The Alabama State Department of Education could ask for money from lawmakers next year for reading support beyond third grade, to help with achievement and address an upcoming loss of federal funding.
Members of the State Board of Education said during a presentation on the fiscal year 2025 budget Thursday that the department should be prepared to spell out its needs to lawmakers.
"That's where if we make the request we need to be able to say this is what we plan to do with it and this is how we plan to spend it and how it will be distributed across the state and where the needs are," said Stephanie Bell, District 3 board member.
The Alabama Legislature will begin work on the budget when it begins its regular session in February.
Board members expressed interest in making help available to students who struggle with reading beyond the third grade.
Under the Alabama Literacy Act, students will be retained if they do not pass a literacy test, though students could move on without an initial passing score if they attend a summer camp and retest.
The Literacy Act requires students at risk of being held back to work with reading coaches, but those coaches do not provide assistance beyond third grade.
Brandon Payne, deputy state superintendent of administration and finance, told the board the department would request $2 million for support for struggling readers beyond third grade. Last year, the department had requested $3 million and not received it.
"I think how we got to that lower number is if I asked Dad for $20 and he says no and then I say, 'Well, can I have $10?'" Mackey said.
Budget input
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, the chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee, wrote in a text message Thursday afternoon that he did not recall receiving that request. He said the budget gets taken to the governor, who generally incorporates the budget request into her proposal.
Orr wrote that the Legislature is often unaware of unfunded and underfunded requests. He said that he and the House education budget chair, Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, plan to meet with Mackey early this session to discuss items that may not have made it in full to the governor's proposal.
When asked about why it may not have been in the governor's proposal last year, spokesperson Gina Maiola wrote in an email Ivey is looking forward to input from the board for the budget for this upcoming year.
"There is no question that the governor will, once again, make wise investments in our students, particularly in the areas of reading and math," she wrote. "We look forward to receiving any budget input and recommendations from the board as conversations begin ahead of the February 2024 legislative session."
Mackey said that the program for struggling readers is only in a few counties for a few grade levels and grew out of a pilot program from the governor's discretionary federal funds. The governor's office had passed the program to the department, which has been keeping it on "life support" without funding.
"We rob Peter to pay Paul on this every year," he said.
Federal funds
The department will also have to address the loss of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds fund, the federal dollars given to schools during the coronavirus pandemic in three separate rounds with three separate deadlines.
The first round of funding was due Sept. 30 2022. The second round must be obligated by Sept. 30. The third round must be obligated by Sept. 30 2024.
Nationally, there have been concerns about schools facing a "financial cliff" as they lose those funds. Districts could be protected from that dropoff with increases in state and local money, according to Chalkbeat.
"It's what we've known was coming for two years," Payne said.
Mackey told reporters ahead of the work session that he has spoken with the Legislature's leadership multiple times, and they are aware.
"We are worried a little bit that we won't have the funds to cover everything like our summer reading programs, after school programs and these extra positions in time, but the state has saved a lot of money," he said. "At the end of this month, we'll have a couple billion dollars in savings and hopefully that'll help us not have a funding cliff but have more of a level easy landing."
In fiscal year 2024, which starts Oct. 1, the department had requested $102.2 million and received $57.3 million for the Alabama Reading Initiative. The department will request $93.7 million for fiscal year 2025. The department received $36.8 million for K-3 reading coaches in fiscal year 2024, and will request $61.6 million next year.
Read more at AlabamaReflector.com.