Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced she has signed into law legislation that will raise pay 2% across the board for public education and all state employees.
SB 188, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and Rep. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), makes the pay raises official for teachers and other educators. HB 320 does the same for state employee pay increases. Both bills were given final passage by the Alabama Legislature last week.
This comes after Ivey in her 2021 State of the State Address proposed the pay increases, citing that Alabama’s teachers rose to the challenges of this past year and state employees maintained functions of government amidst the pandemic.
“If this pandemic has taught us anything, it reinforced what we already knew – teachers are vital to our student’s learning, and our state employees keep government services operational for the people of Alabama,” said Ivey in a statement on Tuesday. “I am proud to sign this well-deserved pay increase to our educators and state workers. I commend Education Trust Fund chairmen Sen. Arthur Orr and Rep. Bill Poole, General Fund chairmen Sen. Greg Albritton and Rep. Steve Clouse, along with the entire Alabama Legislature for their hard work and for approving this raise. It is both fiscally wise and simply the right thing to do after a hard year.”
The increases will go into effect for fiscal year 2022, beginning October 1, 2021.
“As we head into the summer months, and the pandemic continues to ease, we need to do everything we can to support our teachers and educational support staff to ensure that we can fully return to classrooms in the fall,” the governor concluded. “Alabama schools have shown the rest of the nation that it is possible to be safely back in the classroom, while carrying on the important work of providing Alabama’s children a chance for a promising future. I look forward to continually offering my support to ensure that Alabama students remain on track and moving ahead.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
