Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill has recommended a $2.1 billion budget — including a $1.97 billion operating budget — for the 2026-27 school year.
If the CMS school board approves the request, unveiled Tuesday, the district will ask Mecklenburg County for nearly $699 million — roughly $31.1 million more than it received from the county last year.
That expansion of county dollars would include several new recurring costs — $8.8 million to fund a roughly 5% increase to the county-funded local teacher salary supplement, around $400,000 to increase pay for some non-teaching staff, around $8.1 million to fund the district’s obligations to area charter schools and around $4 million to cover costs of opening new schools and utility rate increases.
The district is also seeking a one-time payment of $6 million to go toward a student device replacement program.
But the '26-'27 budget recommendation comes as the state, which accounts for the largest share of local school districts’ revenue, still lacks a budget for the current year, which has left several proposals for teacher raises in limbo. That’s injected uncertainty into Hill’s proposal, she told the media Tuesday.
When the state increases teacher pay, it predominantly covers those costs — but not for employees whose positions were created and funded by local county dollars. The budget assumes a 3% increase in teachers’ base salary and a 4% increase in benefits, and asks Mecklenburg County for $9.7 million to cover the local portion of those theoretical raises.
The district has identified roughly $6.6 million in savings, but Hill says she won’t immediately allocate that funding so the district can be prepared if the state ends up passing more substantial raises for teachers.
“So as a responsible steward of the funds designated to provide the very best for our students, I will not make a formal recommendation for this use until I know for sure what the state decision will require,” Hill said. “While I know this creates a little bit of uncertainty for the moment, I firmly believe it is the fiscally responsible thing to do.”
The $6.6 million in savings predominantly come from reducing the central office support staff by 26 positions — though CMS officials say those employees have largely been moved to other positions, or will be given the opportunity to apply to other vacant positions.
The district was also able to apply $6 million it budgeted for state raises in this current school year that never came to fruition due to the budget impasse in Raleigh — that’s gone toward reducing the district’s ask from the county.
The budget also calls for a 10-cent increase to school lunch prices due to increased food and labor costs — though schools that receive universal free lunch through the federal Community Eligibility Provision would continue to do so.
Hill has requested a 5% increase to the local teacher salary supplement in each of the three budget cycles of her tenure. While she has repeatedly highlighted the fact that many teachers make below the living wage in Mecklenburg County, she’s also argued that the state needs to pull more of its weight in improving teacher pay.
“If we don’t impact pay at the state level, we’ll never be able to supplement our way out of the pay issues that we have,” Hill said. “So we have to have both, which is why I always say I’ll continue to ask for 5%.”
The state sets base teacher pay and is responsible for a bulk of a teacher’s salary.
The CMS Board is set to review the budget proposal tonight, hold a public hearing on April 14, and vote April 28. CMS will then have to make its case to the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners in May before the county adopts its budget in June.
