The Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Proposed FY2027 Operating Budget is not an expansion budget — it is a stabilization budget. Developed after $150 million in reductions, the largest single-year adjustment in district history, it is designed to restore predictability, protect classroom instruction, and address urgent legal, operational, and student needs.
Even amid unprecedented cuts, PGCPS is prioritizing high-impact investments to sustain momentum in teaching and learning and accelerate student outcomes. The budget directs more than $27 million to Special Education and an additional $1 million to Reading and Math interventions — strategically shifting resources from general operations into targeted student supports that most directly accelerate achievement.
Our Priority: Accelerating Student Achievement in Literacy and Math
How We Accelerate Student Achievement
- Stabilizing Special Education
- Modernizing Teaching & Learning Systems
- Strengthening School Safety
- Sustaining a Strong, Stable Workforce
- Elevating Professional Learning
2026 Legislative Priorities
- Supporting Students with Disabilities
- Supporting Academic Achievement for Multilingual Learners
- Modernizing Construction and Facilities for Student Success
- Ensuring Safe and Secure Environments for Students and Staff
“This is a year of recalibration. We are making $150M in reductions with discipline and intention — focusing on teaching and learning, identifying efficiencies, and prioritizing the investments that deliver the greatest impact for students.” ~ Interim Superintendent Dr. Shawn Joseph
How We Got Here
Rising costs, increased support for students with disabilities, declining enrollment, limited use of fund balance, as well as ongoing uncertainty around the local, state and federal fiscal climate have created unprecedented fiscal pressure. PGCPS has absorbed $110M in compensation increases and retiree benefits, reserves are depleted, and County funding sits at the minimum requirement— below regional peers.
Projected Unrestricted Revenue (in millions)
|
Funding Program
|
FY26 Revised
|
FY27 Proposed
|
Change ($)
|
Change (%)
|
|
Foundation
|
$1,156
|
$1,203
|
$47
|
4.1%
|
|
Compensatory Education
|
677
|
676
|
(1)
|
-0.1%
|
|
Multilingual Learner
|
315
|
307
|
(9)
|
-2.8%
|
|
Special Education
|
148
|
174
|
26
|
17.9%
|
|
Comparable Wage Index
|
70
|
71
|
1
|
1.6%
|
|
Prekindergarten
|
58
|
79
|
21
|
37.1%
|
|
Other Major State Aid *
|
90
|
87
|
(3)
|
-3.0%
|
|
Major State Aid Funding (State & County Share)
|
2,514
|
2,598
|
84
|
3.3%
|
|
Other Board & Federal Sources
|
30
|
76
|
46
|
154.6%
|
|
Use of Fund Balance
|
95
|
25
|
(70)
|
-73.7%
|
|
Total Unrestricted Revenue
|
2,639
|
2,699
|
60
|
2.3%
|
* Includes Transportation, Non-Public placements for Students with Disabilities, Blueprint Transition Grant and Out-of-County Living arrangements.
Mandatory Costs
|
Category
|
Amount ($)
|
|
Negotiated Commitments
|
$95M
|
|
Other Post-Employment Benefits
|
$15M
|
|
Salary Lapse Reduction
|
$40
|
|
Total Mandatory Costs
|
$150M
|
Reductions
|
Total Proposed Reductions
|
$148.2M
|
|
Category
|
Amount ($)
|
|
Financial Strategy & Reserves
- Grant Optimization - Parent engagement and student support positions, and school health centers will transition to Community Schools grants. ($16.9M)
- Extended Central Office Hiring Freeze throughout FY27 ($8.6M)
- Elimination of long-term vacancies ($2.6M)
- Reserve reduction ($9.4M)
|
$37.5M
|
|
Facilities & Operations
- Contracted services ($10M)
- Transportation and Building Services overtime ($8.8M)
- Shift of building repairs and modifications to the Capital Improvement Program ($4.2M)
- Maintenance & supplies ($2.2M)
- Operations discretionary ($0.1M)
|
$25.3M
|
|
Information Technology
- Position eliminations - IT tech coordinators and support positions ($2.3M)
- ESSER funded Software Licenses ($2.5M)
- Consultant Services ($0.5M)
- Telecommunications contracted services ($0.5M)
- IT Techs Overtime ($0.2M)
- IT Discretionary ($0.1M)
|
$6.1M
|
|
Academic and Programmatic
- Central Academic Support ($12M) - Discretionary and position realignments within Curriculum & Instruction, Early Learning, Specialty Programs & the Arts.
-
-
- The Division of Academics (Career and Technical Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Early Learning, and Specialty Programs and the Arts,) decreased their overall budget by $10 million dollars. This reduction in funds allowed the Division of Academics to strategically reduce funding in areas that were either redundant or allowed them to tighten current practices with a laser lens on efficiency. Long term vacancies across the division were also reduced.
- AVID ($2.5M) - Program reduction across 21 Middle Schools
- IB ($2.8M) - Elementary Years Programs (MYP) and Middle Years Programs (MYP) only. Schools impacted are Central HS, Dwight D. Eisenhower MS, Frederick Douglass HS, James Madison MS, Maya Angelou French Immersion, and Melwood ES. Three staff members reclassified.
- Language Immersion (some underenrolled offerings) ($2.5M) - Reduction of Chinese, Dual Spanish, and French Immersion with World Language added. Schools impacted: Greenbelt MS, Largo HS, Paint Branch ES, Capitol Heights ES, Central HS. World Language offerings will be added at: Capitol Heights ES, Paint Branch ES, Thomas Johnson MS, Fort Foote ES, Greenbelt MS, Northview ES.
- Science & Technology ($1M) - Reduction of 1.0 Professional School Counselor and 1.0 Assistant Principal at Duval HS
- Aeronautics ($0.3M) - Reduction of 1.0 Professional School Counselor and 1.0 Program Assistant Principal at Charles Herbert Flowers HS, Eleanor Roosevelt HS, and Oxon Hill HS each.
- Pre-Kindergarten ($1.3M) - Due to declining enrollment for public PreK, reduction of 10 PreK classrooms across 10 schools net of 3 new classrooms added to Glassmanor ES, Glenridge ES, and Templeton ES.
|
$22.4M
|
|
Student Support & Services
- Substitutes ($25.3M)
- School discretionary - 35% reduction ($5M)
- Student Services outsourced contracts ($3M)
- Position eliminations: vacant private duty nurses (work funded through contracted services), middle school schedulers, administrative support ($1.9M)
- Area Offices and Student Services discretionary ($4M)
|
$39.2
|
|
Operational & Central Office Efficiencies
- Non-local travel, registration expense, catering ($5.1M)
- Overhead reimbursement from Food Services program ($5M)
- Central Office reductions - 15 positions and discretionary across the Accountability, Finance, Chief of Staff, General Counsel divisions, as well as Superintendent’s Office ($7.5M)
|
$17.6M
|
Investments
|
Total Proposed Investments
|
$35M
|
|
Investment Area
|
Amount ($)
|
|
Special Education
|
$27.2M
|
|
Artificial Intelligence Literacy
|
$1.3M
|
|
Safety & Security
|
$4.4M
|
|
Professional Development
|
$1.1M
|
|
Reading and Mathematics
|
$1.2M
|
FY27 Budget Development Timeline
- Superintendent’s Proposed Budget Presentation: Thursday, January 22, 2026
- FY 2027 Proposed Budget Book Published: Thursday, January 29, 2026
- Board of Education Budget Work Sessions and Public Hearings: February 5, February 12, and February 19, 2026
- Board of Education Adoption of FY 2027 Requested Budget: Thursday, February 26, 2026
- FY 2027 Requested Budget Transmitted to Prince George’s County: Friday, February 27, 2026
Download PDF of FY2027 Budget Snapshot
