Montgomery County (Map, News) - Montgomery County’s new budget will still require educators to slash staff and programs, but schools officials felt like they dodged a knock-out blow.

The $41 million in reductions demanded by the County Council represents about 2 percent of the school board’s initial $2.1 billion request, but beats the $51 million in reductions proposed in March by County Executive Ike Leggett.

Cuts to staffing and programs, to be fleshed out by the school board and finalized in June, are closer to $27 million after the district came forward with a plan to put less money than originally budgeted into an investment account set aside for future retiree benefits.

The total savings may help salvage what many on the school board have seen this year as their number one priority: reforming middle schools by shaking up course offerings, adding more teachers and including more technology in the instruction.

Even so, critical cuts are pending. Superintendent Jerry Weast said he expected cuts to come at the central office level, and about one teaching position, on average, per school. Using the district’s first-year teacher salary of $44,200, one less position at each of its 200 schools would save the system almost $9 million, leaving more than $18 million in cuts remaining.

Valerie Ervin, chairwoman of the County Council’s education committee and a former school board member, said she was “absolutely not happy” about the budget’s effect on the schools.

“There will be fewer teachers and they will have bigger work loads,” Ervin said. “Anyone who thinks they can muck around with a budget, but that it’s not attached to people and programs - they’re mistaken.”

Next week, the Council will determine how much from each of 18 categories the school board needs to cut. The categories span administration and teacher salaries to a special fund for instructional television.

lfabel@dcexaminer.com