By Rebecca Griesbach
Alabama K-12 education officials are asking for an 8% increase to the state’s education budget next year, which would support school security improvements, literacy efforts and other programs recently approved by lawmakers.
The Alabama State Board of Education said it plans to request $6.43 billion for K-12 schools from the Education Trust Fund – an increase of about $472 million – at a work session in Montgomery on Thursday.
The board will vote to approve the proposal and any additional changes at its October meeting. Leaders will turn a request in to the legislature by Nov. 1.
But whatever they request, it’s unlikely they’ll get the full amount. The legislature capped increases to the 2026 fiscal year budget at 6%, which officials estimate would give K-12 schools about $380 million more to spend.
Changes to teacher retirement and health insurance plans could also put a strain on the state’s budget, State Superintendent Eric Mackey said.
“That’s going to take about a quarter of all the available resources for this year, maybe a little more than that,” Mackey told reporters. “So as we go into the legislative session, we’re very cognitive of how difficult it’s going to be to build a budget this year.”
What’s in the budget proposal?
Officials presented a proposal for $5.36 billion for local K-12 school districts, an increase of about $225 million. Other funds would support financial assistance programs and services administered by the state department.
The largest increases would go toward transportation and personnel changes.
Officials said it will cost about half a billion dollars to fully fund bus services and are asking for an increase of $133 million in transportation funds. They are seeking an additional $55 million to hire more assistant principals.
The proposal also included $95 million to support the Alabama Numeracy Act – an increase of $27 million – and about $113 million for the Alabama Reading Initiative, up $7.4 million from last year.
Having state funding for those reading and math interventions is critical, Mackey said, because starting next month, schools will no longer have federal COVID relief funds to direct toward those efforts. Since 2021, Alabama schools have had $3 billion in federal funds to allocate, and are now working to spend those final amounts.
“I have to remind myself that a billion is a thousand million,” Mackey told board members Thursday. “That’s three thousand million dollars that’s gone. Checks will be written out over the next several months, but it’s gone, and there’s no way the state is going to raise the funds to replace that.”
Other notable requests include:
• $52.9 million proposed for new security measures
• $52 million proposed for a new initiative to support struggling readers beyond third grade
• $20 million for a college and career readiness grant program
• Special education teacher stipends: $34 million proposed, an increase of $26 million
• Expansion of the Alabama Summer and Afterschool Program: $17.3 million proposed, an increase of $14.4 million
• Student assessments: $32.9 million proposed, an increase of $13.5 million
• Career tech programs: $48.7 million proposed, an increase of $10 million
• Special Education Certified Behavior Analyst Program: $13.5 million proposed, an increase of $5 million
• Gifted programs: $15.35 million proposed, an increase of $3 million
