The Alabama Senate passed a $9.3 billion education budget Thursday which includes teacher pay raises and increased funding. It is the largest education budget in the history of the state.
The Senate also passed a $651 million supplemental appropriation. Every public school, college, and university in the state can expect a supplemental check in the coming weeks.
The House has already passed the education budget package. The budget now goes back to the House for their consideration of the Senate changes in the bill. If approved and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey, the budget will go into effect Oct. 1.
The education budget and the supplemental appropriation are sponsored by State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) who chairs the House Ways and Means Education Committee. They are carried in the Senate by Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee.
The Senate budget is $9,348,506,169 – an increase of $549,912,128 over last year.
- K-12 schools will receive $6,365,972,327, an increase of $376,760,340.
- Higher education will receive $2,397,664,702, and increase of $140,695,664 over 2024.
- There are a number of state agencies funded at least partly through the Education Trust Fund, including the Legislature itself. That spending amount is $584,869,140 an increase of $32,456,124 over 2024.
- 70.64% of the budget would go to K-12; 27.36% of the budget goes to higher education. The K-12/Higher ed split is virtually unchanged from the 2024 budget.
The Senate version of the bill adds funding to feed school children during the summer months when they are not in school. This was a federal COVID relief program that Congress is no longer funding. The states were given the option of taking over and funding the program.
“I appreciate the work … to feed the children,” said State Sen. Rodger Smitherman. “All those children that were going to starve this summer have no lobbyist.”
The state also makes appropriations for private schools, Talladega College, Tuskegee Institute, and Southern Preparatory School (formerly known as Lyman Ward).
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