WASHINGTON - D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has unveiled her Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal, dubbed "Grow DC," focusing on increased investments in education, public safety, and economic growth while maintaining core city services.
What we know:
Mayor Bowser’s FY27 "Grow DC" budget prioritizes funding for education, public safety, health care, and economic development while maintaining essential city services.
The budget includes an increase to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula by 2.55%, bringing the foundation level to $15,455 per student and supporting nearly 100,000 public and charter school students.
It also maintains full funding for major childcare programs, including universal Pre-K ($266M), childcare subsidies ($114M), PKEEP ($19M), and healthcare for childcare workers ($12M).
In public safety, the budget ensures funding for police hiring and retention, as well as support for fire and EMS, corrections, and other agencies.
By the numbers:
The budget also includes the following:
- $2.4M to expand advanced technical centers
- $3M for high-impact tutoring
- More than $2 billion over six years for school modernization
- More than $500M for public safety facility upgrades
- $350M over six years for fire trucks and ambulances
- $75M toward a new D.C. jail
- $743M for Metro operating costs
- $900M for bridges, roads, and infrastructure
- $110M for redevelopment projects
- $320M for transportation improvements around RFK campus
What they're saying:
"For everything we love about our city—our great schools, parks, transportation, arts, culture, and restaurants—they require us to have robust revenues to make robust investments," said Bowser. "For that, we need a pro-growth budget, which we are delivering with Grow DC."
What's next:
The budget proposal will now go before the D.C. Council for review and potential changes before a final version is approved.