More than $9 billion passed in Alabama House for education budget

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – The Alabama House of Representatives recently passed a budget package that includes funds to recruit and retain teachers in the state. The budget is worth more than $9 billion and includes salary increases for teachers, principals, and assistant principals.

Under the new budget, first-year teachers can expect to make a salary of $47,600, making them the highest-paid educators in the southeast. Governor Ivey has been a vocal advocate for this pay increase.

Teachers will also receive a 2% raise, and the budget also allocates funds to hire more principals and assistant principals, which is particularly important for schools in rural areas that cannot afford to pay for an assistant principal. Representative Mary Moore hopes to secure salary increases for other positions within schools as well, from bus drivers, to custodians, to cafeteria workers.

According to Rep. Moore, every staff member in a school has an important role to play in helping children learn and grow. “From the bus driver, to the custodians, to the cafeteria workers, to the teachers, everybody has some contact and a teacher for every child regardless of their career status in that building.”

In addition to the salary increases, the state education superintendent, Dr. Eric Mackey, has requested bonuses for special needs teachers to help recruit and retain them.

“We’ll have about a $1,200 bonus for each of our classroom special education teachers. It’s not everything, but it is something to say we really appreciate our special needs teachers, and we want more of them in the classroom,” says Dr. Mackey.

The education budget has now been sent to the Senate for full approval.

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