Roller coasters are fun to ride in a theme park, but riding the ups and downs of the state’s roller coaster education budget is no laughing matter for the public schools, colleges and universities of Alabama.
State education spending increased by $2.4 billion from 2004 to 2008, soaring at a rate of about 12 percent a year. However, the budget peaked in 2008 and then headed downhill. In fiscal year 2010, which started Oct. 1, it is 21 percent, or $1.4 billion, lower than in 2008. In two years, over half the money added into educational programs has been pulled back out as figures below show. In 2010, spending from the state Education Trust Fund will be about the same as in 2006.
Fiscal year 2004: $4.3 billion
Fiscal year 2006: $5.4 billion
Fiscal year 2008: $6.7 billion
Fiscal year 2010: $5.3 billion (estimated)
In recent years, however, personnel costs increased and new programs were added. According to the Alabama Legislative Fiscal Office, increases in pay and rising benefit costs added $1.4 billion to education spending from 2004 to 2009. More than $200 million in new programs also were added, including reading and math, science and technology initiatives; distance-learning technology; and school nurses. Supporting these and pre-existing programs is not possible with the money available in 2006.
As a result, the 2010 budget cut large sums from all levels of education. Because revenues continue to lag behind estimates, another across-the-board “proration” cutback of 7.5 percent was applied by the governor as the fiscal year began. This roller coaster pattern of increases followed by budget cuts is a problem that occurs regularly in Alabama’s education funding. This time, the size and speed of the reductions are significant enough to threaten the stability of education agencies with few outside resources.
The question is why budget in a roller coaster way that leads to such dilemmas? Everyone knows that the state’s economy is cyclical, so why not budget with that in mind? To create a smooth ride that promotes educational progress going forward, the governor and Legislature will have to adopt some form of budget discipline, controlling spending increases each year in line with longer-term considerations.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Jim Williams is executive director for the nonprofit, nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
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