Skip to content

Education Trust Fund

State / Education / News

ACHE recommends $121,147,171M higher education budget

At today’s quarterly Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) meeting, commissioners approved a $121,147,171M budget recommendation for higher education for FY 2020-21.  The amount represents a 6.8% increase over the FY 2019-20 appropriation. “This recommendation will bring Alabama’s public colleges and universities closer to their pre-recession (2008) level of support from the Education Trust Fund,” … Continued
December 9, 2019

McCutcheon: Brick and mortar will be part of state’s prison reform

Thursday, Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon (R-Monrovia) spoke to the Alabama Association of County Commissioners about the prison crisis and told them that “Construction is going to be on the table.” “When you look at the facilities, some of them are so old that it is not cost productive to put money in to … Continued
December 6, 2019
Abstract of yellow arrow graph on blue background, corporate future growth plan. Business development to success and growing growth concept.

Alabama sees another strong year of growth in tax collections

Alabama saw another year of strong growth in tax revenues in the last fiscal year, according to the state’s financial reports.  The economy produced another year of growing tax collections for the state’s General Fund and the Education Trust Fund (ETF), the two main accounts that provide state funding for government operations.  Strong growth in … Continued
November 6, 2019

What is “New Schools For Alabama” and why are taxpayers giving them $400,000?

When the Senate sent its education budget to the house during the past legislative session, the line item for the charter school commission was increased from $200,000 to $900.000 and there was an additional $500,000 for New Schools for Alabama. I could not find anyone who knew what New Schools for Alabama was, what they … Continued
July 1, 2019

Alabama Senate is rotten at the top

There is something terribly wrong when two influential senators can lie, cheat and defraud the people without retribution. As the Scottish novelist Walter Scott wrote over 200 years ago, “O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!” During the last Legislative Session, Republican State Sens. Greg Albritton and Arthur Orr … Continued
June 17, 2019

Legislature passes largest education budget in state history

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a $7.1 billion education budget Thursday. The 2020 fiscal year Education Trust Fund budget is the largest in state history. Both Houses of the Alabama Legislature approved the conference committee report on the budget on Friday, just hours before ending the 2019 regular session. The final ETF budget for 2020 … Continued
June 7, 2019

Gov. Ivey announces 164 new First Class Pre-K classrooms

Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education announced that the Alabama First Class Pre-K program will add 164 new classrooms to 38 counties this fall. This is the first round of new classroom grants that will be released by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. Additional grants will be awarded … Continued
June 7, 2019

Sewell calls on state to expand Medicaid to shore up rural hospitals

Congresswoman Terri Sewell, D-Selma, called on the state of Alabama to expand the Medicaid program on Tuesday. Sewell made the remarks during a hearing of the House Ways & Means Committee. Sewell drew on her visit to Sumter County’s Hill Hospital last week to highlight the dire state of Alabama’s rural hospitals and the need … Continued
June 5, 2019

Legislature to address education reform this week

For decades, Alabama state government has largely deferred decision making on educational matters to the elected state school board. The governor and legislature prepared budgets and the state school board and their appointed superintendent largely did things their way without a lot of interference. This week the legislature is considering a broad spectrum of bills … Continued
May 27, 2019

Lottery fails on procedural vote, leadership trying to save it

The Alabama House of Representatives rejected the lottery bill on its first procedural vote on Tuesday before any amendments could be introduced or final passage even discussed, Senate Bill 220 is sponsored by State Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore. It is being carried in the House by State Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark. Clouse said SB220 would … Continued
May 22, 2019