What to know about Alabama State Board of Education budget request for 2023 fiscal year
The Alabama State Department of Education is requesting nearly $800 million more in state funding this year.
The budget request is for fiscal year 2024, which begins in the fall of 2023. The budget was presented at the Alabama State Board of Education work session by Assistant State Superintendent Brandon Payne. The budget goes to lawmakers for approval.
More money for the Foundation Program and transportation operations were among the biggest increases in requests.
The request also includes a $60 million line item for school nurses — a more than $10 million increase from the allotted budget from last year.
At roughly $6.1 billion, the requested budget is roughly $800 million greater than last year's roughly $5.3 billion.
Here are the highlights:
Key Differences
The biggest increases in the budget are found in the Local Education Agencies category, which is approximately $726 million greater than last year.
Roughly $586 million of that increased ask belongs to the "Foundation Program" line item, which has historically been defined by the ALSDE as the total of computations of salaries, fringe benefits, classroom instructional support and other current expenses. Last year, the Foundation Program was allotted about $4.2 billion; this year, the request is over $4.8 billion.
More money for transportation
The requested budget would direct over $100 million more this year to transportation operations. This request reflects increased costs in fuel, parts and labor.
The line item for fleet renewal includes an $18 million increase over last year, largely to address the rising costs of replacing buses.
More: Did you miss the August Montgomery school board meeting? Here's 5 things that happened
New items
Several items on this year's budget proposal did not have an appropriation listed last year. Among them:
The administrative services programs include a new line item called "principal development," which proposes $5 million for an Alabama Teacher Growth Program. That would provide additional funding to onboard new administrators in response to the principal and assistant principal turnover, and $2 million for a Leadership Academy expansion for principals and assistant principals.
Alabama, like other states, has a teacher shortage.
The Alabama Reading Initiative has requested an increase of $8 million this year, with $3 million of that earmarked for struggling readers beyond third grade. Previously, the Alabama Reading Initiative included only K-3 students. Additionally, the Office of School Improvement has requested $950,000 to increase the number of secondary literary coaches in Alabama and add math specialists, among other needs.
Reading scores will become more important as time goes on as the Alabama Literacy Act, which could potentially leave students to repeat third grade if they are not reading on grade level, goes into effect this year.
The budget also includes a request of $1.5 million for extended learning opportunities, which would connect classroom instruction to real-world learning opportunities.
Jemma Stephenson is the children and education reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at jstephenson@gannett.com or 334-261-1569.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: What to know about the requested 2024 ALSDE budget
