For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Committees will receive a briefing about Montgomery County’s retail market; review Montgomery County Public Schools Fiscal Year 2025 categorical transfers and proposed regional programming model
The Economic Development (ECON) Committee will meet on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing about Montgomery County’s retail market.
The members of the ECON Committee include Chair Natali Fani-González and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Evan Glass and Laurie-Anne Sayles.
The Education and Culture (EC) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review a resolution to approve a total of $7.25 million in categorical transfers for the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Operating Budget. In addition, the committee will review the MCPS proposed regional programming model.
The members of the EC Committee include Chair and Council Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Kristin Mink.
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More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Montgomery County Retail Market
Briefing: The ECON Committee will receive a briefing about the retail market in Montgomery County. The briefing is expected to include a discussion of retail market conditions with an overview of market data and trends provided by representatives of Montgomery Planning. The presentation also will include a discussion of how retail is changing and how it could be supported by County initiatives. The briefing is expected to include an overview of resources provided by the Montgomery County Business Center and an update on the impact of funding provided through the Small Business Support Services Non-Departmental Account (NDA). Representatives from the Business Center will also preview a draft best practices document intended to support retail business owners. The ECON Committee previously received a briefing about the County’s retail market at a meeting held on Oct. 18, 2023.
Review: The EC Committee will review a resolution to approve categorical transfers for seven state categories totaling $7.25 million for the MCPS FY25 Operating Budget, as requested by the Board of Education. According to the FY25 MCPS Year-End Financial Report, MCPS ended FY25 with a surplus of more than $24 million. The total includes a $11 million projected revenue surplus, $10.2 million projected expenditure surplus, and a $2.9 million net carryover fund balance from FY24.
State law requires that changes in expenditures among state budget categories for local school systems be subject to Council approval. The Council reviews and acts on the categorical transfers requested by the Board of Education at the end of the fiscal year to align the budgeted appropriation with actual expenditures. This categorical transfer request was approved by the Board of Education on Sept. 25, 2025.
The board’s request includes categorical transfers totaling $7.25 million from three categories: Category 1, Administration; Category 4, Textbooks and Instructional Supplies; and Category 6, Maintenance of Plant. The transfers will fill four categories that ended FY25 in deficit, which include: Category 3, Instructional Salaries; Category 5, Other Instructional Costs; Category 7, Student Personnel Services; and Category 9, Student Transportation. Additional detail is available in the Council staff report.
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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Proposed Regional Programming Model
Review: The EC Committee will review the MCPS Proposed Regional Programming Model. The draft proposal would create six new regions within the school system and offer students within each region access to the same parallel high-quality academic programs within each group of regional schools. The changes are intended to expand program options across the district, bring these programs closer to students’ homes and generally broaden access to these programs to more students. The discussion will include an overview of the proposal’s goals, timeline and implementation plans, and the system’s community engagement and communication strategies. In addition, the committee will examine the anticipated ways in which the program will affect academic rigor, the program’s potential impact on the Down County and Northeast Consortia, and long-term budget and staffing implications. Additional detail is available in the Council staff report.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
Release ID: 25-335
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
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