Alabama is heading for another record-setting education budget after the Senate passed an $8.8 billion spending bill.
The budget includes pay increases for teachers and staff, plus bonuses for special education teachers and speech therapists. The spending represents a 6.5% increase over the current year’s budget of $8.3 billion.
Senate Education Budget Chair Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, presented the budget Thursday as one of eight bills related to spending. The legislature also is considering a $2.8 billion supplemental appropriation and a $273 million tax rebate bill.
