Durham Public Schools continues to face financial challenges as we navigate a decline in enrollment driven in part by the addition of new charter schools. Despite these changes, our commitment to student success remains unwavering.
We are dedicated to doing more with less—strategically allocating our resources to ensure that every student and family receives the support and services they need. Through thoughtful budgeting with a sharp focus on academic achievement, we will continue to prepare our students to graduate ready for college, career, and lifelong success.
Crucial Stakeholder Input for 2026-2027 Budget
As we move ahead in making important and difficult decisions around the 2026-2027 school year budget, we take stakeholder input very seriously. That is why we solicited your input from families and community supporters through the DPS 2026-2027 Budget Thought Exchange for this budget season last month.
Your feedback proved once again to be compellingly supportive of our teachers and staff. Of more than 1,000 community supporters who participated in the Thought Exchange, an overwhelming majority of you selected issues around teacher and staff pay and retention as your top priority. Other priorities mentioned were quality facilities, school safety and security, and increased support for before and after school programs, transportation, classroom supplies, arts programs, Exceptional Children’s (EC) programs, and student support services.
DPS fully supports increased compensation for teachers and staff, and that will be addressed in the 2026-27 budget request, along with many of the additional items put forth in the Thought Exchange survey.
‘Must-Do’ Items for 2026-2027
DPS experienced a decrease in enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year, and another decrease is expected for 2026-2027. This will translate to more than $7 million in adjustments DPS must make due to enrollment decline. These reductions are largely due to new charter schools opening in Durham County.
Yet we must continue to fund such “non-negotiables” as salaries and operational costs. A preliminary overview of what our budget needs for the 2026-2027 school year was presented to the DPS Board of Education on February 9. We project that increases will be needed in our Continuation Budget, including:
Insurance: $737,579
Utilities: $1,171,670
Compensation and Benefits (including planning for increases in teacher pay and retirement contributions): $6,156,743
Charter School Share of Continuation Needs: $2,833,997
TOTAL: $10,899,989 for continuation budget needs.
Expansion Items
The budget preliminary request for expansion includes items that will improve services for our students, teachers, and community. This year’s expansion request includes the following:
Operations (Capital projects, custodial services, maintenance needs, transportation needs): $7,434,940
Information Technology: $3,812,756
Specialized Services (AIG, athletics, arts, ESL, PreK): $1,979,354
Finance (Payroll support): $837,744
Academic Services (Professional Development, Equity Affairs): $642,000
Admin, Legal, and Compliance: $336,194
Public Affairs (Communications support): $222,000
Human Resources: $149,704
Charter School Share for Expansion: $5,415,973
TOTAL: $20,830,665
Charter School Contingency
Two new charter schools are expected to open in August 2026, for a total projected enrollment of 1,000 students. This means we are projecting our charter school share of total revenue to increase from 23 percent to 26 percent next year, or $6,617,524.
TOTAL: $6,617,524
How DPS is Funded
Here is a breakdown of our funding sources that we had expected to receive per the Board of Education’s budget proposal for the 2025-2026 school year. These figures will increase slightly for next year due to the continuation and expansion budget items requested.
Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Funding Sources
State Funding: $245,364,373 (30 percent)
Local Funding: $220,584,123 (27 percent)
Federal Funding: $29,572,934 (4 percent)
Capital Outlay (construction, land acquisition and maintenance costs, funded largely by bonds): $271,666,617 (34 percent)
Child Nutrition: $16,990,592 (2 percent)
Community Schools: $9,954,984 (1 percent)
TOTAL: $807,684,074 (100 percent)
Approximately two-thirds of our funding comes directly from state funding (decided by the N.C. State Legislature) and local funding (decided by the Durham County Commissioners). A relatively small portion comes from federal taxes (decided by the U.S. Congress).
Where Does the Money Go?
Here is a breakdown of the major areas for which the Board of Education requested support in the 2025-2026 budget proposal: (Again, these will most likely increase slightly for 2026-2027.)
Instructional Services: $364,323,397 (51 percent)
Systemwide Support Services: $102,352,482 (13 percent)
Ancillary Services: $24,831,995 (4 percent)
Non-Programmed Services: $55,111,053 (9 percent)
Capital Outlay: $261,065,147 (23 percent)
TOTAL: $807,684,074 (100 percent)
Instructional Services include teacher salaries and benefits, textbooks, classroom supplies, curriculum development, instructional technology, and other purchased services specifically used for teaching students in the classroom. Systemwide Support Services include technology, operational, financial and human resources services, as well as services for special populations. Ancillary Services include community services and Child Nutrition. Non-Programmed Services include payments to charter schools and other non-budgeted items.
Next Steps for Public Participation in Budget Process
It is imperative that DPS provides ample opportunities for our stakeholders to share their ideas and concerns regarding the 2026-2027 budget. Following is the current schedule for the budget process (You will be notified with sufficient lead time if any dates change or more are added). We encourage your participation.
Monday, February 23: Budget Town Hall, Minnie Forte-Brown Staff Development Center, 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, March 5: Budget Document Released, Public Hearing, DPS Board of Education boardroom, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 26: Target Date for submission of budget request to Durham County Board of Commissioners