Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Fy26 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
MCPS presents FY26 budget request; board confronts $2.9M shortfall against county proposal
Summary
Superintendent and finance staff reviewed the FY2026 operating budget request totaling roughly $154 million and said new state calculations increased state aid, but the county proposed a smaller local increase; the board discussed possible cuts and asked for follow-up budget-detail meetings ahead of county hearings.
Superintendent David Bragan and finance staff presented the division’s FY2026 operating budget request, describing proposed personnel increases and program investments while warning of a funding gap between the district’s ask and the Board of Supervisors’ preliminary proposal.
The administration showed the FY26 request, which included a 3% salary enhancement, minimum-wage increases to reach roughly $16 per hour for certain roles, two salary-guide adjustments (teachers and classified staff), additions for special-education teachers and paraprofessionals, a gifted-to-ELL teacher conversion, additional nurses, 504 coordinators, custodians and a school security officer (SSO) program. The total increase was presented as about $7.7 million, bringing the operating budget to approximately $154 million, with an additional school-nutrition budget noted separately.
Bragan told trustees that a change in the state calculation produced about $1 million more in state aid than earlier projections, but the county’s preliminary budget presentation included only about $2.75 million of additional local support — leaving a gap of roughly $2.9 million between the division’s request and the county’s current proposal.
Board members and administration discussed options to close the shortfall. Trustees asked for detailed breakdowns of the district’s proposed instructional investments and for itemized budgets for the school-nutrition program (the board and Sodexo had discussed the nutrition fund earlier). The superintendent said the district can present more detailed spreadsheets for board review and invited the board to schedule targeted budget work sessions before county budget deadlines.
Several trustees urged community advocacy and attendance at the county public hearings; others asked staff to identify possible reductions if the county does not increase its offer. Board member Dr. Rountree stressed the need to communicate the board’s priorities to the Board of Supervisors; another trustee said significant cuts would require removing large budget items rather than small adjustments.
No final district budget was adopted at the meeting. The board set a schedule to revisit budget decisions and requested more granular line-item detail on “additional instructional needs,” school nutrition costs, and the budget impact of universal free meals and the proposed salary adjustments.
