Dear Friends,
We have reached the final weekend of the summer. Next week, students will be back in school.
I was a schoolteacher for 17 years before I joined the County Council, and I remember how much work and preparation go into the start of a new school year. Teachers get to know new students, and principals and administrators orient new teachers and parents to their schools. Bus drivers learn new routes. It involves a lot of logistics and coordination, and it takes an entire summer of planning to start the year smoothly.
With that in mind, let me share some great news about Montgomery County Public Schools. A recent survey conducted by U.S. News and World Report, which ranked the top 50 public high schools in Maryland, showed that six of the top 10 schools were in Montgomery County. In fact, more than half of our high schools landed on the list. Taking a wider view, four of our schools were ranked among the top 500 nationally. Our schools stand out for graduating a high percentage of students and creating college-ready young adults.
This week, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor joined me for my media briefing. This is his second year as MCPS Superintendent, and I have enjoyed working with him. I have been impressed by his leadership and the direction he is taking the school district in.
One change that I am very happy to see is that MCPS has updated its cell phone policy (seen in the chart above) to ensure a more focused and productive learning environment. I have advocated for in-school cell phone policy changes for several years, and I am pleased to see these new policies enacted. I was stunned in some of my school visits to see students playing on their phones during lessons – I could not believe that this was allowed.
Elementary and middle school students will now be required to turn off and put away their phones during classes, lunchtime and transitions. Some middle schoolers will be part of a pilot program that will keep their phones locked away for the day but protected from theft. High school students will still have the flexibility to use their phones during lunch and between classes, but not when they are supposed to be learning. These efforts will help students focus on classwork, not their devices.
MCPS will host their Back-to-School Fair at Westfield Wheaton Mall tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 23, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will feature free music, entertainment, health screenings and information about resources in our school system. Parents whose children are not up to date on required immunizations can get the necessary vaccinations at the Fair.
Free transportation from five high schools will be available starting at 9 a.m. This is an important event for MCPS students and their families, and I encourage everyone to attend.
Additionally, Dr. Kisha Davis, the County’s Health Officer, reminds everyone to help kids get emotionally ready by setting good sleep habits ahead of the school year and talking about things that may make them anxious.
Monday will be a special day for students attending class at a new campus. MCPS’s first Transition Day will help those students get up to speed on how things work in Kindergarten, 6th and 9th grades.
MCPS has made progress in filling special education vacancies. This is part of our commitment to meeting the needs of all of Montgomery County's families. Nothing is more important than providing the right kind of education for our residents and families.
Maryland Association of County Officials Meeting Recap
The chaos, confusion and fear across our State from the federal takeover of police in the District of Columbia were hot topics of discussion at last week’s Maryland Association of Counties Conference (MACo). Large or small, urban or rural, every part of Maryland is being negatively impacted.
Some examples include:
- Baltimore City is experiencing a 50-year low in homicides, and yet Trump is demonizing the residents there. He’s spreading the same mistruths about violent crime as he is doing with the residents of the District of Columbia.
- Residents of Western Maryland--areas that are majority Republican and pro-Trump--were denied FEMA reimbursements for their recent catastrophic flooding.
- Comptroller Brooke Lierman shared a report that said 6% of all jobs in our state are federal jobs and $150 billion is tied to annual federal spending.
- Since January, the State has lost 13,000 federal jobs.
I shared what we have seen so far and what we expect to get worse.
- Maryland employment numbers from June 2025 compiled for the Monthly Labor Review show a decrease of 8,868 jobs compared to last year—a reduction of 1.5%.
- These figures do not include all the federal workers who took buyouts or early retirement because they will remain employed until October.
- Out of the approximately $300 million in federal grant funds that Montgomery County receives, we are projecting a reduction of 10%, or $30 million. Federal and State cuts could also add to these losses.
The new budget, which is supposed to be passed sometime in September or October, will not include the positions that DOGE was trying to cut this year, and the jobs will be gone. So, the courts will not have a basis for challenging the job losses as they did this spring, and the possibility of a complete government shutdown looms because the Republicans themselves are not united on the budget.
These numbers are sobering, and they do not account for the fear and chaos rippling through our communities, especially among our immigrant residents. We have not seen mass raids of neighborhoods or worksites yet, but once the Trump administration staffs up ICE with the billions of dollars it now has budgeted for the department, what I call an ICE army, I expect more expansive deportation efforts.
Gov. Moore’s address at the conclusion of the MACo conference on Saturday focused on unity, diversity, hope and support. His message was simple--in these challenging times, act with urgency and keep delivering for our residents.
We can’t stop the madness being led by Trump, but we will keep speaking out and doing what we can to provide information and safeguards.
Second Week of Federal Government Takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and Its Impacts on Our Community
This was the second week of the federal government’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. More National Guard troops are being sent from states with Republican Governors. By Labor Day, up to 2,000 military troops could be in the District. They aren’t trained in policing; they are trained for warfare.
These actions are horrifying and deeply concerning. Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police is clearly more focused on deporting immigrants than on reducing crime. According to the White House, as of last Sunday, more than 40% of the roughly 300 arrests targeted undocumented immigrants.
If this effort was truly about public safety in the District, the White House would have restored the $1 billion it removed from the District’s budget that would have supported police, firefighters and city services. But they are not doing that.
I want to thank Congressman Jamie Raskin for his joint resolution to end the President’s control of D.C.’s police force. He rightly called it part of a “broader plan to militarize and federalize the streets of cities around America whose citizens voted against him.” You can watch one of his recent interviews on the subject here.
The language Trump uses with heavily Democratic cities and the people who live in them is nothing new. These are the same racist stereotypes and tactics on display in 1989 when he took out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for the Central Park Five to be executed for crimes they did not commit and for which they were eventually exonerated.
Unfortunately, he is not simply a New York City real estate developer anymore. He is now the President of the United States, and he is causing tremendous harm around the country and in the nation’s capital.
Restaurant Week: Providing Support for Local Businesses
This federal takeover is terrible and disturbing for numerous reasons, including its negative implications for our regional economy. Business leaders have reported a significant decline in dining over the past week in the city. This downturn has had a ripple effect, impacting not only the city's restaurants but also potentially affecting dining in surrounding counties like ours.
Restaurants, much like the construction and agriculture sectors, are highly susceptible to federal immigration policies and the resulting loss of workers. These policies can create a challenging environment for restaurant owners and their staff, making it difficult to maintain operations and provide quality service.
Considering these challenges, it's more important than ever to support our local dining industry and Metropolitan Washington Restaurant Week offers a good opportunity to do just that. By dining out and supporting our local workforce, you can enjoy delicious meals at special prices while also helping to sustain the businesses that contribute so much to our community's vibrancy and economy.
Let's come together to support our local restaurants during this critical time. Your support can make a significant difference in helping these businesses thrive despite the current challenges. Nearly two dozen Montgomery County eateries from Gaithersburg to Silver Spring are participating in this year’s promotion, which runs through Sunday. You can learn more at ramw.org/restaurantweek.
As always, my appreciation for all of you,
Marc Elrich
County Executive
