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Bowser Unveils 'Grow DC' FY27 Budget Focused on Schools, Safety, Transit

Council review comes next for a plan closing a projected $1.1 billion shortfall.

Overview

  • Mayor Muriel Bowser presented the FY27 “Grow DC” proposal Friday, outlining higher spending for education, public safety, childcare, and transportation.
  • Schools would see a 2.55% boost to the per‑student funding formula to $15,455, which is the base amount schools receive per student, with universal Pre‑K and childcare subsidies kept fully funded.
  • Public safety plans include a $500 million operating request, $75 million toward a new jail through a public‑private partnership, $46 million for youth rehabilitation facilities, and $350 million over six years for new fire and ambulance vehicles, with an MPD hiring line not yet specified.
  • Capital commitments feature $743 million for Metro operating costs, $900 million for bridges and roads, and $320 million for transportation upgrades around the RFK campus linked to redevelopment.
  • The package now heads to the D.C. Council, with full budget books due April 14, in a debate shaped by Bowser’s final year in office and an emergency youth curfew set to expire April 15.