Fowler details budget’s impact on education

Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler (Contributed)

MADISON – Dust has settled in Montgomery after the Alabama State Legislature passed the 2016 budget. How does the legislation affect Alabama schools?

Dr. Dee Fowler, Madison City Schools Superintendent, has detailed the impact.

“Doctors and lawyers, to imply they don’t know everything about their profession, state they’re practicing medicine or law,” Fowler said. “After 40 years in education, I’m still practicing to understand state funding.”

Fowler defined “General Fund” as money funding state agencies, such as prisons, courts and mental health. “Education Trust Fund” (ETF) provides money for schools with pre-kindergarten through grade 12 and two- and four-year colleges and universities.

“Because of years of proration (same effect as sequestration), the legislature created the Rolling Reserve Act to structure the budgeting process for ETF’s revenues,” Fowler said. For Rolling Reserve, the average revenue of the past 15 years is the maximum for next year’s budgeting.

When revenues exceed the average, “excess money is placed in a savings/emergency account, Budget Stabilization Fund, which will grow until it has 20 percent of that year’s budget, or approximately $1.2 billion,” Fowler said. Education’s savings account, the Rainy Day Fund, “already reached its specified amount of $437 million.”

Use Tax is a sales tax collected on merchandise imported into the state. ETF received 75 percent of Use Tax; GF received 25 percent.

“GF had a deficit of $200 million,” primarily from cuts since the 2008 recession. With many legislators opposing new taxes, “the governor stated, ‘Education has a target on its back,'” Fowler said.

The new budget modifies Use Tax with 53 percent to GF, 47 percent to ETF or “approximately $80 million loss for ETF. (HB30),” Fowler said.

Budget Stabilization Fund now requires 7.5 percent. Rolling Reserve “will be modified to drop the lowest of the 15-year average,” allowing more budgeted money for education (HB29), Fowler said.

ETF money “not budgeted because of the Rolling Reserve cap will be placed in an Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Account, allowing the legislature to appropriate one-time money” for technology upgrades. (HB29),” he said.

New bills will generate money to repay education’s loss from Use Tax. Estimates are $21 million (low), $37 million (moderate), $46 million (high), Fowler said.

Visit madisoncity.k12.al.us and click “Detailed Description of State Education Budget ” in “District News.”