Legislature passes largest education budget in state history
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a $7.1 billion education budget Thursday. The 2020 fiscal year Education Trust Fund budget is the largest in state history.
Both Houses of the Alabama Legislature approved the conference committee report on the budget on Friday, just hours before ending the 2019 regular session.
The final ETF budget for 2020 totals $7,113,109,253. The 2019 budget was just $6,621.280,483. The Legislature is anticipating an increase in revenues of $491,828,770. Last year, the Legislature had over $280 million in extra revenues that was spent in two supplemental appropriations bills.
The ETF budget includes a 4 percent raise for all education workers.
Teachers’ salaries had been flat for years following the Great Recession. That, recession-related layoffs and frugal school boards laying off young teachers before they could get tenure resulted in much fewer young people choosing education as a profession they wanted to be in. This has caused a teacher shortage. The Legislature raised teacher pay last year but felt the need to follow that with the 4 percent raise to try to improve teacher recruitment and retention efforts in a much more robust economy.
Read more: https://www.alreporter.com/2019/06/07/legislature-passes-largest-education-budget-in-state-history/
(Alabama Political Reporter)