Alabama lawmakers gave final approval to a record $8.3 billion education budget Wednesday, an increase of 7% or $589 million over the current year’s budget.
With record revenues, much of the new spending for K-12 schools will be put into historic pay raises for teachers and improving instruction in the early grades.
Under the new budget which starts Oct. 1, teachers with less than nine years of experience will see a 4% increase in pay, and teachers with nine years or more will see pay raises of 5% to 21%, with higher percentages for those with more years of experience. It will be the fourth pay raise teachers have received in the past five years.
