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After a hard fought legislative battle lasting two days, the Alabama House has roughed out a compromise to close corporate loopholes to generate needed revenue for the Education Trust Fund. Without this measure passing, the Legislature will be forced to slash budgets by $67 million, devastating dozens of programs and hurting schools across the state.
The passage of the loophole closure bill HB350 is essential for passage of the 2009 education budget.

Education budget protecting K-12…

On April 16 the first step in the legislative budget porcess took place when the House Education Appropriations Committee approved the draft 2009 education budget. The entire House is expected to bring up the measure next Tuesday. The proposed budget cuts $374 million in spending over 2008 levels, and cuts overall K-12 spending by $2.9 million.

Chancellor taps politically connected firm for…

Controversy continues to erupt over attempts to privatize background checks of all two-year college employees. Postsecondary Chancellor Bradley Byrne has pushed for a politically-connected firm to handle the searches, while AEA has advocated that the Alabama Bureau of Investigation conduct the checks as they do for K-12.

Closing corporate tax loopholes…

Deeper cuts in Governor Riley's education budget – a budget that AEA supports – are likely to occur unless the Legislature decides to close tax loopholes this session on national and multinational companies doing business in Alabama.

A Tale of Two Standards
Unequal treatment for governor's opponents points to politics

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, depending on whether or not you are a political ally of the Riley administration in the Legislature.

On March 4, a policy was implemented by the State Board of Education that attemps to eliminate political opponents of Gov. Bob Riley who are working in Alabama's postsecondary system. The jobs held by the governor's friends working with other state agencies remain untouched.

AEA promotes bill to create jobs, grow ETF
AEA is again in the thick of battle, joining forces with business, to create good jobs for Alabamians. While AEA has gained a strong reputation as the protector of the ETF, the association is also becoming a strong partner in economic development by working to provide incentives for industry with the condition that economic projections prove school funding will gain new enterprises.

Legal fees compared among school systems
Legal expenses in the Birmingham School System gained top headlines in the February 18 issue of the Alabama School Journal. The icle explained how that board was spending more than a million dollar a year in legal expenses. UniServ Director Lance Hyche exposed the board for receiving campaign contribrutions from the very firms that receive the system's legal work.
The fact is that many systems in the state are very frugal regarding legal expenses, yet several have very high legal bills. The chart in the article sets out the legal fees paid by each system on a per pupil basis, and gives the rank of each system regarding legal fees paid.

AEA says Pre-K plan doesn't go far enough

After years of neglect by this administration, Gov. Riley recently voiced support for pre-kindergarten in Alabama.
In a major statewide public relations effort, the governor rolled out a pre-k plan that has no funding source, and would send millions of taxpayer dollars to private entities.

Supreme Court Sides with Exxon
Ruling overturns $3.6 billion jury verdict and jeopardizes state budgets

Aggressive Exxon may cost state millions
Exxon Mobil, the most profitable oil giant in the world, is aggressively pursuing a new tactic to get refunds of severance taxes already paid to the state of Alabama.

A Roll Out to a Roll Back
The state press keeps up a steady drumbeat for educators to pay more for health care.

The $22 Million Shell Game
Corporations use accounting tricks and loopholes to take millions from Alabama's classrooms

Wal-Mart 's low wages, tax schemes cost state millions
How many teachers will be gained or lost in state's school systems?
How people view AEA
Picking on AEA. . . .Paul Hubbert's muscle
The Six P's of Alabama Politics
AEA issues First Amendment Guides for Religion in Schools
TRS funding impacts retirees COLAs
AEA working fast and furious to defend public education
They're Back (Portable Classrooms)
The Bible in Alabama Public Schools
Why the Legislature is important to you
Central Alabama Business Journal interviews Dr. Paul Hubbert

When to Begin
Record heat gets controversy boiling over early school start dates