Montgomery County's teachers union says it will return to the bargaining table with the school district after five months of stalled contract negotiations.

Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) President David Stein said in a statement Saturday, Sept. 26, that the district's new compensation counterproposal opened the door to resumed talks. MCPS presented the offer at a bargaining session Friday, Sept. 25, at the district's administrative offices at 45 W. Gude Dr. in Rockville. The deal would cover about 14,000 educators, including teachers at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Walt Whitman High School and Walter Johnson High School.

"While MCPS's proposal doesn't go far enough, we can now continue the collective bargaining process, which requires authentic dialogue and an exchange of serious proposals," Stein said.

The counterproposal includes a 1% general wage increase for fiscal year 2028, the first year of a proposed three-year contract, Bethesda Magazine reported. The deal would also reopen wage discussions for fiscal year 2029, with a possible reopener for fiscal year 2030. MCPS also said it intends to negotiate health insurance benefits with the teachers union, the support staff union and the administrators union.

The district walked back earlier proposals to implement reductions in force and eliminate health care benefits, according to the union's email to members. The talks are shifting.

That 1% figure is a sharp drop from what teachers have received under the current 2023–2027 agreement. MCEA employees got 3.25% cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) in both July 2025 and July 2026, according to MoCoShow. The union had proposed continuing that 3.25% annual increase for the next three years.

Hundreds of union members packed the Sept. 25 session, Stein said. The show of force came after weeks of tension. Stein called the district's earlier proposals "unacceptable" in a Sept. 24 statement to Bethesda Magazine. MCPS spokesperson Liliana López denied the union's characterization that the district had initially offered 0% raises, telling Bethesda Magazine the district remained committed to good-faith negotiations.

MCEA Vice President Danillya Wilson also spoke at the Sept. 25 school board meeting about the bargaining dispute.

An MCPS spokesperson told Montgomery Community Media on Sept. 27 that the district would not comment further, citing the ongoing nature of the negotiations.

No date for the next bargaining session has been publicly announced.