Budget director: recent state laws preserve core funding but create new pre-K and pension pressures

Siobhan Smith, director of Budget and Management Services, told the board on June 17 that the 2026 Maryland General Assembly outcomes are a mix of protection and new cost pressure for Prince George's County Public Schools.

Smith described three bills affecting the district. She said Senate Bill 311 preserves "hold harmless" protections that shield the district from a sharper funding decline and grants the district flexibility on state grants for programs such as fine arts and world languages. Smith characterized that measure as "good news" because it prevented a potentially large funding drop.

By contrast, Smith said Senate Bill 284 (a BRFA measure affecting pre-K tiers and local pension payments) created budgetary tension. The district had expected a tier-2 pre-K cutoff increase that would functionally approximate a 600% federal poverty cutoff in some preliminary materials; the enacted bill capped tier 2 at 450%. Smith said that produces more pre-K funding per eligible pupil even as the district's pre-K enrollment is declining, creating a mismatch between available funds and where seats exist. She also warned the enacted session increased the local required payment to the state pension board (raising local share obligations) and said that higher local pension demands could make it harder to secure additional county dollars.

Smith also discussed charter facilities funding (House Bill 1430 / Senate Bill 960), which will provide roughly $200 per charter student directly to charter operators for facilities and bypass the local education agency. "It changes the conversation," she said, noting the state's direct facility support for charters does not replace the statutory charter operating formula but provides a separate stream for building needs.

Smith said the session overall was unusually favorable to Prince George's County Public Schools because the district avoided many unfunded mandates, crediting the board's advocacy. She closed by outlining next steps in the budget calendar: the County Council was expected to vote June 22 on a $20 million supplemental allocation that would relieve pressure on the school budget, the board would present a final FY27 budget for adoption June 25, and the district would transmit the adopted budget for county and state certification and publish the budget snapshot and book by late July.

Board members asked detailed questions about how pre-K funding follows students, how per-pupil amounts vary by tier, the split between public and private pre-K providers, and whether lower pre-K enrollment is a demographic issue. Smith attributed enrollment declines primarily to lower birth rates and fewer migrant families in the county.