Alabama Department of Education seeks dedicated program funding in budget request

The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) plans to request a $5.9 billion budget for fiscal year 2028 and establish line items for education programs that have previously been funded with supplemental funds. 

The request is $77.8 million more than the department’s FY27 appropriation, or a 1.3% increase, and provides funding to the state’s classrooms. State Superintendent Eric Mackey said in an interview after the board’s meeting Thursday that he hopes to establish funding for programs like school safety, security and climate in the annual budget. 

“That would be a big win to me because we want to establish that line item in the direct budget,” Mackey said. “The problem with the supplemental budget is because it’s supplemental, it’s not memorialized. When you pull the budget from year to year, the supplemental funds don’t appear anywhere, and we need them.”

The program was mainly funded through the Education Trust Fund (ETF) supplemental appropriations for FY26 with $25 million and $2.5 million from the ETF for FY27. The board plans to request $27.5 million from the ETF for FY28. 

The ETF, which is funded mostly through state income tax, currently holds about $9.8 billion, according to the Legislative Services Agency’s fiscal dashboard. Lawmakers and agencies have been warned that the ETF is “tightening” and FY28 will be a “very, very challenging budget” year for the General Fund. 

The board will also request $14 million for school breakfasts, which was funded entirely in the supplemental budget for FY27 at $7.3 million. 

“That would cover the gap for all schools to be able to offer breakfast,” Mackey told the board.

The price of diesel fuel has impacted school buses. According to AAA, the price of diesel reached $5.71 a gallon on Thursday, the highest ever recorded average in Alabama. The national average is $5.98 per gallon. One year ago, a gallon of diesel in Alabama was $3.46 on average and $3.71 nationally.

The department will request $56.1 million more for its transportation program, a 9.6% increase from its FY27 appropriation.

“I don’t even have any idea how we’ll get ahead of that if the price of diesel doesn’t stabilize between now and next year, but hopefully it will,” Mackey said.

For about half of Alabama students, the bus is the only option and routes can take over an hour in rural parts of the state, Mackey said.

“When kids are six years old, they think it’ll be exciting to ride the school bus. The truth is, there are very few kids riding the school bus because they want to,” he said. “It’s a basic service. It’s got to be there for the kids to learn. They’ve got to get to school.”

The board will approve its final budget request in October, but can continue to make adjustments as finalized school data is released this fall and a new administration takes office.  The Legislature will have the final word on the budget.