May 3, 2021 Group Watch: AL House Passes $7.7 Billion Education Budget
Public education in Alabama will receive its largest ever amount of state dollars in the annual budget passed by the House of Representatives last week. The budget for the 2022 fiscal year, which starts October 1, appropriates $7.7 billion from the Education Trust Fund. The budget funds a 2-percent raise for teachers and education employees in public schools and community colleges. The budget also includes $100 million in funding for a new program to boost pay for math and science teachers in an attempt to remedy the current shortage of qualified teachers in those subjects in grades 6-12. K-12 received an increase of more than $207 million; the Alabama Community College System received an extra $47 million; and Pre-K received an additional $24 million. The Senate concurred with the House changes, and the measure now goes to the governor, who is likely to sign the bill since it substantially mirrors the budget she submitted at the start of the session.
