accesible para nuestra economía fue un desafío enorme debido a la falta de información clara sobre el acceso a estos servicios en el condado. Llegué a sentirme desesperada. Como no tengo vehículo y no hablo inglés bien, tuve que trasladarme en autobús con IAR a distintas ofic different offices and programs. I was requesting a doctor to communicate and express my inquiries. In several occasions, the offices at the KQD did not have the service of interpretation, which still makes our situation more difficult. My son Ian is a sweet and smart child who has been receiving speech therapy for over a year. Over two years ago, I realized that he needed more support than I could provide at home. But finding a suitable program for him that was also affordable for our family was a huge challenge due to the lack of clear information about accessing the services in the county. I began to feel desperate. Since I don't have a car in my English, it's not very good. I had to take the bus with Ian to different offices in programs requesting an interpreter so that I could communicate and express my concerns. On several occasions, the offices I visited did not have interpretation services, which made our situation even more difficult. At the beginning, I was told that there was no program or available space for it. What I was forced to do with constant follow-ups in the offices of the Condado and MSPX. In this process I consume my time and my energy. In addition for Ian which forced me to constantly follow up with county offices and MCPS. This process drained my timing energy in addition to subjecting my son to multiple evaluations with different specialists to prove his needs and ensure that he would be considered for an appropriate program. After several months of struggle, I finally secured a spot for Ian in the preschool education program where he attends for only two and a half hours a day. Despite the limited time, I have seen great progress in my son. He now speaks more and is doing better overall. I am grateful, but this is not enough. No podemos permitir que niño comoían y muchos otros pierdan la oportunidad de acced to work and study to contribute in the economy of my home. And many parents are in the same or worse situation. There are families who have next year. We want equal opportunities for all children in Montgomery County. Access to preschool and there are also directly impacts that will be in a family. I need to work and study to contribute to the economy of my household. And many other parents are in the same or worse circumstances. There are families that having even managed to secure a place for their children in preschool or children deserve better opportunities. Thank you. Thank you, thank you very much. Now we have David Modi. President Stewart, members of the council, thank you for the opportunity to testify tonight. I am Dave Modi, it's pronounced Modi. Longer, that's okay, everybody gets it wrong. So I tell my kids to get used to it. I live in Durawood and I've lived in Montgomery County for over 40 years. And I'm speaking on behalf of the roughly 100 people who participate in the recreation department's 55 and over a drop in soccer program. These 100 players come from all corners of the county. They're a nice mix of women and men. We play at the Nancy Day Sack North Potomac Community Center, and we play in the morning, and we play year-round. Even in the coldest days of winter, we played this winter and froze our arms off. And we play in the driving rainstorm, so much so that the staff at the center think we're nuts, and we are a little crazy. The only time we didn't play was when we had all that snow in January, when the field was covered nice and snow and we have some limitations. We don't want to get hurt. The benefits of this program are, in my opinion, immeasurable. The first and foremost, perhaps, are the physical aspects of playing in a aerobic sport like soccer. From my perspective, I do about four miles a day when I play, and many other participants tell me that they do more, five or even five and a half. One player, cardiologist, even said to me that the program is saving lives because it gets people off their butts and out into the field playing. So, any other benefit we have, which is not as well known, is the socialization that comes from playing. I've met so many new friends. I played soccer in the county for 40 years. Yet I still met a lot of people who also played soccer for 40 years. And we never met until now. We will participate, commits before we play, while we play. We take time out the chat we think, and afterwards we'll sit there in the parking lot on the field. Sometimes people go to lunch. It's a wonderful way for us older people to stay in touch with other people that share a similar interest. And since we play on weekday mornings, most of our participants are retired. There are a few who play hooky for more, but I'm happy to say none of those accounting employees. So there's no problem there. And therefore, these people, most of the retirees, have options as to where to live. They don't have to live in Montgomery County. But having this program available gives them another reason to stay in the county and add richness to the programs that we have in Montgomery County. One of the earlier speakers talked about what the recreation department does for the young kids. This is what they do for the older people. And I'd be remiss not to mention the other 55 and other programs we see at the Nancy Dase, the Community Center, Pickleball, Basketball, aerobics, Ma Zhang and many others. So we urge the county to maintain full funding for the 55 and overdropper in program at the WEC Reation Department. And thank you again for your time. Thank you, thank you so much. Next we have Aslan DS. Good evening Council members. My name is Aslan DS. I'm a junior rabbit as a church high school. I'm the advocacy chair for our Latino student union and I am also involved in a number of other student groups and sports teams. Actually just came here from a football practice. I'm here tonight to ask you to fully fund the MCPS operating budget and to make sure that money goes towards real student center solutions such as restorative justice. Not more surveillance or punishment. We need MCPS to take restorative justice seriously everywhere. And that means having trained full-time staff whose job is to help students work through conflict, rebuild trust, and strengthen our school communities. Right now I feel there are major problems with student discipline and treatment at BCC. There are major differences in how students of color are treated at our school and even when students are in the wrong no restorative approaches are taken. A few months ago there was a fight near BCC that ended with a gun being fired. One student was arrested but others, some who didn't even fight, were suspended or expelled. Just a week later an Afro-Lutino student brought a toy gun to school and was arrested and charged as an adult. Even though his family had asked the school for support and teachers had tried to help instead of care or connection, both situations were met with harsh punishment and even staff who try to help those involved were reprimanded. This is what happens when we focus on discipline and image instead of care and connection. Students aren't just being suspended, they're being pushed out of school and into systems that don't care about them either. And it's not just those two cases, I've seen it up close. One time I was with my friend, He had torn his ACL from the football season and was using crutches. When he let me accompany him on the elevator at our school, a member of staff yelled at us and threatened to take away his elevator key. That was the response, no kindness, no understanding, just a threat. Students are being suspended for things like opening side doors. There is no real conversation, no effort to understand what's going on in our lives, just punishment. So we try to speak out. As for those incidents, students from the Latino, Southern Union, Black Southern Union, and the Equity Justice Initiative came together to write a letter to our principal and the Board of Education. We shared our stories, our concerns, and asked for help. But instead of support, we were pressured to apologize. Some teachers got angry thinking we wanted the principal fired. They held a walk-in to support him, but no one showed up for us. No walk- but instead of support, we were pressured to apologize. Some teachers got angry thinking we wanted the principal fired. They held a walk-in to support him, but no one showed up for us. No walk-in for the students of color who are asking for help. It was a clear message. Our voices don't matter. But I'm here anyway, because we're not giving up. Our school needs restorative justice, real restorative justice that centers healing, accountability, and connection, but it only works of schools Invest in it. The students being suspended and ignored on just numbers. They're my friends my teammates my neighbors I've grown up with them. They're like family to me. That's why I heard to see them treated unfairly Punished instead of supported. They deserve to be heard and they deserve real help. We all do. Please make sure this budget truly Supports the students who need it. Polar sort of justice at the center of MCPS. Hold schools accountable and most importantly, listen to what students are saying. Because we're telling you exactly what we need. I hope this time our voices won't be ignored. Thank you. Thank you. Grace Chief. Good evening, county council and Council Member Lutki. My name is Grace Chi and I'm a freshman in the Global Ecology Program at Postville High School and a former student at Nielsville Middle School. In my six grade year at Nielsville, I witnessed countless physical, altercations and disputes between my peers that could have been easily prevented with the use of counselors and psychiatrists. But guess what? The administrators at Newsville took evidently took note of this and there was a clear decrease of fights in the years afterwards. They utilized school safety officers, security guards and prioritized the mental health of students. Thus, As prioritising students helped and decreased the fights that happened at Nielsville, and the years afterwards, that decreased significantly. Although there are still authorizations at Nielsville, there has been a strong study progress made to combat physical violence with the use of mental health and professional support. Council Member Lukey, the students who attended my formal middle school are directly impacted by your decisions, especially those that reside in Montgomery Village. Then, that later attend Wackens Mill High School. Like the initiative taken at Nielsville, safety and mental wellbeing must be prioritized in all schools. Just a few days ago, there's a stabbing at Wackens Mill High School a tragic reminder that when schools are under resourced, safety will suffer at the expense of students. Kamila, who is a current student at Watkins Mill High School, who went to Nielso with me, detailed her concerns regarding school safety. Stating, when I heard about the stabbing, I was terrified. I couldn't focus for the rest of the day, and I was just worried. This fear should never be normalized in any environment. It falsers negative learning conditions and such incidents like these could be prevented with adequate mental health, guidance and the addition of the 52 new security guards included in the new budget. However, across the county, there are ever occurring problems created by a lack of funding. An anecdote from Vinion, a freshman of the soon to be shut down curriculum in agricultural sciences education or the case program I share with high school notes. I love the case program. I've learned a lot that will help me in the future. However, we're not able to do what the program is truly meant to be because of a lack of funding. It is so incredibly important to have a budget that is fully funded to prioritize safety, well-being, and academic excellence. With when students lack support, when schools are under resourced, problems don't go away. They get bigger. Full funding is visibly responsible. It helps prevent future dropouts, core involvement and community instability. Investing now means saving money and lives down the road. Councilmember Luki, I want to thank you for championing policies that keep our communities healthy, informed and safe. I, as a student, ask that you extend the same leadership to schools. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Dr. Christine Handy. Good evening, President Kate Stewart and members of the County Council. My name is Dr. Christine Handy and I proudly serve as the president of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principal. The union representing dedicated leaders who got our schools and support the daily operations of Montgomery County Public Schools. I am here tonight to urge you to fully fund the MCPS budget because at its core this is not just a budget it requests. It is a statement of our shared priorities. Our children, our schools and the future we are building together. Student learning is and must always be our first priority. We know that students to see when they are surrounded by high quality teachers, strong principals and skilled leadership teams. But great schools don't run on passion alone. They require investment. We also know that schools are not sustained by instruction alone. Students rely on transportation, meals, clean and safe buildings, and the central office teams that ensure quality teaching and learning across every school. It takes every arm of the school system working together to support student success. And here Montgomery County, we must acknowledge the financial realities. The cost of living and working in Montgomery County is already significantly high. With inflation, global tariffs, and rise in consumer prices, the cost of living is only increasing. That is why it is essential that we uphold the negotiated compensation agreements. Agreements made in good faith between the school system and its employees. These agreements are not bonuses. They are cost of living adjustments. They ensure that the educators and administrators who serve our students can't afford to work here. Without competitive compensation, we cannot attract or retain the high-calibre professionals our students deserve. And let me be clear. Our employees have stepped up. This year we agreed to more than $30 million in savings to changes in our health benefits, understanding the financial pressures on the system. That's a significant sacrifice, may because we care deeply about the mission of public education. But now we are asking the county council to do its part to keep the promises made and to invest in the future. Here in Montgomery County, we have long believed that education is the great equalizer. It opens doors, it lifts communities, it gives our children the tools that they need in a rapidly changing world. Fully funding this budget and upholding our compensation agreement sends a powerful message That even in times of uncertainty We will not compromise the future of our students. I thank you so much for your time and your energy and your commitment to public education Thank each of you Thank you all. Thank you to this panel and for coming this evening. Our next panel includes Pierre Morrison, David Stein, Mitch Tropin, Dustin Jeater, James Aulrich. It's like they all started here. Okay. Here you can start us off when you're ready. Good evening, council president Stewart and honorable members of the Montgomery County Council. My name is Pia Morrison and I serve as president of SCIU local 500 representing over 10,000 educational support professionals at Montgomery County Public Schools. I am here today to passionately urge you to fully fund Montgomery County Public Schools budget to meet the urgent and growing needs of our staff and students, especially the growing student population receiving special education services. Education is indeed the foundation of our community and it shapes the future of our children, our economy and our society. Under funding special education services does not just impact the students who require them, it also affects everyone in the classroom throughout the county. Special education teachers and parent educators are struggling with unmanageable workloads, limited human resources, and no or limited practical professional development opportunities. Our students who require additional support deserve timely evaluations, services, and interventions to reach their full potential. Budget constraints should never dictate the future of students in Montgomery County. How will County Council members face the community and ask them to support reelection if they refuse to invest in the future of our children? Investing in our children's education is not just a moral, legal, and social responsibility. It is also good business. Businesses are attracted to communities with highly educated citizens. Our members have given. We have made significant concessions around health care to support Montgomery County public schools. But our members give because they have a deep love for students and for the community that they serve. Now is not the time to turn your backs on the students and the staff that support them. Thank you so much. Thank you. David Stein. Hello, President Stewart, Vice President Joondo and County Council members. My name is David Stein and I'm the President of the Montgomery County Education Association representing 14,000 Certificated Educators across MCPS. Today I am proud to join my fellow Union Presidents from SCIU Local 500 and McCap in calling on the County Council to fully fund next year's school budget. Montgomery County has long been viewed as a national leader because of its excellent informable public schools. Countless families have moved here because of the schools. Together, all of us have forged Montgomery County's crowning jewel MCPS, but honestly, that crowning jewel is beginning to lose its luster. A flourishing school system doesn't just attract families, it attracts businesses as well. MCPS plays a crucial role in attracting tax dollars, residential and commercial property and income tax dollars that are used to fund other county priorities like housing, libraries and parks. Investing in schools is a smart investment strategy. This budget helps us recruit and retain the very best educators that our students deserve. It allows the district to hire in high need areas including special education, English language development and school safety. My current role, I get to visit in high-need areas, including special education, English language development and school safety. And my current role, I get to visit schools across all over the county. And what do I see? Hardworking educators struggling and understaffed and underfunded classrooms. The situation in special education is particularly dire. Teachers, both special ed and general educators are at their wits end and they're with us, with you, to fill the vacancies and get their students the support they need. This proposed budget begins to mend that problem by adding in crucial positions, both teachers and paraprofessionals and converting TPP to permanent positions. I think of one particular first grade teacher who has a young student with difficulty regulating and communicating their needs. This reflects in yelling out, hitting, destroying property, etc. But when that student finally got a supporting paraprofessional, the changes were rapid. The student raised their hand for the first time and yes hugged their teacher at the end of the day. Today we are witnessing unprecedented attacks on public education by elected politicians, the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Ed, the termination of its employees, attacks on inclusive curriculum and efforts to siphon off public education dollars. Are we going to double down on that tragic abandonment of schools or are we willing to stand up and say not here? In Montgomery County we we should be protecting our most vulnerable students, our special ed students, students in poverty and our urgent multilingual learners. We need to be saying here, we have your backs not by underfunding these students and their teachers, but by beginning to return the Luster to MCPS and move all of our students forward. And finally, council members, should you make the unfortunate decision to underfund this budget, you have an obligation to say what you are cutting. Is it compensation? Is it special ed? Is it EML? Is it security? Please be transparent and let the community know where you stand. But I hope you will join all of us by making the smart investment and passing a fully funded school budget for our students and for our schools. Thank you, Ms. Chauppin. Good evening, Madam Chair and members of the County Council. My name is Mitchell Tropin and I'm Vice President for Higher Education at SCIU Local 500, and I teach at Montgomery College. I'm here tonight urging the Council's continued full support for MC's annual budget. Council has always been a reliable supporter, but in these troubled times, that support has come even more important. And I believe the importance of your support comes even clearer when you look at it in a slightly different way. One of my favorite authors is Jersey Kaczynski, who wrote the painted bird. The book tells of a young boy who was ventured into the unknown frontier with nothing to protect him, except for a large metal device called a rocket. Rocket is impressive. The life and the device guides the young boy through the unknown darkness. The light also keeps the boy safe at night. The heat from the rocket keeps the boy warm at night and he cooks his food. However, a basic rule is that the young boy must find fuel for the rocket every morning. For without the fuel, the rocket is worthless. And the boy's future is uncertain. At the same time, with enough fuel, the young boy can take on any challenge. I'm proud to say many ways Montgomery College is like that rocket. It enables young men and women from this county, naturally from many countries, to maneuver through the uncertainty of today. Through its courses, faculty and staff, MC provides a light that allows students to face the challenges they face in today's environment. They can pursue their dreams and goals because MC shows them the way forward. MC also keeps our students safe, and I mean safe to dream big to explore possibilities and feel safe to be who they want to be. Last spring I had a trans student who was very shy, usually wearing a mask in class. During that same semester, I went to see Alan Cummings speak at the Rockville campus. At the event, I saw my trans student and we made eye contact and he took up his mask and broke into a wide smile, first I saw him smile. I could tell how much I meant to him that MC brings different points of view to our campuses and that he could be the person he wants to be. That is why I call being safe really means. Finally, MC provides the tools and skills that enable our students successfully follow their own paths, whether it's a career or further education. MC does amazing things for its students and for its faculty, administrators, and sports staff too. It is in its own way a very valuable rocket. However, light the rocket without enough fuel, it is not worth a tinkered dam. And this is where the council comes in. Your financial support is the fuel that drives this rocket. Your support will ensure that MC will be there to take our students through this unknown, uncertain future. And that is pretty impressive in anyone's book. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Dustin Jeeter. Good evening. My name is Dustin Jeeter. I'm a high school social studies teacher, taxpayer and native son of Montgomery County. What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun or fester like a sore? And then run. Does it stink like rotten meat or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load or does it explode? While Langston Hughes poses these questions about the Title Neighborhood of Harlem, his words are just as potent in describing the state of education in Montgomery County. The dream is to have a school system that is given the resources necessary to meet the needs of every student and the expectations of our community. However, each year when educators come to those who have the power to help us fulfill this dream by funding a full request of the education budget, we are met with deferral after deferral. There is nobody on this council or in this community who denies that MCPS has many needs in order to live up to the dream of a world-class school system that is accessible to all of our students. The problem is the answer that is given each year is that we will have to see. That we have to see the need, but or we see the need, but we can't just make the commitment to fully fund that type of budget. So instead, the dream becomes and continues to sag like a heavy load. The truth is that in the current budget, we are asking for the very few basics that help us move closer to achieving this dream. We're asking for champions to fund this full budget request. The time is now for you on the council to choose to be the champions for our students. If you choose not to vote for to fund this budget, our shared dream will continue to shrivel up like a raisin in the sun. The move of TPP special education educators to full-time school system employees with benefits will be delayed. And our students will lose out on the services that are mandated by law. Supports for our growing emerging multilingual learner population will be denied. So our students who need access to the extra supports in order to engage in learning will again go without. Our investment and recruiting and retaining high quality educators MCPS will be diluted as we tell educators to go back to the table and renegotiate their wage requirements. These are the tough decisions that are ahead of us. MCPS employees have made some tough concessions already to our health care benefits in order to save the county millions of dollars. We understand the strain that is on our economy and on you as council members. However, a budget reflects our priorities and you will show where your school system and your students fall in the priorities in this budget. For far too long we've heard wait. This year's budget is not the right time to give a full funding that our schools need. For some educators we have learned that this wait actually means never that we are some there's some of this council who will never fully fund this budget. However we know that justice too long delayed is justice and not. This is just an MCPS budget that needs champions for our students. Please be those champions and vote for fully funding our school systems budget. Thank you. Great, thank you. James Olvich. Good evening members of the county council. Thank you for this opportunity to present to you tonight. My name is James Arch, I'm the vice president and chair of the middle school chapter of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principles. I also have the privilege of serving as Principal of Argonne Magnet Middle School for the past 10 years. When most people think about Magnet Schools, they think about a testing magnet. Here in Aspen Hill, our choice magnet isn't about testing in. It's about opening doors. Our focus is on digital design and development where we prepare our students to be tomorrow's innovators. Regardless of a child's economic status, their learning disability, or if they're a multilingual learner, they're a part of our magnet and a part of our community. At the heart of our success and the success of MCPS is the unwavering commitment of this council to fully fund this budget that up-lips, up-lips every child. I'm deeply encouraged by the budget's bold investment in our students who receive special education services and our multilingual learners. adding more power educators to deliver one on one support, expanding targeted services, and empowering our cross functional teams to tailor resources at each school. We're igniting potential, closing opportunity gaps, and ensuring that every student who walks through our doors can soar. At our guy, we embrace restorative practices, not merely as alternatives to punishment, but as a way to build and sustain a positive school community. So that when harm occurs, we have something strong to restore. I argue that this budget is just that continuing to build and maintain a strong community of learners and leaders for the coming years. that may cause harm and at a minimum are uncertain based on changes at the federal level. But when you support this budget, you bring a level of certainty from the local level. A parent whose four children have attended our guy over my decade, over my decade here recently asked, why do you stay in MCPS? My answer was simple. We put students first while supporting educators. That commitment is why I remain and why I urge you to fully support this budget. Although it's a bare bones and keep the lights on budget, it's the budget that focuses on the right things, our students and schools, for the right reasons to build our community and at the right time. That's now. Our students depend on this council's leadership. We stand ready to do our part, and we ask that you fully fund this budget. Thank you for considering this pivotal investment in the future of our community. Thank you, and thank you to the whole panel. I'll call up the next panel now. We have Ricardo Hernandez, Christopher Kano, Michael Baywitz, Clark Oliver, Trisha and Gavara. Okay. Okay. I can't forget the prop. Ricardo Hernandez, Kim, start when you're ready. Good evening, honored council members. My name is Ricardo Hernandez. I am the principal of Senna Caballi High School, home of the screaming Eagles. I'm here tonight, thank you. I'm here tonight to ask for your support in fully funding the MCPS school budget for the maintenance level. There are no extras in this budget. The past four years have seen unprecedented challenges in education. And through those times, MCPS, our educators, our administrators, our SCIU members, our building service workers, our students have risen to those challenges, even without all the resources that we need. And this has not come without a tremendous amount of effort. Through intentional support, target interventions, and dedications, our students are starting to succeed. At Seneca Valley, we are proud to share that our graduation rate has risen for the first time in three years. Specifically, our non-farm Hispanic students' graduation rate increased by 17%. 17%. Our non-farm African-American students rate rose 4.4% and our non-farm Asian students saw a 6.1% increase. While we celebrate these significant strides, there is still much work to be done. These strides have been made possible through our Academic Support Center, man by teachers, pareducators, support staff, and building service workers. They provide the aforementioned support to get our students to be successful by meeting them where they are and help them to achieve new levels of success. With this success, we recognize that our farm students, our EML students, and our students receiving special services while also making progress still need additional support to continue thriving. As a principal of the largest high school in the state of Maryland spanning 460,000 square feet, I am charged when ensuring the safety and well-being of 2,800 souls each and every day, a task that I do not take lightly. I know firsthand how complex facility use and event planning can be. Ensuring robust security for every activity on our campus is critical to protecting students, staff, and community members alike. That need is especially urgent when you consider that many of our young people walk through our doors carrying real lived trauma. Trauma that can manifest in a variety of ways as they learn and grow. Over the past several years, we've invested in trauma-informed practices, affirmative supports, restorative circles, and targeted supports to help these students feel safe, understood, and ready to learn. But these initiatives can only succeed in the right, if the right resources are given in our in place. Security, secure entry systems, additional safety personnel and dedicated spaces for counseling and de-escalation tactics. This budget is not asking for extras, it's asking for what we need, asking for where our students need, our staff need and our schools need, I ask for your support in fully funding the MCPS budget. Thank you very much. Next is Christopher Caino. Good evening, Madam President, Honorable Members of this Council. My name is Christopher Caino and I'm the Director of Political and Legislative Affairs for SCIU Local 500. That's a lot of words to me and I'm the guy that are over 10,000 members turned to when they want to know which of you should be supported for reelection. That being said, the decisions that you make on this budget is going to influence how our members absorb that information and what they do with it when they go to the ballot box. So I'm asking each of you for just the next couple minutes. The Alpha Amazon wish list and listen to what I seriously have to hear. And that being said is that you're going to hear tonight from parapher educators who need resources and training to support our most vulnerable students. You're going to hear tonight from some folks who work in building services who keep our schools clean and who can tell you that some of the facilities that we have are making people sick. There's mold and mildew. There's AC units that don't work. You may or may not hear tonight from folks from our transportation depot in particular the West Farm Depot where there's a lot of condo development where there's a brand new Kaiser facility and yet there's a four-way stop there that needs a street light and a traffic light because there's already been pedestrian accidents and 18-wheelers pulling into the back of the home depot there creating unsafe conditions. These are the practical issues that need to be funded in this budget. As you heard from the students there are major issues of restorative justice and not punitive measures that media tackled in this budget And the fact is is that every funding scenario that I've seen in this budget looks at tens of millions dollars of cuts Where you're going to hear from folks that there's no more room left to give That means that there is going to have to be revenues raised and hard decisions made and the truth is that there are some folks in this county Who do make enough and who can survive, it's paying a few more dollars in taxes so that the children in this county can get a better education. That this county can attract the businesses that all of you want to see come here and the economic opportunities and those big fat campaign donation checks. So that being said, I want each of you to really take seriously the economic engine that is both MCPS, that is Montgomery College, and do what is right by the faculty, the staff, and the folks in this room, and the 10,000 members that we have that I can say, yes, the folks that are in this building do care about your families, and they are going to support you, and they are going to make sure that you have the resources necessary. Because you're going to hear some moving testimony this evening, and I just want you to really take it seriously. Because there are people out here who are working two and three jobs. There are people out here who are having to make a decision between rent and being able to pay other bills. There are people out here who can't even afford to live in this county that they work in who give so much as dedicated MCPS staff and faculty, so I'm in administrators as well. So I'm asking you, please, please take their testimony to heart and make the right decision when it comes to fully funding this budget. Thank you. Thank you. Michael Barrowis. Good evening. And thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony and support of the Board of Education's operating budget for FY 2026. My name is Mike Bayowicz and I'm proud to be the principal at Cloverly Elementary School as well as the Vice President and Chair of the Elementary Chapter of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principles. Public education is under fire and facing some of the most difficult conditions I've seen in my 30 years. The challenges we face are steep and the commitment required to support our schools is unprecedented. The needs of students have never been greater. My elementary colleagues and I have seen drastic changes in our young children's behavior as they enter school. It's not an anecdote here or there. It is the new reality. Young students are entering schools with great social emotional, behavioral and educational needs. If you have spent a day in a kindergarten classroom in the last few years, you know. And as the needs of students become more severe, so do the demands on staff. The resources required to address these needs are absolutely necessary. But despite these challenges, MCPS is not asking for the Sun, Moon, and stars. As a superintendents, pardon me, as the superintendent has shared, this is a broccoli budget, one aimed at addressing long overdue areas of chronic need. It's not a budget filled with bells, whistles, and sexy initiatives. With your support, the budget will accomplish key goals that will make a tangible difference for our students. For example, one persistent problem we've had is our ability to sustain our workforce. Position supporting some of our most vulnerable special education students have sat vacant for months, because these jobs do not offer competitive pay or health care benefits. Full funding of this budget will begin to address this long overdue problem, ensuring that our neediest students will have the human resources they need to receive a higher quality of education. Recent security concerns in MCPS high schools have been well documented, but elementary schools have security needs of their own. Would you like to meet the security personnel at Cloverley? You're looking at them. It was only last year that Cloverley received the security cameras we needed. I've often said that a 7-11 has more cameras in an elementary school. 7-11 sells candy, schools protect children. Fully funding this budget will increase the security personnel and resources in MCPS and we desperately need them. The budget will also help maintain adequate compensation for employees as we struggle with higher cost of living and plummeting 401ks. All three unions worked collaboratively, collaboratively, with MCPS and collective bargaining, to ensure our employees receive an adequate cost of living adjustment. The compensation packages are reasonable, they're fair, and they're commensurate with neighboring juke-druous distinctions. The budget proposed by the board is not simply a suggestion, but rather an imperative on how we want to see Montgomery County continue to evolve as an outstanding place to both live and work. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Applause. Thank you. Applause. Applause. Good evening members of the Montgomery County Council. My name is Clark Oliver. I'm a param educator with Montgomery County Public Schools. Although several of you know me better as Captain Maryland. I come before you this evening to speak on the topic of fully funding the MCPS budget specifically to paraeducator reclassification and pay scale revisions. We paraeducators play a crucial role in school system by supporting students and teachers in various ways. We provide individualized assistance to students, especially those with special needs, helping to bridge learning gaps and ensuring all students have equal opportunities to succeed. We help create a more inclusive classroom environment by offering additional instructional support, behavioral management, and emotional guidance. Our presence allows teachers to focus on lesson delivery while ensuring students receive the attention they need. With the growing diversity in classrooms, the need for skilled par educators is more critical than ever for fostering effective, equitable education, and none of us get paid what we are worth. I came to MCPS looking for new challenge after I retired from a 35 year career with Montgomery County Fire Rescue Services. I now teach remedial math to small groups, to students, and watch over them at lunch and recess. There is no way I could afford to live on my MCPS salary if I did not have my county pension providing the bulk of my income. Many of my peers must work second or even third jobs to support themselves and their families and come to work fatigued from doing so. In my school we have a pair of position for one-to-one support in our autism program that remains unfilled. The position is part of a student's legally mandated individual educational plan. Therefore, the school is legally required to provide the service, but we cannot fill the position because no one wants to do the job, classified as temporary part-time for $20 an hour with no benefits. Meanwhile, the work still needs to be done and the load is spread among the Parisis currently working. The autism paris in my school do things that no one else in the school system does. They assist with toileting and feeding, dealing with bathroom accidents, and a routinely hit, bitten, scratched, and can be out for days recovering from injuries. When I was in the fire department, you paid me an extra $10,000 a year to be a paramedic and to be on a specialty response team. Special services deserve special pay, and our autism paris earn it every day. MCPS has recently put for the plan to reclassify paris according to what program they work in and what services they provide. The school system has recognized the need for increased pay and career opportunities for their parents and now it is the council's job to fund the reclassification to its logical conclusion. I call upon you to fully fund MCPS's operating budget for fiscal year 2026 so MCPS can meet its contract obligations plus recruit and retain the necessary talent for top tier student outcomes. I thank you for your time and attention. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Trisha Ann Gavara. Good evening Montgomery County Council. My name is Trisha Gavara and I have been a special ed par educator at MCPS for the past three years. Serving as a par educator is incredibly fulfilling and we take great pride in supporting our students. However, the reality is that many Para Educators, including myself, face financial challenges. While we're employed full-time by MCPS, the pay isn't sufficient to meet the rising cost of living, which forces many of us to take on multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Some Para Educators would love to dedicate themselves fully to the work, but how can we do so? Well, we're working two to three jobs, coming home late and having to return to work the next day. Early the next day. Pareducators are essential to the success of the classroom yet we often feel that our contributions are not fully appreciated. The workload can be overwhelming, and in many cases we don't even have time for breaks due to being understaffed. They often mention that they're actively hiring, but when we check the website, the available positions are typically temporary or part time. Rules with no benefits in limited hours. It is no surprise that many individuals are declining these opportunities and I believe the reasons for these for this are quite clear. Additionally, I would like to address the issue of not being compensated for most of the days during spring and winter breaks. We are left with 15 unpaid days which I believe and many others would agree is unfair. These 15 days have a significant impact, especially given that as I mentioned earlier, the pay that we receive is insufficient to cover the cost of living. When combined, with unpaid days, it becomes an even greater financial burden. Paragocators play a vital role in the classroom and we deserve to be appreciated for our contributions. I know the superintendent and the board of education, board of education with the MCPS administrators, plan to reclassify many parapheratic, sorry, but that positions. However, these plans will be unsuccessful if the council does not fully fund the MCPS operating budget for fiscal year 2026. I ask you to make sure Montgomery County Public Schools have the resources necessary to meet their contract obligations into a track and retain the talent required to ensure we remain a top-tierier school system. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who is on this panel. I'll call up the next panel. Aura Pena, Catherine Dorsey, Dawn O'Millard, Mary Hunter, Sean Mortar. Great job. I'm going to play to the edge. I'm going to play to the edge. Yes. Why? All right. All right. All right. Are you ready? All right. All right. ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you ready? Good evening, President Kate Stewart and the entire Montgomery County Council. I'm here on behalf of SEIU staff. My name is Catherine Dorsey and for the past 27 years, I've been working in Montgomery County public schools as a special education paragicator. We as the support staff for MCPS would like to see a change in fairness. I look back to the early years of my career with fondness and tenderness. Back then there were more teachers, paras, and school staff working within the district. At that time I felt more capable of meeting students' needs because I received a sense of inspiration from my administration and felt supported by an abundance of fellow educators. Now, there's a shortage of educators within the county, leaving many of us feeling stretched then, overworked, underpaid, and undervalued. Throughout my career, I have learned that the only way to student success is by valuing teachers and paragicators. I believe that if this county did show through their actions that they do need and value us, there would be more educators working and making positive change today. This year there were 15 scheduled unpaid days. This is unfair and has a direct impact on the families of SEIU staff members. Given the choice, of us would rather work and be paid than be forced to have excessive days off with no pay. Or we would like the opportunity to be paid for these days. We want to be provided the basic human right to thrive and not simply struggle to survive during the summer months and the winter holidays. Worried about how we're going to pay bills, rent, and put food on our tables. I know this to be true because I have experienced this situation every year for the past 27 years. Unfortunately, many have no idea of the struggle that most of us encounter as paragocators and other 10-month employees. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today and please do hear our voices and support us in making the change for our future. Best regards, Catherine Dorsey and the staff members of SEIU. Thank you. Next we have Dawn Miller. Honorable Council members, my name is Donna Miller and I've been a pair in the Learning for Independence program in MCPS for nearly 12 years. I've also been the SEI Union representative at my school for over five. I'm here today to demand the respect, fair compensation, and job security that Para educators deserve. Many people think of Para educators as just classroom assistants, but we are so much more. We're caregivers, we're counselors, we're behavior specialists, we're translators, and even protectors. We help students learn how to communicate their needs, regulate their emotions, and navigate social situations. We guide them through daily life skills, helping them eat, dress, and even use the restroom with dignity. We de-escalate crises, call meltdowns, and provide the emotional stability that allows our students to feel safe. And yet, for all this, we're treated as disposable. We face physical aggression, being hit, bitn scratched, or worse, without hazard pay, without proper recognition, and often without enough staff to keep us or our students safe. And despite the intense responsibilities we carry, most of us struggle to make ends meet without a second or third job. Even worse, many positions are classified as temporary or emergency hires, leaving dedicated staff without job security or benefits. How can a school system claim to prioritize special education while treating its most essential staff as replaceable? How can we provide stability for students when our own jobs are unstable? Our jobs are not temporary, and our students' needs are not temporary. I urge you to take action. Recognize Para Educators as essential professionals, not just assistants. Ensure fair wages that reflect the responsibility and challenges of our roles. Make all Para Educator positions permanent, ensuring stability for both staff and students. Respect isn't just about words, it's about action. Para Educators are the backbone of special education and student support. It's time we were treated as such. Thank you. Thank you. Mary Hunter. Good evening, President Stewart and members of the council. My name is Mary Hunter and I'm the director of the Housing Counseling and Services Program at Housing Initiative Partnership, also known as HIP. I'm here tonight to ask for your support for the budget's funding of HIP's Housing Counseling Services. HIP is a 35-year-old nonprofit developer and HIP-approved housing counseling agency. We develop innovative affordable housing, revitalized neighborhoods, and equip people to achieve their housing and financial goals. HIP is proud to have partnered with Montgomery County government since 2009 when we opened our Germantown office to provide multilingual foreclosure prevention counseling. The county and the country were in the throes of the foreclosure crisis at the time. And our staff had since provided individual counseling to help over 4,000 at-risk homeowners access all available resources to avoid foreclosure. As the housing landscape in Montgomery County changed, hip responded. In 2013, hip brought a first-time homebuyer education and counseling services to county residents and have since prepared over 2,000 homebuyers for sustainable homeownership. In 2015, we launched our rental counseling program and have helped over 1,200 residents identify affordable rental opportunities and access rental resources. And in 2020, when the pandemic caused widespread job loss, HIP added an outreach staff to go to eviction court knock on doors of tenants facing eviction using a share of slist, still doing that today, attend community events at apartment buildings and hold in-person group 10A sessions, in-virtual senate sessions, working closely with the Office of Landlord and Tentative Affairs. We also, in 2020, launched the innovative home sharing program. Each step of the way HIPAA is partnered closely with the staff at DHCA, DHHS, local municipalities, and other non-profit agencies and community leaders. Our Ten Montgomery County staff ensure that our German town and Gathersburg offices are accessible and open for residents to use our computers and printers. Our staff speak multiple languages, including Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese, and communicate with clients on multiple platforms using video, phone, or in-person. There are many, many challenges in today's housing landscape, including the recent federal layoffs, rising property taxes, high energy costs, limited housing inventory, a growing older adult population struggling to age in place, and a growing digital divide, especially as we digitize access to housing resources. is a challenging moment. and the funding for the funding that we have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing for the last few years. We have been doing overcome these challenges, insecure, and maintain stable and sustainable housing. Thank you. Thank you very much. Sean, Sean Motor. Good evening members of the council. My name is Sean Mortar and I am a foundational literacy paraprofessional at Aspen or Ween Woods Elementary in Aspen Hill. The day-to-day responsibilities of my position is that I take a group of six to seven below grade-level students and teach them the phoneme and graphene name for words, which is the sight and the sound of words so that they can speak and write better. The pay for my position is 2197 an hour for six hours. While this might seem well adjusted from Montgomery County and the living expenses associated, I can assure you that that the semblance of a living wage is for not. After taxes, social security and other mandatory deductions are taken out. I am left with a two-week paycheck under $1,000. This is the first job that I cannot pay my half of rent with one paycheck. After starting this position in October and getting the first few pay checks, I realized that I did need to take up a second job. And as the hiring market is, I could only get a second job paying 15 15-50. And even then, I'm still applying for a third job because they're not giving me enough hours to subsidize the amount that I'm losing from MCPS. In the same realm as saving money and paying bills, if I get sick at school, then I can can't go to my second job. If I can't go to my second job or get hurt at my second job, I can't go to school. And that impacts the learning of the children. It impacts my social health and impacts my well-being. It impacts my family because I'm making less money. I, you could say that I could live in a different county that might be more economical, but I would challenge you that the amount of money that I spend for gas and transportation that would not be true. The only way to make up that loss money is to pick up sub positions that are open at my school. And how can I make that choice whether to pick up these shifts and make more money for myself to impact my students or lose that money and educate the kids. It should not be my choice to make that decision. We should be willing to live and work in Montgomery County as public employees. And I get that, we don't enter this field for the money, but we need to get enough money to live. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much to that panel. I'll call up the next panel. Alisa Rivera, Kim Michelle Parsley, Abe Schuckman, Erica Connor, Fitzgerald Moffhr, Michael Cordell. Mr. Rivera, you can start when you're ready. Good evening, county council. My name is Elisira Vera and I've been a parent educator for over a decade. Primarily working in special education and discrete schools. I also had the privilege of previously serving as ESR for two years. I began this journey as an SCV pair of working one-to-one with a young lady to help her develop independence. For years, we worked on the steps necessary for her to independently advocate for the restroom and complete all the tasks involved. That was just one of many life skills goals. After years of repetition, data, social stories, patience, dedication, I witnessed a truly rewarding moment on a community trip where she independently selected the bathroom on her iPad, which I guided her to the restroom in a public setting. She opened the door, she used the restroom, she flushed, she closed the door, adjusted her garments, and washed her hands doing everything without any prompting. And that was the highlight of my time with her. But like many of us in this field, once one student graduates or a new group arrives, the journey starts over. My next journey began at Rock Terrace Special School. There are many students exhibited challenging behaviors. My time in the Special Schools program, while rewarding, was physically demanding. Due to a lack of coverage, myself and other parent educators had to cover the majority or even the entire school year for classes without additional support. A majority of my injuries, concussions, multiple concussions, broken finger, bruises, scratches, and more recently a torn labrum in my shoulder occurred during these understaff times. Having the ability to adhere to each IEP, keep yourself safe, keep the other students safe, take data for multiple students throughout the day while being self-aware of your body language, your tone, all while supporting behavior management and instructional learning in a classroom without the required ratio of support would seem like an impossible task. Despite the physical and mental exhaustion, Para Educators show up. Now it's your turn to show up for us. Fully funding the long, long overdue parachlassifistication study, and increasing parent education, parent educator staffing, excuse me, as proposed in this budget, would show that you value and respect our role in MCPS. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Can Michelle Parsley? Good evening, council members. My name is Kim Parsley. I live in Montgomery Village. I've lived in Montgomery County since 1998, which is when I sent my first kid to kindergarten. That's a little later. I'd like to tell you some stories to illustrate why the money you spend on education matters so much. Why do I think I'm qualified to talk about this? I've been involved with MCPS since 1998 when I sent it first child kindergarten. Since then I've been some combination of MCPS parent, volunteer, pareducator, substitute substitute, or teacher, and lunch remade. MCPS even helped pay for my master's in special education. This is my 15th year as a permanent employee, as opposed to a substitute, and I'm happily working in a middle school school community-based classroom. Since August to last year, I've been a one-on-one for a child who needs significant support for mobility, for feeding, for toileting communication, health concerns, oh, add behavior, because he pulls hair and throws everything he could reach, but he's getting better. As he learned to trust me and we started using modified materials and tools, he became more engaged. He looked awake during classes. His self-injurious behavior lesson, he's learning to communicate. He's making real choices. Imagine never being able to choose which to eat, for a meal, or when you're finished. Anyways, he's not as frustrated and he is not as aggressive now because he's learning, because he's less aggressive. His peers are willing to engage with him. So now he's learning from peers, which all the parents here know that's a developmental step, it's necessary. I mean sometimes it's frustrating when they learn that throwing toys is something that we do, he's learning. I just want you to understand that without the staff to support him in his classroom, he becomes either non-entity, sitting in a corner in his chair, or he becomes a liability in our classroom. So according to the staffing levels in the most recent budgets, our classroom is entitled to at least one and a half oh god, parent educators. We are now sharing a parent educator with another classroom, giving us about half of what we're entitled to. If while I'm attending to all the students in the class, I'm ignoring him, which means he's getting nothing. Again, liability or non-antity. These are avoidable. If we had only had adequate staffing from the beginning, okay, last thing. While you're considering this budget, please remember that each dollar you spend is not just a number. It translates into children's learning, health, sometimes even their safety. And it means your dedicated sports staff will be able to continue doing it. Thank you. Thank you. Abe Schuckman. Good evening, Council Member Stewart and members of the County Council. My name is Abe Schuckman. I'm a proud resident in Montgomery County. I grew up in Montgomery County, proud Churchill High School graduate. My wife and I have raised our children for the last two decades in Silver Spring. I'm a member of the Montgomery County Affordable Housing Alliance. I'm an executive committee. And I'm in my 31st year as the CEO of Housing Unlimited. Given the national discourse, this hostility to government and to government workers, I feel compelled just to begin by thanking you for your public service, thanking Montgomery County Government for its strong commitment in partnership with nonprofits like housing unlimited and others to serving the most vulnerable. We need a strong government to amplify the efforts of the private sector in serving the neediest amongst us. I'm also frustrated by the attack on public servants, public workers as being waste, basically. It's outrageous. For the last three decades, every single worker, public worker I've interacted with at Health and Human Services and Housing Department has been outstanding. Just this year, I've had the privilege of working with Christine Hong, Kimberly Pintley of HHS, Scott Bruton, Puffin Salem, Summer Cross, Lawrence Cajor, and Ken Vinson of DHCA, outstanding people. And their names need to be named. Montgomery County, a government has been a crucial partner. And I want to thank you for all your support, even just recently, with a supplemental budget, where you expanded resources for rent subsidies and for sharp. This was crucial. And it was a difficult budget year, and it's going to be a continue to be a difficult budget time, and I just want to thank you for your support. And finally, I want to make a request. Affordable housing continues to be crucial. The people we serve are coming out of homelessness. The income is below 15% of AMI. The rent subsidies that you support play a crucial role for housing unlimited and for our tenants. And then wearing my hat as a member of Montgomery Housing Alliance, the extraordinary funding the last several years you've put towards new construction and preservation of affordable housing has been crucial. We need to stay on track with a pipeline of affordable housing units. So we can really meet the need in this county or one of the wealthiest counties in the country. We need to provide housing for all of our residents. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next you have Eric or Connor. Good evening, county council members. My name is Eric or Connor and I'm a member of the Montgomery County Community Action Board Executive Committee. I want to thank you for this opportunity this evening. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to critical programs that serve and support the low income residents of our county. The Community Action Agency is the county's federal, state, and locally designated anti-poverty group. We're a part of a nationwide network that works to address the needs of our marginalized neighbors. Helping families move towards self-sufficiency standards through various programs like the Vita program, which last year filed 2,246 tax returns with a free tax impact of $8.6 million. The test center, I walk inside in a long branch that serves 200-300 residents each month and the Navigation Unit with Navigator Space that various organizations who serve about 150 residents each month. Community Action provides grant oversight for Head Start. Working closely with MCPS to offer high quality care and education along with wraparound services. Last year Head Start families received approximately 1200 referrals for critical services. Our board provides governance to the agency and Head Start, but also advocates for policies and programs which help struggling families. Tonight, we focus on the critical needs of our neighbors during this unprecedented times. Our immigrant and undocumented neighbors are living in fear and anxiety. Parents are scared to take their children to and from school. Many are reluctant to seek services recently at a snap information session attendees were afraid to apply for food assistance due to concerns of what would happen to their information. A record number of organizations are requesting know your right trainings. We ask the council to do everything in your power to support these residents through increased immigration legal services and mental health services and other programs. Our board is extremely concerned about the potential cuts to federal programs and including the community service block grant Head Start Title 1 Social Security Housing programs and SNAP. We ask the Council to continue to support vulnerable members of our community, the changes in the federal level will occur. changes discussed here are amplified in our area because the cost of living is so high. According to the self-sufficiency standard, a household with two working adults, one preschooler and one school aged child, would need to earn $122,943 a year to cover the basic necessities. Over four times the federal poverty. Thank you and please continue the fight and please refer to our full written testimony. Thank you, Fitzgerald Mouffer. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon, council president, vice president and distinguished members of the Montgomery County Council. Thank you for giving residents like me the opportunity to engage in the democratic process, and listen to the feedback we have related to the county executives' proposed operating budget. My name is Fitzgerald Mofor, and I'm honored to stand with concerned community members proposing alternative budget solutions that avoid the austerity of a 3.5% property tax increase. I strongly oppose the proposed operating budget which threatens to burden Montgomery County residents and make the place I call home into an enclave that relentlessly relentlessly taxes its constituents. In 2023, the county council enacted a 4.7% property tax hike coupled with a rise in recordation taxes purportedly to fund public education fully. At the state level in 2024, the governor clandestinely assured in 338 new taxes and fees and the county council approved legislation for noise abatement cameras. Earlier this year, the county council also approved legislation to increase taxes on grocery bags. Also at the state level, the General Assembly passed a $1.7 billion tax bill, which is the largest tax increase ever. This doesn't account for the Hikesin property tax assessments and rising energy cause from fees such as Empower. We cannot endure any more new taxes and fees and the 3.5% property tax increase is entirely unsustainable. Our local elected officials must muster up the courage and stand up to the teachers union and encourage the Board of Education to operate within its fiscal and financial constraints. The perpetual increase of property taxes will make middle-class housing in Montgomery County scarcer, exacerbate the population exodus of the middle-class, and make purchasing a home for first-time home buyers daunting. Furthermore, it will make Montgomery County even less attractive to corporations and businesses as our office Fagency rate already sits at 20%. The school district is asking for the largest year-over-year increase with the top-line spending level of $3.6 billion. Without any attached strategic measures that would definitively shrink the size of classrooms, close achievement gap and Christchurch-Truency. Therefore, such a large ask is unjustified. To offer solutions, I'm imploring the county council to keep MCPS spending levels at $3.3 billion, particularly the importance of fiscal prudence to the Board of Education, ask them to spend at MOE levels, slash the size of the bureaucracy in MCPS, and only give this 3.25% salary increase to teachers who work at Title I schools. Thank you for allowing me to articulate my concerns with the parole's operating budget. And I sincerely hope this governing body considers my input. Thank you. Michael Cordell. Yes, my. Hi, my name is Michael Cordell. I want to thank you for the chance to speak tonight. I am a parent and an educator. I've been in the county for 25 years and I have seen the county schools, which I had moved here for, continue to take steps backward over time. I do have one thought for the council tonight. I think we should stop paying special education lawyers and start paying paraprofessionals the money they have long deserved. Pairs are essential as someone who is a principal of a special needs school in Congress Heights, DC. We have more pears and we have teachers because students who cannot communicate need additional adults to help them communicate. We have educators in this community who represent the community and cannot get a livable wage. I also believe the school system should be making a pathway for peer educators to become teachers in the future if they so should choose. Again, we want to support our students with community members and peer educators are the most important role to do that. One thing we know, Gandhi said, the true measure of any society is how it treats the most vulnerable members and we have not been doing a good job. If we do a better job for our students at the margins, I promise you all students will improve. I've worked in school turnaround in D.C. Chicago and Baltimore and what was shocking to me is every school I went into that was quote unquote the district school needing turnaround had a special education program that was broken and when those students don't get what they need I promise you they tell everyone and then the whole school doesn't get what it's needs and that is what is on its way in Montgomery County. I've been impressed with Dr. Taylor. Every conversation he's had, this is actually a bare bones budget as asked for. It is a lot of money and there are increases needed to pay for but the system needs to do this. At a time when society is not working with the most vulnerable, Montgomery County can take that opportunity now and support the students who deserve it the most. In the future, we can come back to the table about more opportunities about different initiatives, class size, other initiatives. But right now we need para educators to get the money they deserve. We need enough staff in the classroom so that everyone is safe. And we need to also have a conversation with the leadership about accountability. And I promise you, based on every conversation I've had with Dr. Taylor, he's welcomed any accountability to show that the money we have goes to the ones who need the most. And again, pay our peer educators, increase the staff and stop paying special education lawyers. Thank you. Thank you and thank you to this panel. Next we have Diego Yoriboto. He just walked in. Diego, go, you're up. Win-win, Rajan Bell, Francis Frost, Ever Ortiz. the members of the council for a record I was here at 7pm. I just got out to get some quiet time to read my testimony. So tonight I'll be wearing a few hats, but I want to start by acknowledging the committee members that came here tonight, particularly those who came and left because there was no enough room here so they were turned around. As the co-chair of the Latino Health Serene Committee and in partnership and alignment with our colleagues from the Asian-American Health Serene Committee and the African-American Health Programme Serene Committee, we want to request that the Council fully support HHS's request. Today's economic outlook is dire, but it pays in comparison to what it will be like in the middle of FY26 and in FY27. As HHS saved us during the pandemic, its programs and services infrastructure and it must be intact in order to absorb the needs that we have today and the needs that we will have into the near future. As the economic contracts, families of all walks of life will lose their jobs, their homes and their health. This will impact the physical and mental health and put the county's safety net to test. The magnitude of the crisis to come on the most vulnerable children, youth and families is something that we have yet to see and experience. That's why HHS, its programs, its infrastructure must be preserved, not just for today, but for what's coming. And we all know what's coming. You have a hearing this morning about the economic future and what's to come to the county. Now, as the Black and Brown Coalition, the situation for MCPS is not better. Most of these families children interact with MCPS and MCPS tells a horrifying story about the county's future, our children. More than one in two Black students and two in three Latino students do not read on grade level, striking, but even worse, four of Black students and nine of ten Latino students do not perform on great level in math. The future of the county is facing gargantuan challenges. The leaders of HHS and MCPS have a vision for moving forward. They are not afraid of being tooth tellers and are willing to make tough decisions to ensure the most vulnerable of their constituents get what they need. Now, allocating funds is not enough. It doesn't mean that things will work. Accountability has always been important. Now, with the budget situation and the one that's coming, it's paramount. We cannot find things that don't work and we need to know what's working and what's not working. Dear council members, I do not envy you. We heard many different viewpoints and we don't agree. The decisions you make today will impact thousands of children, and his and his families fare the scariest of storms. He will also impact the country's future trajectory. But please know that I admire and respect each one of you. Thank you. Thank you. Win-win? Good evening, Council Member. My name is Dr. Win-win. I am the Vice Chair of the Asian American Health Initiative Student Committee. We are the leader in the Asian American community. We are also considered ourselves as the bridge between our community and the county government. Therefore, we have been playing a role in supporting the Department of Health and Human Services. Today, on behalf of colleague and the Student Committee by H.I., I'm joining with the College of African American Health Program represented by Ms. Jackie William yesterday. And now today with Mr. D. Algo-Ribburi for Latino Health and the Student Committee. We present an urgent request for the Council members that to reserve their central safety necessary for our vulnerable community after resident in the county by fully fund the budget requested by the Department of Health and Human Services. This includes the level of funding for our minority, how initiative and program. In the past few years has been clearly demonstrated the important role of the partnership between the minority community and the county government. Just a few years ago, when you think about the pandemic, when the county don't know how to connect with the communities, where the service where to raise it. We, a community leader, play a role to build that trust with the community. Therefore, the service has been effective and the trust need to be maintained and to build on. I know today is difficult. I know today that you have a lot of challenges that you face with uncertainty in the federal policy ship, but it's not the time for us to retreat. It's not the time for us to withdraw the support for the community and foster that trust with the community and the funding to DHS to continue to support this minority program and services. I see my college mentor, and this this is the difficult year and I got it. I got it. But think about the support that the effort that our community have accomplished in the past year. As we support our mental health program, we support the building to capacity with Asian American community nonprofit. so that they bring the people together if the next crisis not if but when it hit us we have a baby to weather the next storm and that is critical and that's an investment that the counties need. So I urge you to counsel members please consider protecting the the infrastructure and investment that you should put into the NHS so that we continue to build the healthy community for all. Thank you for your service and for your leadership. Thank you. Margin Bell. Good evening, President Stewart, Vice President Jawanda and esteemed members of the county council. My name is Rajan Bell. I'm a junior at Whean High School and representative of Young People for Progress. And tonight, I'm here to urge you to fully fund the MCPS operating budget and also ensure that those funds are directed towards preventative, stutthous-centered solutions like restorative justice instead of just punitive measures like policing. This issue was deeply personal to me. In middle school, I had a friend who I'll call Elle. She was a caring, loyal and humorous person and still alive, by the way. She always made me smile smile, even the most difficult situations. Unfortunately for her, her home life was quite challenging, and her witnessing the strength it put on her ability to positively interact with our school. She frequently got into conflicts with our peers and faced disciplinary action as a result. Instead of seeking to address the root causes of her behavior, the school relied on punitive measures, such as suspensions and expulsions to address it, leading to her missing school for days at a time, seriously impacting her learning. Though we both graduated from middle school, this pattern only worsened in high school. L-stuggled the form, stable bonds with peers, teachers, and other community members, and was eventually kicked out of her school's magnet program. While her circumstances outside the classroom were difficult, had there been a strong, well-implemented, and well-funded restorative justice program available to adjust the root causes for behavior a bit earlier in the schooling process, perhaps the outcome could have been very different. Unfortunately, what has happened to Elle, happened to Elle, is still happening, and getting worse. Just last year, student arrest in MCPS Quadruple, from 56 to 191. Destiny really 200 student arrests. Black students were 8 and a half times more likely to be arrested at school than white students. And in the half of all suspensions, we're of black students, despite us only making up 21.5% of student body. This is in safety. This is over-policing. As an alternative to traditional punishment, restorative justice has seen success. In the 2022 to 2023 school year, 81% of students who participated in a restorative justice practice for an offense they committed didn't repeat it. And that success rate held strong last year at 79%. But instead of building on that success, MCPS is now eliminating the eight full-time restorative approaches positions at Central Office and moving them into new roles. They've also, last year, cut the stipend supporting restorative coaches at our schools who are often teachers, overworked, and underpaid. Students will bear the brunt of these consequences the most. With these reasons in mind, it is paramount that you fully fund MCPS's operating budget and direct them to awards, direct of funds to awards of sort of practices continuing to invest in our school system It's paramount to building the positive, safe and uplifting student culture the MCPS and the county hopes to foster for the next generation Once again, I am Rijon Bell and thank you for your time. Thank you. Francis Frost. Good evening, President Stewart and Vice President Jawondo, members of the County Council. I'm Francis Frost. I'm the president of the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County. Happy National Library Week and a special shout out to our librarians and library staff and Library Director Darcell Graham for their dedication and service to our libraries. You have before you the requested FY 2026 operating budget from Montgomery County, which includes just under $55 million for the public library staffing and resources and programs, such as materials for the expanded world language collection, the digital platform hoopla, teen and youth programs. But today, this operating budget represents much more than books on shelves, electronic materials on devices and story time for our youngest citizens. As the theme for the National Library, we suggest this year we need to look at what has drawn us to the library. Since January 20th, we've seen an obvious and intentional assault and attempts to eliminate access to information by our federal administration. On April 4th, Ms. Graham and County Executive Elrich issued a statement regarding the possible impact of the elimination of the Federally-funded Institute of Museum and Library Services. This past week, there was a alarm that references to Maryland Native Harriet Tubman was removed in the National Park Services history of the Underground Railroad. And we've all seen the news reports about the removal of web pages about Jackie Robinson, the Enola Gay, B-29 bombers, Navajo code talkers, women, African American soldiers, 400 books being pulled from the shells of the U.S. Naval Academy, health-related information being removed from the CDC website, and many more instances of eliminating access to and deleting important records and materials. So fully funding our libraries is about more than just books. It's about what draws us to the library. The public library offers free accessible information about any topic you want to learn about and stories about people who have consistently been forgotten, sidelined, ignored, and erased as many are now. Our libraries offer resources to understand the history of this country about our rights as everyday citizens and how this democracy we call the United States is supposed to work. Libraries represent our collective memories of what's gone wrong, mistakes not to be repeated and how we've worked together to make this country a better union. It's a place that offers the space to gather and share ideas. We see our neighbors search for jobs and build community in the meeting rooms and in the stacks of books. On this day, when all the ideals that our country supposedly have been built on and grown into are challenged and in danger of being taken down, when educators and families are worried about what will happen to our schools and children. When our colleges are being pushed to close programs, reneg on scholarships, and in research projects, when our arts and culture are being called to a certain ideal and definition of what is appropriate, what is art, and what is great. When we are holding onto books and somehow trying to save web pages because they are knowledge that we don't want lost, we are also nervous about our libraries, about these longstanding repositories of knowledge and community, and it brings us back to what draws us to the library. Our library's stated mission is to provide equitable access to information, ideas, and experiences that spark imagination and expand possibilities for all. In this operating budget, there are many priorities in the face of economic downturn and uncertainty. So we urge you make our future the priority. Protect our education, protect our public libraries with full funding. Draw us back to be well-read inclusive civic-minded educated people. It's really our only option. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Eva Ortez. this night I am here to lawyer for moreiendo and live in a property of MHP, it was a sale, it could not pay the rent or other essential articles, if it had an accessible housing, MHP, I have made more than put a roof over my head through mhp I receive assistance at the Mhp tool also has promoters of health they are here tonight the Lillian caravavans, and I. Isis, Ayala, that support residents as I to connect residents with health services. Thank you for providing funds to help families under resources as I I ask you to continue supporting programs that help residents as I have an accessible Accessory. a for more funding for affordable housing in the county budget. I have left Immongomri Housing Partnership apartments at Pemberidge Square in Wheaton for 27 years. I continue to live here where I am happy to have a home alongside my community. I live alone and I am a retired homewife, housewife. Before moving to Pembridge Square, I lived in White Oak. When I had to move, I found that MHP apartments, where I found a place where I feel safe and happy to continue living. Living in Montgomery housing partnership, partnership property has been a blessing. I could not afford rent or other essential items if I didn't have affordable housing. MHP has done more than just put a roof over my head. Through MHP I receive a full assistance. MHP also has health promoters. They are here tonight, Lillian Caravantes and ECC Ayala, who support residents like me in connecting with health services. Thank you for providing funds to help low income families like me. Like mine, I ask you to continue supporting programs that help residents like me have a affordable housing. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you to the entire panel. Our next panel is David Melinda's, Yvonne Dawkins, Mary Kohler, Mark McCarthy, Vernell Knight. Are they here? Okay. David Melendez, Yvonne Dawkins, Mary, I know Mary Colors here, I saw. Mark McCarthy, Bernel Knight. Well, who is there? That was Francis. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And we need to remember for the Council. My name is David Melendez. And I thank you for allowing me to testify today about my experience in NCCF program. I was born in New York and I grew up in Puerto Rico. I came to this area, the Maryland 1970, when they, and here is a few Spanish people and I serve it at the interpret at that time to help others who don't speak nothing. I was at firefighting, volunteer for 11 years. I got three girls were born here, US citizen. At one point I was not working and I was not able to care for my family like I used to. I went to social services and they sent us to a hotel. At that present time the NCCF came to the when I needed and CCF take me from the hotel to the building and put that down green tree and I have it on my mind. I'm going back on my track and they always they promised to me to help me work together. And they put me on one room for four months on their building in NCCF, not general for children's and family. I was a single father at that moment. I had to raise them up. I provide food. Then I going on the accident, working. I've broken my back. Without what's waiting to find out what going on on my case on the accident, we were sleeping on the street. I'm never expecting that, but that happened to anybody, no matter the color or the language. Some time living in the motel number six, Gators were, I was turning out of money. I turn to the NCTF to help. Mr. Ruff, on that moment, he was the second and charged. And he said, me, Timnallende, don't worry, we're going to help you, we're going to provide you with your apartment, affordable apartment, where you can leave with your daughter. You don't have to worry no more. I find out that place with my daughter. Two room. One is more where I sleep. My daughter is on my granddaughter. Sleeping in one room. The bigger room. Alright think to NCCF to stand the hand to the family who really need it. But not only for me, they got many more on the street. They got many single, single mother and single father who working hard to provide to the children. I ask you to to extend the Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Did we have Yvonne Dawkins? No. Is that here? Mary Collar, you're up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Did we have Yvonne Dawkins? No, is that here? Mary Kohler, you're up. Good evening, Council President Stewart and members of the Council. My name is Mary Kohler and I'm testifying on behalf of Montgomery Housing Alliance. As you take up the budget, MHA strongly encourages you to include the highest possible level of funding for affordable housing. Over the past several years, the Council has prioritized housing, especially affordable housing, and made major strides on the issue. Yet we know we still must add tens of thousands of housing units over the next decade, three quarters of which must be affordable to those with low to moderate incomes. The proposed budget includes a level funding that will support the affordable housing pipeline through FY26. Any reduction in funding would significantly disrupt the pipeline, delaying projects, making them more costly and in some cases derailing them all together. We cannot afford to jeopardize projects that would supply much needed, dedicated affordable homes. Additionally, we urge you to support the highest possible level funding for down payment assistance. We applaud the county executive for increasing funding for the program and his proposed budget, but urge you to pass additional increases up to the 8 million included in the More Housing Now Act. Down payment assistance is crucial to creating pathways to home ownership in the county. We also urge you to include robust funding for the rental assistance program and other programs to address and prevent homelessness. The county's rate of homelessness and number of evictions has dramatically increased over the past several years. In FY21, approximately 2,500 eviction rates were filed. In FY24, that number was over 80 to 100. The number of evictions executed jumped from just over 250 to nearly 1,000 over the same time period. Programs like RAP and Sharp are successful at stabilizing at-risk households, but can only be effective if they are adequately funded. We know that this is a tough budget year. As many households throughout the county face job loss and income reductions, the need for meaningfully affordable housing only becomes more apparent. Housing is a solution to stabilizing our economy and wording against displacement. As people along many income bands, even higher income earners face income losses, we know that that ultimately puts pressure on those with low incomes. For example, if higher income households decide to relocate to lower cost homes, we will see further reduction in the number of units available to people with lower incomes. Ensuring that we have sufficient dedicated affordable housing to support these households is as critical as ever. We applaud the Council's ongoing commitment to housing and your efforts to craft innovative policy tools to address the real and significant need that persists. It is critical to provide a scope of funding that will deepen the investments the county has already made in affordable housing over the past several years. We strongly urge you to pass a budget that includes the highest possible level funding for multi-family housing preservation and development, home ownership assistance, and rental assistance programs. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Mark McCarty. Good evening, council members. And thank you for this opportunity to testify before you today. I'm Mark McCarty and I help to coordinate the social justice ministry at St. Dunstins Episcopal Church. In January of this year at its annual convention, the Episcopal diocese of Washington adopted a resolution on affordable healthcare for social justice. It reads in part, resolved that this convention urges the diocese and its parishes to support full funding for local government programs that provide health care to underserved populations within the diocese. I'm here today to communicate the support of St. Dunstons Episcopal Church for full funding for the Montgomery County programs that provide safety net health care to underserved populations in the county. The proposed budget for FY26 recommends a per visit increase for the Montgomery Cares program from $1, $1,5 to $1,12 and $0,50. This is a modest increase in the reimbursement rate of to 45% of the cost of $12.50. This is a modest increase in the reimbursement rate of a 245% of the cost of care. And is needed to prevent the closing of some of these safety net clinics. The budget also recommends $180,000 to cover improved access to reproductive health care services for participants in the county's care for kids program. These budget allocations for safety and that clinics are consistent with the diocese recommendation of full funding. We support these increases and we wish that budget realities permitted even greater allocation of resources to these urgent health care needs in the county. If the council would consider a reimbursement rate of $125, we understand that that is the minimum necessary for the Montgomery County cares health centers to continue to operate at their current. And we would support that change as well. Thank you for this opportunity to testify. Thank you. Next we have Vernal Knight. Mr. Knight, could you turn on your microphone? There you go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me here this afternoon. My name is Vernon Knight. I'm a resident of affordable housing. I'm here tonight to meet with you to ask for affordable housing for seniors. Most seniors can live in senior housing to have a problem living in mixed unit houses, where people have kids or they're run about. I was here last year asking for much the same. The other problem is that the budgeting for food subsidies, like most senior buildings, they have food boxes come from different organizations. We only have have one now we did have two and that's because of the lack of funding seniors a lot of seniors that Living subterrace housing they're on a fixed income That fixed income allows them to have to Medicine once they pay them they have very little left. So when they have to make a choice on medicine, between food and medicine, someone have to cut their pills and have just to make a last. Those other instincts to wear, I live in a building where at 11, 30 at night, when the food boxes come, you have people come down looking to see what other people don't want. So affordable housing and food is a major thing. It's like, and don't get me wrong when I say this, but it feels like we're being left behind. Because senior housing is a very difficult thing to get fine in DC Merle and over genia. And I thank you for your time. Thank you very much, Mr. Knight. Thank you to that panel. The next panel includes Kelly Knight, Jennifer Friedman, Alondra Anderson, Moham Jeni, my apologies is Kelly Knight. I am a social studies teacher at Santa Cahvalli High School. I am a homeowner in Montgomery County. And I am the mother of a soon to be kindergartener at, well, will be at twinbrook elementary school. Last year, the county council did not fully fund M.T.P.S.s requested budget. And I understand why that happened. There was a lot happening last year. But I wanted to talk to you all about what the impact has been that we've seen in the classroom due to that decision. It was said that the lack of funding would only increase the classroom cap by about one student. But the reality is classes were not at the cap for every single section before this. Now they are an algebra one teacher at my school, teachers 9th grade algebra one, our highest needs math students. Told me that before this, her class is averaged about 25. Now every single class she has this year is between 30 and 33. English Language Learner, US History class at our school has 32 students in it. They speak five different languages. How are they getting the individualized attention they need to help them learn both history and English at the same time? I've seen IB courses, multiple IB courses cut, not due to lack of student interest, but because we don't have the teachers to staff that section, which is denying our students the opportunity to take a college level course and be, you know, as prepared as they can be for higher education. Musical instrument of hair budgets have been zeroed out, meaning that part of our curriculum is only available to our wealthy students. My daughter is going into kindergarten. She was born in November 2019. She was my little lockdown buddy for about a year and a half. And she has a speech language delay. The kids born in her like incoming class, they have twice the rate of speech language delays as other students. And yet MCPS had to cancel planned expansion of pre-K that would have served that very class of students and has not been able to hire the additional speech language pathologists necessary to serve this growing need. I'm a homeowner in the county. I know I pay property tax. No one wants to talk about it. But the increase, it's less than my monthly Netflix bill. This is an investment that we can make in the future of this community that we can make for our students and that will make Montgomery County the type of place where I'm proud to live and to work and to raise my family. So I'm asking you to support this budget. Thank you. Thank you. Jennifer Freeman. Thank you, Council President Stewart and Council Members for the opportunity to speak this this evening on behalf of Community Farm Share. I was here last night too in support of the Food Council's testimony, and while sitting in the audience and hearing all those passionate real stories of leaders and residents here, I just want to take another second to say a couple of things. One, I can't imagine how difficult your work is. And hearing such important testimony and having to navigate all those complexities. And secondly, in addition to supporting the OFSRS to the security budget, I also support the housing in the schools and so much of everything else I was talked about today. So I'm just grateful to be here as well. As so many have been devastated by the current federal policies, community farm shares also been hit hard by the loss of the USDA local food purchasing agreement or the LFPA funding. We currently support local farmers by being the county's largest buyer and only aggregator of county grown produce by dollars and pounds buying from 20 farmers this year and expecting to buy over 3300,000 pounds of produce all directed to food security initiatives. Our eight mobile farm markets throughout the county are set up as free choice farm stands, located in schools and clinics, where residents shop, market style in their communities, using cards and preloaded funds. Federal LFBA funding was our keystone for the market operations. In order for all residents to be able to shop in a dignified manner and with a wide range of culturally appropriate produce available through the opening hours of the market, critical that we sort of overstock our markets. However, since we already purchased that produce from the farmers, we now need a way to keep our markets more work sustainable. The LFPA served that sweet purpose perfectly. With the federal funding gone in 2026, we now seek to funding to fill that gap. Our markets are communities markets. A key reason why this funding request is so important is that we have developed into an anger organization serving as a link between community partners and local farms, bringing fresh produce access to over 35 partners. Schools, these are schools, are clinics, are nonprofits working on a, and it's a demand driven model in order to support other county, to support the county priorities, including the Sushejik Planda and Childhood Hunger and other priorities of the county. We additionally, noting that many of the partners that we work with, that we support through these markets and through our local food purchasing work, is supporting organizations that are working through OPSR grant funded programs including the CFA, Food and Medicine programs and school-based food assistance. So just to you know I explained that this is all really interconnected with multiple organizations and organizations doing food systems work in the county. In times when when budgets are tough we understand how important it is that funds do stretch to do the most good. They're requested $100,000 of sweet funding to buy surplus produce actually leverages over $500,000 in Montgomery County farmer sales and supporting our farmers which is an investment in our local food system to build a sustainable resilient food system. With a lot of gratitude to the council for having an existing county contract which supports all of our mobile markets at the schools, making additional funding more doable. Further existing systems are in place to the Farm to Food Bank program to be able to efficiently move our donated end-of-market produce support food assistance providers, which would be paid through this funding request. So thank you very much for your support of Community Farm Share over the years, and I really appreciate what you've got to view. So thank you. Thank you. Alondra Anderson. Good evening Council President Stewart, Council Vice President Jawondo and County Council members. I'm Alondra Anderson, co-president of the Montgomery County School Psychology Association. I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunity to testify today and support a fully funding the proposed FY26 operating budget as requested by the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education. I am one of 135 MCPS school psychologists who are highly trained through specialized advanced graduate preparation and education in psychology and are uniquely qualified to provide a wide range of conference services to Montgomery County students. Examples of these services include direct counseling service to address student social emotional and behavior challenges, behavioral threat assessments for evaluating students at risk for harm to themselves or others, comprehensive assessments for determining special education services and Section 5 before accommodations, and collaborating various stakeholders to develop interventions and supports for students both inside and outside the classroom. Additionally, our central services psychologist, also known as resource psychologists, provide direct support to staff and students in assisting schools with assessment needs, intervention development, and crisis response. NCPS school psychologist Specialized Training lends itself to serving as an avenue for students from marginalized communities to access mental health support and psychological assessments. Data signal that the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly increased the demand for mental health services, assessments, and crisis response. This brief overview of the Conference of Services is a testament to the amazing work of MCPS school psychologists in the critical nature of our roles to MCPS in the Montgomery County community and supporting students thriving in school, at home, and the community, and throughout their lives. It appears that the County Council acknowledges the vital role of MCPS school psychologists, specifically in 2022, the County Council allocated an additional 12 school psychologist positions to MCPS's operating budget. However, we have only retained three of these positions. This gap in positions have placed an additional strain on existing staff limiting the conference of services school psychologists provide to students. We ask that the county council please keep in mind that the nine positions would have helped school psychologists provide more services to meet the student's needs had they remain in our allocation. We are grateful for our allocated positions and request our maintenance to achieve the National Association of School Psychologists NAS recommended a ratio of 500 students to one school psychologist. This ratio is vital for quality comprehensive psychological services. For FY 2026 we project one school psychologist to for 1,277 students. While school psychologists ratio and MCPS have improved by 19% 2022, we fall short of NAS standards, which would ensure competent services to our students. With such critical decisions at bay, we recognize the impact it may have on you all. Engaging in mindfulness practices, which exemplifies a method of emotional regulation for which school psychologists are trained often utilizes the power of gratitude, which have been shown to specifically improve a well being. As I step away, I stand in solidarity with my 135 MCS school psychologists in expressing our gratitude for our currently allocated school psychologist positions, along with optimism for continued support in expanding school psychologist positions with MCPES to support thriving youth and family in Montgomery County. Thank you. Mohammed Jai. Aye. Good evening. My name is Muhammad Jai and I'm from Senegal. My life was torn it upside down when the situation in my hometown become unbearable due to political instability and economic hardship. With no other choice, I live behind everything I new in side of a safer and more stable feature. Arriving in a new country was overwhelming. Everything was unfamiliar. The language, culture, the culture. The people I don't know, who I will survive, let alone rebuild my life fair and uncertainty, fail it my days until found the lighthouse program in Montgomery County. which changes everything for me throughout the lighthouse program, I was able to find stability during one of the heritage time in my life. The food assistance means I never had to go to bed hungry, using one of my biggest worries. The financial aid helping me to go to school, helping me to go to school, finally giving me a safe and stable place to live some time. I desperately needed after month of sleeping in a crowded, shard space, closing assistance, gave me dignity and confidence. When I had little more than the clothes on my back, today I'm working and building a feature for myself. I know that is I ever fail. I can't turn off the quantity, community clinics for care. Thanks to the assaults' grace, I have improved my English with has opened it to better job opportunity and deeper connection in my new home. As your world continues to change programs like Lighthouse provide by HHS and more critical time ever. They don't just help, so provide hope, stability and opportunity. Many in your community really on their service to get back on their feet. Just I update. I'm apologize for my English is not good Thank you very much, Mr. Joseph Jude Villanard Good evening my name is Joseph Villanard and I came to the U.S.A from 80 with my wife and two children fleeing the violence and our county living behind everything we knew as the hardest decision we ever made as a family we have a right and a family a place on suddenly about that to expect our world to survive, or what to turn for help. But, lifehouse program tough, each is us, give us hope and need it most. When we first arrived in New County, we faced over well-challenge and had no incomes, no income, no food and bodily and including. We shot a crowded house with strangers struggling to get by. But thanks to county food bank we had food on our table. Thanks to clothing assistance we had home clothes to wear. Thanks to financial assistance, we had how to close to where. Thanks to financial support, we were able to move into a stable home, giving us a science of security and disability needed. And knowing that community and other other clinics, we available gave our space and mine that our health would not be neglected. Because of the support, we were able to We build our lives and cooperate on electricity costs and I'm now working to turn my maintenance set to begin. I had a stable job, my wife and my daughter as both in a C&A program and my son exited in high school. As a family, we are working hard and build strong independent future. I mean today because I want to emphasize just how critical program likes to live house, program tools, HHS, and other community services and for families like me. They remind us that even in our darkness moments, we are not alone and that with the right support, it will be future is possible. the program program available that just chain individual lives and trade lives and enter a community. I urge you to continue funding to support this Asian Shell services so that more family like mine have chance to rebuild, contribute and dearest. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you very much. Thank you to the whole panel. Our last in-person panel includes Rick Callahan, Pavlov Talker, Angela Rivera, Ryan, Hollywell. And Mr. Callahan, you can kick us off. Good evening. Good evening, Chairperson Kate Stewart and the esteemed County Council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening for the record. My name is Rick Callahan. I'm the co-chair of Interact and Executive Director of Compass. My testimony is on behalf of the 41 Interact Community Service Probiars. The coalition urges the county council to fully support the county execs 3% increase to the DD supplement. To say this has been a challenging year would be a gross understatement. In January, the governor's proposed budget threatened to slash revenue for most Montgomery County agencies from 21 to 28 A devastating blow to nearly 4,000 individuals with IDD who rely on our services. Fortunately, the DED community alongside with dedicated local and state legislature champions rose to occasion and through tireless advocacy, we successfully fought for the restoration of most of these proposed cuts, though regrettably not all were reverse. As we look ahead to the next few years, we are entering uncharted territory. While the state has restored revenue to prevent catastrophic cuts for FY25 and FY26, Interact providers will still face deeper reductions than their counterparts in the rest of the state. Even more concerning is uncertainty at the federal level. With Medicaid hanging in the balance as Congress moves towards a budget resolution, the potential impact remains unknown. This is a moment that calls for vigilance, unity, and continued advocacy. However, not all is doom and gloom. Your continued investment and supported the DDSUpliments led to meaningful progress, including the delivery of high quality person centered services, more people with IDD achieving competitive employment, more people actively engaged in their desired communities, a growing number of people living more independently in their chosen home, higher wages for the DSP, reduced turnover lean to greater stability of services. None of this could have happened without the close to 50-year partnership between Montgomery County and Interact providers. Now more than ever are continuing collaboration and partnership, what we vital is those who rise to meet the challenges of the years ahead. Interact is here to stay. We are your steadfast partners. We look forward to working with the county executive and the county council to ensure that people with IDD not receive the support they need but continue to thrive. Interact entities support the 3% increase to the DD Supplin. And thank you for all your years of support. Thank you. Pavlo Tucker. Yeah, thank you. Good evening, council members. And thank you for providing me the opportunity to speak. I'm Paul Lovtucker, president and CEO of Ivision Consulting and IT Services for based in Rockville doing work with the federal government. I'm here today to express strong support for the continued investment in the Montgomery County Economic Development Center, MCEDC. As a small business owner, I view MCEDC as one of the smartest investments Montgomery County can make to fuel economic growth and innovation. We began our engagement with MCEDC in early 2024, and it has evolved into a valuable and collaborative partnership. The support we've received laid a strong foundation for our future growth our future growth, particularly as we look to expand in the commercial marketplace with a focus on service companies in the biotech and life sciences sectors here in Montgomery County. With MCEDC, we have gained exposure through I Heart Radio, CEO, CEOs you should know, series that has reached four million listeners in the DMV region. This kind of visibility has elevated our profile with federal clients and strengthened our credibility as a small but growing business. We have been introduced to Mokos job funds and have received guidance in navigating the application process, helping us shape a strategic approach to our future high-rings. We have been connected with a broad network of innovative and forward-thinking companies opening doors to potential partnerships. I am confident that our continued partnership will lead to long-term benefits not just for my company, but for the broader local economy. Conversely, reducing or minimizing funding for MCEDC would limit Montgomery County's ability to keep pace with neighboring jurisdictions like Fairfax and Howard County's, both of which have actively invested in economic development and are seeing positive results. For metrics, according to the Maryland Economic Development Association, every $1 invested in economic development returns more than $8 in local and state tax revenue. In FY 24 alone, MCEDC's efforts resulted in $355 million in wages from over 2,200 jobs, generating nearly 12 million in tax revenue for the county. As both a business owner and a resident, I wanna see Montgomery County thrive, that takes bold and strategic investments. I strongly encourage increased funding for MCEDC so they can continue to pursue business, attraction opportunities, drive innovation and support the growth of high impact industries. Thanks for your time. Thank you so much. Now we have Ryan Howley-Well. Hi, good evening and thank you for taking the time to hear from me and so many other constituents. I think I'm the very last in-person speaker, which is very exciting. All I can say is I hope that I can make my testimony worth the wait. I'm Ryan. I'm a father. I'm a nonprofit employee and I'm a member of the countywide Recreation and Parks Advisory Board and I'm urging you today to fully find both the recreation and the parks budgets. Tell you a little bit about my family's background and how we wound up here. Six years ago we moved from Texas to Rockville and not to knock my former home but it's too hot, had too much asphalt and it just didn't offer what we wanted in the community. So we considered lots of places but ultimately we set our sights on Montgomery County in large part because we knew it had what our family craved. We knew that by living here our daughter would grow up in a place that valued learning, healthy lifestyles, and green spaces. And I'll tell you something that you don't hear every day. Thank you, because as a new-ish Montgomery County resident, it's delivered. During the worst of the pandemic, it seemed like my daughter and I got to go on hikes almost every evening around, like Frank. The county's ice skating classes and palms classes have built up her confidence. We've learned about our history at the agricultural history farm park. She gets excited to learn about nature at the Meadowside Nature Center and probably one of the highlights of our time in Montgomery County was when my daughter and my wife, my 75-year-old daughter, myself all went kayaking together on Lake needwood, at Lake needwood, three families, three generations on a lake at once. It was a memory we'll have forever. And I'm here because I want other families to have the opportunity to make those memories. Montgomery Parks is set of the counties, proposed budget is enacted as is, they'll struggle to maintain our parks, they'll struggle to offer the same level of programming and they might even struggle to keep their facilities open. I know you're facing difficult choices during a challenging year but the opportunities provided by Montgomery parks and the Department of Recreation aren't luxuries. They're the better off of our vibrant community. I've come to learn from speaking to my friends, my neighbors, that these are the same opportunities that many families, not just my own, have chosen to move to Montgomery County and stay in Montgomery County. I'd also like to mention the part of the reason I'm here tonight advocating for recreation and parks is because their biggest stakeholders can't do so. Nearly a quarter of our county's residents or children, most of them can't give a very good three minute speech about the budget. And even if they can, it's 10 o'clock, so it's passed there bedtime. But if you go to the programs and events that Parks and Recreation puts on, you can tell that it means the absolute world to these kids. It's the highlight of their week. So that's why I'm here tonight. So I'm urging you to invest in our future, invest in our families, and fully fund the parks and recreation budgets. So thank you again for your time. Thank you. Thank you very much. And thank you all for being our very less in-person panel this evening. We will now turn to our virtual participants. And the first virtual participant we have is Janice Wellington. Good evening Council members and President Council Stewart. I am Janice Wellington. I am a licensed clinical social worker and I've been the administrator for family services at the National Center for Children and Families in Maryland for the past 10 years. And I am here to talk to you about affordable housing and continuing the focus on affordable housing in the county. NCCF provides housing for families across Montgomery County for different programs who have housing instability, which includes our programs green tree shelter, Betty's house, rapper re-housing, a project based voucher program, and multiple affordable housing locations across the county. Additionally, NCCF is part of the Montgomery County Housing Alliance and the Interagency Commission on Homelessness. I have come before you today to advocate for continued focus by this Council on the expansion of affordable housing programs in Montgomery County Every day that we are not working to ensure that families can find an affordable place to live. We are leaving behind productive and valuable members of this community Affordable housing programs represent an opportunity for families that would otherwise be homeless. These families live in overcrowded and unhealthy conditions. They may be sleeping in cars, doubling up with relatives, sleeping on couches and floors. Please imagine the incredible stress that housing instability puts on parents getting their children to school. Waking their children up, sometimes at 5 a.m., taking their children on two to three hour public transportation journeys to drop them off a school, trying to ensure that they get there on time so they are not identified as negligent or have to engage with CPS, then getting back on public transportation to get to their own jobs. Families need their own space. Children need privacy that we often take for granted. They need their own beds, their own bookshelves, and a place to call home. Affordable housing restores childhood to children in poverty. For people currently in NCF's Affordable Housing programs, the two bedroom units that we provide are like moving into a dream home These programs allow individuals in poverty to ease that constant anxiety that plagues them and diminishes their capacity to parent We all know how expensive it is to live in this count The average rent is between 1900 to $2,000 for bedroom a two-bedroom place and And the Fezza that jumps up to about 32 hundred or more. The area median income here is $154,700. But the majority of the people in our programs work two to three jobs and earn between 45 and 50,000 annually. Now, tack on childcare, groceries, gas, car insurance, and there's no way that these families can survive. I implore you tonight to stay focused on these families and to find ways to expand affordable housing throughout Montgomery County. We need more buildings and more units dedicated to 30 to 80% of the AMI. Every town in this county needs to provide opportunities for affordable living. I urge you to build a community that does not exclude people. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Next we have Erica Evans. Good evening everyone. My name is Erica Evans and I'm grateful for this opportunity to represent the Distinguished Support Staff of MCPS and SCIU Local 500. I've had the privilege to serve students as a parent educator for the past 12 years and currently work at Cabin Branch Elementary School. If you're ever looking for a stellar example of a devoted staff, we show up every day with high expectations for themselves and their students and they give their students the tools and strategies they need to meet and exceed those expectations. You should stop by for a visit to see what excellence in action looks like and feels like. We all recognize the council is tasked to make difficult financial decisions in one of the most difficult times we face in the state and in the country. Here is the moment, your moment. When you can ascend above the noise and say, here in Montgomery County, we have a different vision and will make the choice to elevate the student, staff, families, and communities that need us most right now. Imagine all of us at the same kitchen table. We would agree that the best invite is pathway to ensure the future we envision for ourselves and our communities is through our children. We would agree that there are countless opportunities for us to improve academic and social emotional outcomes for them. However, it is impossible to consider the implications of MCPS's task to accomplish great things with less resources than what we've asked the council to fully fund. Dr. Taylor collaborated with the community to develop this broccoli budget. He's definitely not. it's definitely not the one we want. However, it is the budget our community developed collaboratively to meet this moment. Therefore, our broccoli budget should be received as the leanest, healthiest option we could have delivered given the times we were facing. I would be remiss if I didn't highlight what this budget means for my colleagues who serve as pair of educators. This is finally, finally the budget that says to us, I see you and I recognize the work MCPS needs to do to elevate the role pair educator serves for our children. As you've heard from my colleagues, this evening being a pair of educator is hard work. It's physical, it's emotional, and we stay because we see our presence positively impacting these students and the environments that we served. They need us and we need you to recognize our efforts. This budget solidifies the potential for wages that are commiserate with the quality and quantity of the work we do each day. It increases parent educator staffing and moves TPP employees to full time, which makes them eligible to receive vital benefits such as health care for their families. Yes, you have heard nothing but ask this evening. We've all come with our hat in our hand asking for your support about priorities because Because you agree that our children are worthy of our prioritization, you must agree to fully fund the MCPS budget and for this agreement, the future is grateful. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have Rashida Patterson. Good afternoon. My name is Rashida Patterson. And I am a resident of this county and thank you for allowing me to testify about my experience with NCCF's Affordable Housing Program. I came into this program after a difficult time in my life. I had lost my town home in Baltimore and lost my car as well. I had children, no family support, and nowhere to live. There was no one that I could stay with while I got back all my feet, and I was not sure what I would do next. I was talking to my cousin and she said that she'd seen a notice about some affordable housing and suggested I called the program to see if they could help. I called NCCF and began the application process. I had recently become CDL certified and that income qualified me for one of NCCF's apartments in Bethesda. I found a job in commercial trucking for NIH very close to my apartment. I have since been injured and am awaiting decisions on when I can return, but I have a part-time job as an esthetician in the meantime. Living on Avondale Street in Bethesda has been good for my family. My children are in great schools. My older daughter is at Somerset Elementary and I can see how happy she is. Her performance in school is exceptional. And she has grown and learned so much. My younger daughter is in the pre-K program at Rosemary Hills in Silver's Spring in Flourishing. She is in the pre-K program at Rosemary Hills in Silver Spring and Flourishing. She is looking forward to joining her sister at Somerset next year. I love the education system here in this county. Montgomery County is an inspiring place to be. We are surrounded by so many great people and it's motivating me to be better, not not only a better parent and member of society, but a better steward of my time, money, and access to resources. Life has happened and things did not go as planned, but we are surrounded by opportunities now and I am happy to have my children see a new future for themselves because of where we live. So thank you, NCCF, and thank you, Council for allowing me to testify. Have a great night. Thank you very much. Next, we have Layla Finuchan. Good evening, Council Member, Council President Stewart, and members of the Council. My name is Layla Fin Fnuchen and I have served as president and CEO of Victory Housing since 2017. Victory Housing is a nonprofit that serves at the Housing Development Arm of the Archdiocese of Washington. Since 1979, our mission has been focused on affordable and mixed income housing for seniors and families in Maryland and the District of Columbia. We appreciate the opportunity to testifying support of approval of the County executives fiscal year 2026 recommended operating budget. We commend the council and the County executive for budgeting consistent increases for funding for affordable rental housing development over the past several years. To continue to meet the challenge of affordable housing, the county must continue to significantly fund housing preservation and development. Our mission first became operational in Rockville in 1986 when parish priests and parishioners from various parishes transformed an idea of a solution to meet the need for housing for low-income seniors into a reality of a community that was known as St. Mary's assisted living. Today out of 35 communities, 18 are here in Montgomery County and we continue to work to bring new affordable senior communities to Montgomery County. Given the high cost of construction and development in Montgomery County, that funding from the county has almost always been the critical resource to close the final financing gap, making successful development possible. Whether independent living or assisted living, the need for affordable housing for loan modern income seniors has continued to grow. Quality stable affordable housing provides the foundation from which households of all ages can thrive. their their focus is accessing excellent schools, saving for home ownership, or participating in an accessing senior health and community services. Quality stable housing provides a base from which our seniors in particular can continue to contribute to the community and be part of the rich and diverse fabric of Montgomery County. If you exclude HSC's Housing Production Fund and funds for troubled common ownership communities, the proposed budget for producing and preserving affordable housing units in Montgomery County is approximately proposed at $119 million, a slight increase over last year. According to staff at DHCA, this amount should allow everything they project to close in fiscal year 2026 and keeping those projects on track. To ensure certainty around planning future opportunities and development, it is imperative that this funding be approved and not decreased. Especially in this climate of federal uncertainty, it is important to keep existing successful county tools to address affordable housing funded. Victory housing strongly supports the proposed increase in funding. Before I conclude, I want to join my fellow service providers and houses in applauding the county staff and also the county councils and innovation around affordable housing. I hope that you will continue to prioritize affordable housing, particularly for our seniors. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Our last person to testify tonight is Mary Renderoz. Mary, you're muted. Thank you. Mary, you're muted. Thank you. Thank you. Mary, you're muted. Thank you. No. Try again. Oh, yes, we hear you now, Mary. Go ahead. Thank goodness. Okay. Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak virtually. My name is Mary Renderos and I'm the Chief of Staff at Jubilee Association of Maryland. Jubilee provides residential and housing support services to over 200 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Montgomery County. Most of the people we support are lease holders of their own homes in the county. And we employ over 450 staff, the majority of whom are direct support professionalsilee is also a member of the Interagency Cording Community Interact Coalition of Service Providers. We hope you will fully support the proposed 3% increase in the developmental disability supplement in the shares budget. The supplement allows Jubilee to pay $2 an hour more to our highly skilled drug support professionals and provide a competitive wage during a historic staffing crisis. We are facing a $1.3 million loss of funding from the state of Maryland after this year's budget, and we're also deeply concerned about potential federal funding cuts to Medicaid and other programs the people we support rely on. We recognize the challenge of this time for so many in our community. Thank you for your continued partnership and investment in services for people with disabilities. Have a good evening. Thank you, Mary. That is it for us tonight for this public hearing. We are adjourned. We will be back tomorrow afternoon at two did I say the public hearing is closed I'm sorry I'll say the public hearing is closed this is like a commercial the public hearing is closed we are now adjourned and we'll be back tomorrow at 2.30 after we all get a good night's sleep thank you good night