Fully Funding MCPS Does Not Lead to Academic Excellence
Blank checks and rubber stamps have not moved the needle on reading and math scores, and that's because they can't.
At last night’s County Council meeting, MCEA President David Stein sat alongside fellow MCEA members as they testified to the urgent need to fully-fund MCPS. Just an hour earlier, Superintendent Taylor was outside of the Council Building in Rockville, stirring up the crowd of MCEA union members— his MCPS faculty, calling for fully-funding our public school system while he spends our taxpayer money recklessly. Without a doubt, we all care for the future of our children.
Yet, over the years, both MCPS and MCEA failed to prove the connection between a fully funded system and proficiency in scores. The reason is simple— it’s because THEY CAN’T. The evidence shows fully-funding MCPS does not lead to academic excellence in either reading or math. The data is clear. Take a look:
Blue line = Reading/ELA proficiency %
Red line = Math proficiency %
Green dashed line = Funding per student (rising sharply)
The green (dashed) line on the graph is MCPS per-pupil operating spending (right-hand axis, in dollars). It shows how the district’s budget has steadily risen with “full” or near-full funding approvals each year — from roughly $17,000–$18,500 per student in 2022–2023 up to ~$21,500+ by 2025, ~$21,359–$21,591 (FY2026). FY2027 proposal per-pupil cost (not shown on the graph) stands at $23,045 per student.
Year after year, MCPS received steady, above-Maintenance-of-Effort increases — often at or near fully requested levels, with the FY2027 proposal now reaching $3.78 billion. Yet reading and math proficiency gains remain modest at best. Pre-COVID declines have not fully reversed. Achievement gaps by race, income, language, and disability have persisted or widened. The pattern is unmistakable: fully funding MCPS alone does not drive meaningful academic excellence. No document from MCEA or MCPS counters this long-term record.
The people who told us that teaching phonics doesn’t work — and that memorizing math isn’t real learning — cannot be trusted with a blank check and no accountability.
In fact, let’s break the data down even further by looking at different populations within MCPS:
These graphs make the case visually: fully funding MCPS has coincided with only tiny upward ticks in proficiency (often 1–3 points per year post-COVID), while per-pupil costs have climbed thousands of dollars. The achievement gaps remain wide, stark, and stubborn. Depending on the school your child attends and the wider cluster they belong to, the data is even worse, showing dollars barely make an impact at all on reading and math proficiency.
Let’s take the Watkins Mill Cluster, for example. Even though MCPS has been “fully funded” with rising budgets for years, schools like Stedwick, Watkins Mill, Whetstone, and Capt. Daly Elementary remain in the 15–36% proficiency range.
Gaps persist, especially in high-need clusters. District-wide racial, economic, and subgroup gaps have not closed meaningfully despite funding hikes. Here’s another dramatic example: The Gaithersburg Cluster!
Tying future funding to measurable academic metrics is the only proven way to strengthen any connection between investment and results. We must focus taxpayer dollars on what actually moves the needle for every student. Vote Brenda M. Diaz for Board of Education. She will implement the Success Toolkit for School Board Members, and will encourage you to do the same, as parents, students, administrators, and teachers.
Evidenced-based policy and budgeting--what a concept.