BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – More than a dozen years after the Great Recession forced painful cuts across Alabama’s schools, state lawmakers determined not to repeat them have built up what will soon be $3 billion in reserves to protect against another downturn.

Some education officials, though, say the same discipline that filled those accounts is now making it harder for schools to meet today’s needs.

The Rolling Reserve Act governs how Alabama budgets education spending. Under the law, the state can grow the Education Trust Fund budget only by a set amount each year. Lawmakers approved a 6% increase for the current budget. Next year, that cap tightens to 5.75% – a level many educators say won’t cover inflation, higher health care costs or pay raises.

“We were early and ardent supporters of

See Full Page