WASHINGTON — When a big school system decides smaller is better, work to find a way to pay for smaller class sizes begins.

“Class size does absolutely matter,” said Melissa McKenna, with the Montgomery County Council of PTAs.

“I have seen the difference in several schools.”

The Montgomery County Public Schools system states on its website that one of the goals of the FY17 Operating Budget is to reduce class size.

Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen said the council is taking a hard look at the budget request from the Board of Education. Floreen said she would like to see smaller classes, but that there are a lot of factors to consider when coming to an agreement on the budget.

MCPS has asked for an operating budget of $2.5 billion. Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett has proposed a $5.2 billion budget for the county.

The county council will vote on the spending plans by the end of May.