Wake County approves school funding boost in $2.1B budget

The Wake County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina voted 6-1 on June 2 to approve a $2.1 billion budget for fiscal year (FY) 2026. The newly adopted budget will be enacted on July 1, including new public school funding, changes to property taxes and methods to increase revenue for the county.

The FY2026 budget increases the county’s investment in the Wake County Public School System’s (WCPSS) operating budget. To match the Board of Education’s funding request, the budget in the upcoming year will increase by $40.3 million.

With the new budget changes, the county’s total investment in school district operations sits at $742.9 million. With the inclusion of the county’s investment in WCPSS capital projects and debts, 48% of the county budget is allocated for the WCPSS. Despite the increase in funding, the school district will make cuts due to inflation, rising costs and operations and staffing costs related to opening four new schools.

The additional $5.3 million included in the adopted budget will come from three main sources: increasing property tax, cutting other funding budgets and decreasing hiring.

An initial 0.25-cent property tax increase was approved by voters in November 2024. This tax will generate $7.7 million for a $142 million library bond. An additional raise of 0.11 cents was approved on by the board.

This new property tax increase will generate $3.5 million for WCPSS, while residents will see a total property tax increase of 0.36 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The budget will also reduce seed funding for the Housing Opportunity Fund. The funding will decrease by $1 million annually over the next five years, decreasing the projected number of affordable units created from 2,500 to 1,250 over the 15-year life of the fund.

The budget will reduce EMS staff by 12 positions. The new funds would help the county meet a growing demand for services along with enabling the county to direct $780,000 to WCPSS.

The adopted FY2026 budget also includes a fire tax increase. The tax will raise by 1.5 cents to 12.25 cents per $100 of property value for households in unincorporated areas and in Wendell. This revenue will fund the county’s replacement of 10 aging fire stations over the next 10 years. The county will also use the funds to implement the recommendations of a salary study to ensure fire tax district employees are paid competitively.

Further details on the adopted FY2026 budget can be found on Wake County’s website.

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