The Montgomery County Council鈥檚 hearing room erupted in shouting and jeers as Council President Natali Fani-Gonz谩lez announced a budget vote would be postponed.
After an initial delay of nearly four hours, the 1 p.m. meeting ended as soon as it began with Fani-Gonz谩lez telling the jam-packed hearing room, 鈥淲e have more discussions to have among colleagues, so we鈥檙e going to postpone this session until tomorrow.鈥�
With that, Fani-Gonz谩lez and her 10 council colleagues filed out of the room as the crowd shouted, 鈥淪hame, shame!鈥� and 鈥淒o your job!鈥�
鈥淭heir proposal to cut $72 million from MCPS is not going to fly! And the reason that they鈥檙e not voting today is that they don鈥檛 have the votes to do it,鈥� Montgomery County Education Association President David Stein told members in the audience.
Stein was referring to concerns over whether the council would fully fund the Montgomery County school system鈥檚 budget request of $3.8 billion.
Christine Handy, president of the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals, said she had 鈥渘ever seen anything like this,鈥� referring to the abrupt postponement of a vote.
School district leaders, Handy said, 鈥渉ave to make hard decisions every day! We have to do our job. We need them to do their job, and not defund our kids.鈥�
‘I just don鈥檛 think that was the right thing to do’
In an exclusive interview with 海角社区app after the announcement, Fani-Gonz谩lez said she was not surprised by the anger from the crowd, most of whom were school employees represented by union groups including MCEA and SEIU Local 500.
鈥淚 was not surprised, I come from the labor movement,鈥� Fani-Gonz谩lez said. 鈥淚 expect that and more.”
But Fani-Gonz谩lez said she held off on pushing for a vote from her colleagues because, 鈥淎t the very last minute, I had a couple of colleagues who said, ‘We need more time.’鈥�
She did not identify which colleagues indicated they were not ready to take the vote.
The council will take straw votes ahead of the formal vote planned for May 21. The 11 council members are required to approve a budget by the June 1 deadline.
鈥淭his is a very emotional budget, and I think today it was in full display,鈥� Fani-Gonz谩lez said. 鈥淚 think my job as the president is not to say, 鈥榃e have got to do this, my way or the highway.鈥� My job is to bring consensus.鈥�
Asked how far apart the council is on coming to agreements on taxing levels and potential cuts, Fani-Gonz谩lez said, 鈥淎nything can be on the table.鈥�
The decision to hold off on the vote is unprecedented, but Fani-Gonz谩lez said that鈥檚 because the current political and economic climate is also unprecedented.
鈥淵ou have never seen three people running for county executive from the county council,鈥� she said, referring to Council members Andrew Friedman, Evan Glass and Will Jawando.
The budget vote also comes as the county has been bruised by massive federal layoffs and residents are squeezed by inflation and high gas prices.
鈥淚t is a historic moment, and we鈥檙e going to get through this. I know we will,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople need time, and that鈥檚 OK.鈥�
鈥淎t the end of the day, the budget is going to have things that I don鈥檛 agree with, but that鈥檚 part of compromising. And if people need time to reach a compromise, I鈥檓 going to give it to them,” she said.
The bottom line, Fani-Gonz谩lez said, is that Thursday was not the right time to vote: 鈥淎lthough I could have proceeded, because I have the power to do that, I just don鈥檛 think that was the right thing to do.鈥�
As of Thursday, the plan was to have the council reconvene for a vote Friday.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
漏 2026 海角社区app. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
