On Wednesday, the Finance and Taxation Education Committee approved over $11 billion in funding for education.
State Senator Arthur Orr is the Chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee
“This has been the most trying budget in my 14 years as a budget chairman,” Orr said. “To add something, you have to cut something. There are so many decisions in writing a budget. We did receive a budget from across the street. Some things I understood. There were some things there I didn’t understand.”
$8,798,591,041 is in the 2024 fiscal year Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget itself – SB88. That is an increase from $8,261,590,649 in 2023 to $537,000,392—a 6.5% increase over the 2023 education budget.
K-12 will increase from $5,626,390,769 in 2023 to $5,988,821,987 in 2024. Higher Ed will be increased from $2,116,780,588 to $2,258,619,038. The many other agencies in the ETF will be increased from $518,419,292 to $551,153,016. That is a decrease of $18,350,000 from Gov. Kay Ivey’s budget request.
The actual ETF budget could have been much greater. An $11 billion ETF with different priorities and accounting was a real possibility. A large part of the budget package was not in the FY2024 ETF but was instead in a massive $ $2,787,667,309 supplemental appropriation to the already record 2023 education budget –SB87. This is in addition to the $8,261,590,649 already appropriated for education in the current 2023 budget year. 2022 and 2021 also saw massive supplemental appropriations bills swelling the dollars spent on education in those fiscal years beyond the ETF budgets.
SB101 created the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund, which functions as a second state savings account for when revenue collections fall below projects. Orr explained that the goal is to create a “waterfall” effect, where funds flow to funds so that in a 2009-style economic crash, there would still be funds to avoid proration.
Orr warned that as of the end of April 2023, tax collections for the ETF are $30 million below what they were at this time in 2022.
The most significant change between the Governor’s plan versus the Senate Committee plan is that the Governor’s generous tax rebate – SB86 – has been cut from $400 per tax filer to just $100 per filer.
Orr explained that the cost of the governor’s rebate would have been $1,030,000,000. The cost of the much smaller committee rebate is $275 million. That is paid for in the supplemental appropriation for 2023.
The Committee passed a pay increase for educators – SB85. All education employees will get a two percent across-the-board pay increase.
Sen. Orr explained that the Legislature passed a salary matrix for teachers last year. “Teachers get at least a one percent step increase every year no matter what the Legislature does.”
With the two percent across-the-board increase plus the one percent annual step increase, the teachers will get a three percent increase effective on October 1. Orr said the Legislature is considering creating a similar matrix for education support staff.
Orr said that the Legislature is considering creating a “floor” for education support staff. The problem that the Legislature is running into is that teacher’s aides, janitors, lunchroom workers, secretaries, and school bus drivers pay scales vary widely from local system to system.
SB269 established the K-12 Capital Grant Program within the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to provide grants to local schools to assist with capital projects, deferred maintenance, or technology needs.
All the bills in the education budget package received favorable reports from the Committee.
Traveling within the budget package is a controversial proposal to give private college, Birmingham Southern, a $30 million dollar loan to keep the struggling liberal arts institution afloat. Without a bailout of some sort, the college would be forced to close, the president said. SB278 is sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner.
The full Senate could consider the whole education budget package as early as Thursday. The House has already passed the state general fund budget (SGF) – the other half of the twin budgets that the state passes every year.
Thursday will be day 18 of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session.
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