The Alabama Education Association outlined its 2012 legislative agenda on Monday and put suspending the rolling reserve act at the top of its list.
The act, passed last year, caps education spending at an average of the past 15 years of revenue. Any revenues over the average would be placed in a proration prevention account, which could be tapped in times of economic hardship to stave off across-the-board cuts made to budgets when revenues don’t meet their targets.
Because that number includes the last four abysmal years of education revenues – some of the worst on record – the education budget for 2012-13 would be capped at about $108 million less than this year’s expenditures of $3.9 billion.
“The legislation passed to stop proration will result in massive proration,” said Jim Wrye, an AEA spokesman.
According to AEA estimates, Alabama’s Education Trust Fund revenues for the coming fiscal year will be sufficient to make further cuts unnecessary. AEA Executive Secretary Henry Mabry says suspending the rolling reserve act is necessary to preserve existing programs, provide sufficient textbooks for students, improve career technical programs and support struggling schools.
“It is not too late for the governor or legislators to do the right thing and support schools and the people who work in them,” Mabry said in a press release. “We can’t expect continued progress with another round of cuts. Educators will be watching closely this legislative session.”
Other AEA priorities for the upcoming session include opposing merging the education and general fund budgets and allowing charter schools to operate in the state.
The AEA is supporting the Jobs and Education Reform Act, which would identify failing schools and allow for state intervention to improve them. The bill would also provide more support for career technical education.
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