Latest News

Tag

//education trust fund
9

Did Teacher Raises Get Eaten by Health Insurance Hikes?

Though education employees haven’t yet received a paycheck with that newly-approved raise, they’ve already been told they’ll pay more for health insurance beginning October 1. Raises also go into effect on October 1. Education employees making $75,000 o...
Posted On May 11 2016
, By
0

How State Lawmakers’ Decisions Impacted Money for Schools This Year

Education groups agree that the biggest victory of the 2016 legislative session is the increase in money flowing to Alabama’s schools and teachers for the 2017 fiscal year (October 1, 2016, through September 30, 2017). State lawmakers passed the largest education budget...
Posted On May 11 2016
, By
0

Big Education Issues on the Table for Alabama’s Lawmakers

With 12 legislative days left in the 2016 Regular Session, Alabama’s lawmakers will find a table full of education issues when they return from spring break next week. There are education savings accounts (the bill has been changed to apply only to children with...
Posted On Mar 30 2016
, By
0

Who Represents Your School District? You Oughta Know

State legislators are already talking about actions that might affect public education they plan to put on the table in the 2016 Regular Session, which begins February 2, 2016. State legislators have repeatedly said they really appreciate hearing from the folks back home when it...
Posted On Oct 04 2015
, By
0

The Bottom Line: How Education Funding Was Affected by the Second Special Session

A lot of numbers are being thrown around as folks try to explain what happened to education funding as a result of the passage of the General Fund budget in the recently-ended second special session. When asked which numbers to believe, Othni Lathram, Interim Director of the...
Posted On Sep 30 2015
, By
0

State Superintendent’s Position on the Legislature’s Actions

After the legislature settled on transferring $80 million from the Education Trust Fund to the General Fund, some in the education community were confused by statements of support for that decision coming from Alabama’s State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Tommy Bice....
Posted On Sep 16 2015
, By
0

Will the Legislature Transfer $50 or $100 Million from the Education Trust Fund?

How much money will the legislature move out of the Education Trust Fund? That’s the multi-million-dollar question. Late last week, the House voted to transfer an estimated $50 million of use taxes out of the Education Trust Fund, beginning in FY17 (which starts October 1,...
Posted On Sep 14 2015
, By
0

Education Funding in Alabama: Is It a Priority?

It is often said that you can tell a person’s priorities by looking at how they spend money. If that is so, then it looks like the Alabama legislature’s priority for public education is about the same as it was a dozen years ago, equivalent to the 2001-2002 school...
Posted On Aug 31 2015
, By
0

Here’s How Much Money Local School Districts Will Get from State Funds

If you want to get ahead of your school district’s budget hearings, check out these reports from the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), showing the amount of state-appropriated money making its way to your school district for FY16. The state-provided total is a...
Posted On Aug 19 2015
, By
0

“Protect the Education Trust Fund”

The Hoover Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution at tonight’s board meeting, opposing any efforts the legislature might make to move money from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) to the General Fund or to unify the state’s two budgets. The resolution, read...
Posted On Aug 03 2015
, By
0

Wanna Know More About the Education Budget and Education Spending?

If you want to know more about how education in Alabama is funded, you’ve come to the right place. This week promises to be filled with discussion about the ETF and the General Fund, as our legislators return to Montgomery later this afternoon. Get informed so you can join...
Posted On Aug 03 2015
, By
3

How Much Are Alabama’s Families Paying for a Free Public Education? A Lot

Alabama’s families footed more than $40 million of the bill for their children’s free public education during the 2013-2014 school year. That averages more than $104 per student and is up nearly 14% from the 2012-2013 school year. Public school “user fees”...
Posted On Aug 02 2015
, By
0

Where the Education Trust Fund Budget Stands Right Now – The Numbers

The House is expected to take up the Education Trust Fund budget on Thursday. This is nothing but numbers. The numbers may be big, but don’t be intimidated. These numbers show where the ALSDE believed funding needs to go, and where the various executive and legislative...
Posted On May 20 2015
, By
0

Other Things in the ETF Budget

The legislature is expected to begin budget discussions when they return from spring break on Tuesday. In recent years, the amount of tax revenue allocated from the Education Trust Fund (ETF) to agencies other than K-12 and higher education had been increasing from year to year,...
Posted On Mar 30 2015
, By
0

Teacher Salaries: Recovering after the Recession?

Now that we know how teacher salaries compare to the folks whose children they teach, let’s take a look at how teacher salaries have (or have not) grown over the past five years. We know that the entire country has suffered through a significant recession, resultin...
Posted On Mar 23 2015
, By
3

Course-Related User Fees: The Hidden Cost of Public Education, Part 3

This is the third in an ongoing series examining the hidden costs of public education in Alabama. Click to view Part 1 and Part 2. Course-related user fees. You know what those are, right? Anyone who has registered a student in a public Alabama middle or high school has seen that...
Posted On Apr 30 2014
, By
0

Education Budget for FY15 – FINAL VERSION

UPDATE APRIL 12 – 10:00 p.m. – The Governor signed this version yesterday (April 11). This is the final version. UPDATE APRIL 3 – 8:00 p.m. – The House concurred and this budget now goes to the Governor. No pay raise was included in the legislature’s...
Posted On Apr 02 2014
, By
0

How Big of a Budgetary Priority Are Our Public Schools?

States are responsible for funding public education, right? And states fund public education by passing a budget through which monies are allocated to public schools, right? A budget is a policy tool. A budget delineates and clarifies priorities. Every year, about this time...
Posted On Mar 31 2014
, By
4

Paying to Learn: The Hidden Cost of Public Education, Part 2

Paying to learn has become a generally-accepted principle in Alabama’s public schools. As taxpayers have refused to increase funding for public education and as the state legislature continues to carve up the Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget among agencies other than...
Posted On Mar 30 2014
, By
0

The Hidden Cost of Public Education – Part 1: Dues and Fees

Families with children enrolled in Alabama’s K-12 public schools are footing more of the cost of public education than they were in 2007. Until now, the numbers showing exactly how much more have evaded public view. Over the next few weeks, Alabama’s state legislators...
Posted On Feb 06 2014
, By
0

The Governor’s Proposed FY15 Education Trust Fund Budget – Just the Numbers

Last week, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley unveiled his budget proposals for both the Education Trust Fund (ETF) and State General Fund (SGF) budgets. Open up the PDFs available from the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) to be dazzled and amazed. The numbers might look big, but...
Posted On Jan 23 2014
, By
0

Let’s Look Closer at the Education Trust Fund Budget….

The ETF budget will be discussed this week in the legislature.  The Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget is where all the state money for K-12 education in Alabama comes from.  Remember, school districts’ budgets are made up of state, federal and local money.  The ETF is the...
Posted On Apr 08 2013
, By
0

How Much Money Do We Really Spend on K-12 Education in Alabama?

In order to understand how Alabama funds K-12 education, it helps to have a basic understanding of budgeting “language” when you look at the budget.  By the time you finish reading this, you will have a better understanding of the following: What a fiscal year is....
Posted On May 02 2012
, By

Alabama School Connection Tweets

School Tweets – direct from Twitter

Creative Commons License
This work by Alabama School Connection is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy

Past Editions of K-12 Must-Read News

August 29 to September 25, 2016
July 25 to August 28, 2016
June 24 to July 24, 2016
May 23 to June 23, 2016
May 2 to May 22, 2016
April 18 to May 1, 2016
March 16 to April 17, 2016
February 23 to March 15, 2016
February 1 to February 22, 2016
January 11 to January 31, 2016
December 21, 2015, thru January 10, 2016
November 30 thru December 20
November 11 thru November 30
October 21 thru November 10
October 6 thru October 20
September 14 thru October 5
August 24 thru September 13
August 3 thru August 23
July 16 thru August 2
June 18 thru July 13
May 19 thru June 17, 2015
May 18, 2015
April 27, 2015
March 30, 2015
March 11, 2015
February 2, 2015
January 5, 2015
December 16, 2014

All past editions available on Storify at https://storify.com/ALSchoolConnect

This website is intended for informational purposes only. The ASC is a nonprofit news organization and exists only to keep the public informed of issues as they relate to the K-12 education system in Alabama. In the event you feel an error has been made, please contact us immediately at the e-mail link below. The ASC does not maintain offices nor a working telephone number dedicated for the organization. Links are provided as a courtesy, not as an endorsement.