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The draft budget, which must go through County Council and a possible review by the State Board of Education, includes reductions in nearly every department and gives the Prince George's County School Board about $46 million less than they have requested.

The budget was presented to council members, union leaders and schools officials on Monday. County Executive Jack B. Johnson is scheduled to hold a press conference this afternoon on the $2.6 billion budget, the last he will submit before leaving office in December.

Overall, the county plans to spend 1.2 percent less than it did this year, cutting about $38.8 million. More than 81 percent of the budget goes to education and public safety.

Johnson's proposed $1.61 billion funding for education also dips $15 million below the mandated $1.63 billion required under Maintenance of Effort, a set amount that the state requires every county to pay its schools based on enrollment. Though the rules for seeking a waiver are currently under debate in the General Assembly, it is likely that the county will have to petition the state for permission to enact the cut this spring.

State officials denied permission to county officials last year when they first tried to cut $37 million from the required amount. That rejection left the county scrambling to find money to pay the schools just before the deadline in June.

One way the county is saving costs is through continuing controversial furloughs of workers. The current budget reduces the number of unpaid days county employees must take to eight, two less than in fiscal 2010.

The budget does not include any cuts or additions being considered by the Maryland General Assembly in its current session as they weigh the state's budget. Officials are hopeful that more money will offset some of the losses.

"The budget I am proposing today will hopefully not be the budget that is approved by the council in June," Johnson said in a statement. "I am confident we will receive additional state funding ... and we will be able to make appropriate adjustments."

As in previous years, most of the county's funds are shifted toward police and education. The school system accounts for half of the county's overall spending. Unlike most departments, the county plans to continue hiring police officers to keep its strength at 1,600.

Layoffs are expected to be minimal this year, except in education, where the school board has proposed eliminating 800 workers, including 355 classroom positions.

Budget officials said it will be up to the school board to determine whether the layoffs will proceed.

Though regular county departments aren't terminating workers, they will be surviving with fewer people under the current budget draft. Budget officials said Monday morning that between 800 to 1,000 jobs — about a sixth of the county's ideal workforce strength — are currently being kept vacant to save costs.

Though there were some exceptions, many departments faced another round of cuts this year. Budget documents show that most departments have cut spending between 6 and 9 percent for the upcoming year.

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.