Local educators pleased with Ala. Ed. Trust Fund levels

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August 8, 2012

Local educators pleased with Ala. Ed. Trust Fund levels

State expecting no education funding cuts

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times The Cullman Times Wed Aug 08, 2012, 10:10 AM CDT

After years of proration, financial projections show the Alabama Education Trust Fund should collect enough state income taxes and other levies to meet its spending target for this fiscal year — making across-the-board cuts in 2012 very unlikely.

For local education officials, that is obviously good news. But, thy are quick to point out funding is still below pre-2008 levels.

“We’re delighted the budget remained constant, but of course we’re still down on funding in key areas like technology, professional development and textbooks, which is still half of what we got previously,” Cullman City Schools Superintendent Dr. Jan Harris said. “But, we welcome the stability as far as the dollars allocated for staffing, and classroom supplies. Teachers are getting $300 per unit for classroom supplies now, but that’s still a decrease from the $500 we did have. It’s still better than zero, which it was a few years ago.”

Cullman County Board of Education Superintendent Billy Coleman said he was ecstatic to learn no cuts are expected, as proration ravaged the budget in previous years.

“You budget for what you think you’ll have, then you find out after its all been budgeted that you’re not getting as much as you thought,” he said. “It could put systems in a tremendous bind, because when you find out after the school year has started its devastating.”

Assistant state Finance Director Bill Newton told the Associated Press the state general fund, a major source of state money for Medicaid, prisons and other non-education areas of government, should collect enough revenues to meet its trimmed spending target for the year without further cuts.

State officials say the Education Trust Fund collected $4.51 billion in October through July, the first 10 months of the state's fiscal year, an increase of $250.7 million, 5.9 percent, from the same period a year earlier.

* The Associated Press contributed to this report.

* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.

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Local educators pleased with Ala. Ed. Trust Fund levels

State expecting no education funding cuts

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