Alabama public schools are back in the spotlight. For the staff at Arise Citizens’ Policy Project (ACPP), which works to improve the lives of low-income people in Alabama, the news could have been more upbeat – but the organization says there are steps to take to improve.
Public dollars in Alabama to support students have plummeted by $1,128 per pupil since the Great Recession began, ACPP reported Thursday, citing a new study from the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Compared to Fiscal 2008, the state has experienced a 17.8 percent drop in money going to Alabama’s public schools, which means the cuts over the past seven years were close to being the worst in the country, ACPP said. Only one other state placed lower: Oklahoma.
The per-pupil cut of $1,128 since Fiscal 2008 was $114 steeper than any other state. In other words, ACPP said, Alabama led the nation in this category.
Such cuts could place the state’s economic recovery and future growth in jeopardy, Kimble Forrister, ACPP executive director, said. “Education opens the doors of opportunity for everyone, and we only hurt ourselves when we undermine it,” he said in a statement.
There are policy alternatives to help students, he added. Among them: Ending the state income tax deduction for federal income taxes, roll back the Alabama Accountability Act and use the dollars to support public schools instead of private ones and change the Rolling Reserve Act. That state law places a cap on how much money Alabama can spend on education each year.
“Underfunding education today will leave our state with fewer highly skilled workers tomorrow,” he said. “We can’t strengthen Alabama’s economy by eroding our foundation for economic growth.”
In 2013, the state had about 4.8 million residents. More than 18 percent of the population lives in poverty.
While Alabama’s per-pupil spending was steeper than any other state, there was an increase this year in this category, which covers kindergarten students up to high school seniors, ACPP said.
The amount?
It went up by $16 per student.
Arise Citizens’ Policy Project, based in Montgomery, Ala., is a coalition of 150 groups and congregations working on public policies to help low-income residents.