Volume 35, No. 7
March 27, 2009
Budget for 2010 in a Deep Fog
The 2010 budget forecast changes daily. K-12 advocates celebrated Monday hearing that K-12 would lose virtually no teachings jobs. By Wednesday, because of a glitch in the proposed use of federal stabilization dollars, K-12 believed that over a thousand teaching jobs could be lost. The target is moving, and there are far more questions than answers to date. A joint House and Senate Education Budget Hearing is scheduled Wednesday, April 1 at 9 a.m. in the House Chamber. A clearer picture will hopefully be available at that time.
AASB remains convinced that Alabama’s youngest students should be protected first from budget cuts. Local boards strongly believe that the Foundation Program should be the highest priority. Legislators must fight to preserve the divisors so state-funded teaching units are saved and to protect Other Current Expense (OCE) to retain support employees.
Local boards prioritize the divisors to protect those students who most benefit from keeping class sizes contained: K-3, middle school, then high school. While other education programs are essential, student core learning must not be compromised.
Confusion Reigns over Education Budget
Efforts to keep K-12 afloat appear to be caught in an undertow.
School systems are treading water. As schools resume following spring break and prepare to end the school year, no answer is in sight about what the level of proration will be in the current year. Will it be lowered to under 6 percent the release of the remaining Rainy Day Funds? Or, will local schools be forced to absorb the full brunt of 9 percent proration by a change of plan midstream?
Only minimal cuts are possible at the local level this far along in the fiscal year. Inaction would force school boards to use most or all of their reserves to keep from sinking in 2009. Local school boards need to know their financial status, so they can properly make budget plans for 2010.
Prudent Budgeting Plan Essential
Today’s budgeting dilemma epitomizes the worst effects of Alabama’s education funding method being subject to the ups and downs of the economic cycle. It makes clear the need for a sound, systematic and sustainable budgeting plan to fund Alabama’s public schools.
For the first time, a workable, comprehensive and surprisingly simple plan is being promoted. Rep. Greg Canfield has worked tirelessly with the Legislative Fiscal Office to craft H.509/S.341, the Education Trust Fund Rolling Reserve Act.
Had H.509 become law in 1996, Alabama’s education budget would have actually grown by 6.6 percent this year – even with the economic downturn we are experiencing. Better yet, Alabama students would not have experienced proration at all in that time. We can’t change the past, but we can act now to promise future generations of children that the state will provide stable growth for their education.
By using the roller coaster economic cycles to its advantage, the Legislature could build reserves in strong fiscal years and provide stable growth when the economy slows. Using a 15-year budget history, the process would also allow the ETF to begin to pay down unfunded liabilities for employee health benefits (PEEHIP) and education employee retirement benefits (TRS); and dedicate funds for school construction.
AASB supports the proposed budget process to provide consistent, measured growth for funding public education. By removing the risk of proration, it would provide local school boards the tools to plan and build public education to benefit every student.
Local Boards Look for Budget Flexibility
to Stay Afloat
The House Education Appropriations committee approved H.623/S.426 Wednesday to grant budget flexibility to local school boards in FY 2009 and FY 2010. Significantly, the bills would provide flexibility in any year proration is called at 3 percent or more to avoid the need for legislative action in such years.
The bills would allow the state superintendent to grant such flexibility if it is determined a school board is in desperate financial need. Boards would have to submit a plan for state superintendent approval. Flexibility would not be applicable to salaries, fringe benefits or student material allocations. The bills are now ready to be considered by the full House.
AASB urges passage for S.426/H.623.
School Start Date Mandated After August 15
A public hearing was postponed one week for H.629, a bill to prohibit public schools from starting before August 15. The House Education Policy Committee will hold the hearing on Wednesday, April 1 at 1:30 p.m. AASB will testify to oppose an arbitrary school start date threshold.
Over 130 local school systems work individually to make their calendars align with holiday preferences, community events, programmatic partnerships with local colleges and universities and work days for educators to meet with parents. The guiding principles remain student achievement and local preferences. Local school calendars face a battle each year in Montgomery from a tourism and summer camp industry initiative.
Every major newspaper in Alabama wrote an editorial supporting local choice for school calendars during the 2008 debate. In addition, AASB and SSA are united in opposing a school start date effort and sent a joint letter to all legislators prior to the legislative session. Urge your members to OPPOSE a school start date.
Local School Boards Oppose “Tim Tebow Act”
And Mandating P.E. by Statute
S.305 would create the “Tim Tebow Act” to allow home-schooled students to participate in public school extracurricular activities. AASB opposes allowing non-public students to participate in public school extracurricular activities without enrolling in public school. As the state Superintendent of Education once testified, “If you want to play, enroll.” A public hearing is scheduled Wednesday, April 1, in the Senate Education Committee.
H.719 would require all public and private K-8 students to take physical education without allowing any waivers. AASB consistently has opposed any legislation that dictates curriculum. The bill also causes conflicts for those students who participate in band and other activities that currently qualify for a physical education waiver. H. 719 is scheduled for a public hearing Wednesday, April 1 in the House Education Policy Committee.
Drop-Out Prevention Effort
Changes Mandatory School Age to 17
S.334/H.226 would raise the compulsory school age from 16 to 17 years of age. AASB’s delegate assembly has voted to support requiring children to attend school until the age of 17.
S.334 is scheduled to be considered by the House Education Policy Committee Wednesday, April 1. Members of that committee were flooded with appeals from home school advocates who believe it sets up a conflict for them. AASB understands language to limit the bill’s dropout provisions to public school students will be offered in committee.
The bill would set up procedures for students over the age of 17 intending to drop out of school. If the student plans to withdraw prior to
graduation, the bill would require an exit interview. A parent/guardian would have to give written consent and be provided information explaining the impact dropping out of school may have on a student’s future. The bill codifies dropout prevention programs and provides additional criteria.
School Board Training Policy
Waits for Final Passage in House & Senate
A growing number of bills are poised for final passage in both the House and Senate, and S.220/H.182 are in that number. The bills would require each school board to craft a policy outlining orientation and ongoing training requirements for its members. Upon their election or appointment, school board members have a staggering learning curve about school system finance, curriculum, personnel law and more. With research to prove school board training correlates with higher student achievement, the full education community applauds the proposed legislation. Urge final passage of H.182, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Oden, and S.220, sponsored by Sen. Ted Little.
Purchasing Laws Separated for Clarity
The House Education Appropriations committee Wednesday approved S.418/H.601. The bills would create a new section in the Alabama code to govern local boards on compliance with the competitive bid laws. Currently, those laws are found in Title 41 of the code. The bills would move the language to a new section in Title 16, the education portion, to apply only to local school boards.
Rep. Jeremy Oden acknowledged that purchasing needs for local schools vastly differs from the needs of other local governmental entities. Separating the respective purchasing laws will help clarify and consolidate applicable bid laws for local schools.
AASB Collaborations Continue
S.101 would prohibit public students from wearing clothes that expose their undergarments. AASB and CLAS are working with the bill sponsor, Sen. Rodger Smitherman, to craft the bill’s intent to work with local policies and codes of conduct.
S.265 would permit school board-employed security personnel to carry firearms. AASB and CLAS are working to address safety concerns including strong, appropriate and continuing training requirements are addressed in the bill.
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Local school boards work with legislative leaders to accomplish the public’s highest priority -- educating our children.
16 Days remain in the
Regular Legislative Session
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Alabama Association of School Boards
Celebrating 60 years of helping local education leaders
improve student achievement
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