State education officials present $799 million FY‑24 request, emphasize reading, numeracy and school safety

The Alabama State Department of Education presented an FY‑2024 funding request that would increase the department’s state appropriation by roughly $799 million, department leaders told the State Board and attendees at a work session.

Berta Payne, who presented the request for the department, said the proposal aggregates a long list of program increases and new line items the department says local schools and state programs need. "For FY23 the appropriation is $30,650,001.56. We're asking for a $3,000,000 increase in our operations and maintenance," Payne said during the presentation.

The package outlines requests across operations and maintenance, early‑grade and remedial reading, a new state numeracy effort, principal and leadership development, school safety and mental‑health coordinators, among other items. Department staff said the FY‑24 request is a planning document for the board; the formal appropriation recommendation must be submitted for state consideration in time to reach the governor by the department’s November 1 deadline.

What officials proposed and why it matters - The overall upward adjustment the department presented totaled about $799 million above current appropriations. Payne told board members the request is intended to cover program expansions, cost‑of‑living adjustments and new investments aimed at addressing teacher shortages and student supports. - Early‑grade reading and the State Reading Initiative (ARI) are targeted for significant increases, with Payne saying the department sought roughly an $8 million increase for ARI to restore funds that the department says were left short after last year’s salary adjustments for teachers. The department told the board that fully funding reading coaches so districts will not have to cover part of those salaries remains a policy priority. - Numeracy: staff described a state rollout tied to the recently enacted numeracy legislation. The request referenced roughly $20 million to support an office and coaching network tied to the Alabama Numeracy Act, including regional coaches and school‑level supports for the earliest grades. - Principal development: the request includes roughly $7 million to expand principal development and a $2 million Leadership Academy to provide professional learning and leadership pipelines for principals and assistant principals. - School safety and mental health: the department asked for a $100 million increase to the Foundation Program Other Current Expense (OCE) allocation to give districts flexible local funding for security upgrades, staffing and training. The mental‑health service coordinator program was proposed to expand from 113 coordinators to 146, a step the department said would reduce the local share of coordinator salary and benefits. - Career and workforce programs: the Career Tech Initiative request grew to $30 million aimed at equipment, EPIC program support and work‑based learning expansion. The department also requested $1.5 million to expand the Alabama teacher mentoring program after reporting higher mentor costs than originally appropriated for FY23. - Assessments and college‑and‑career readiness (CCR): the department asked for increases in student assessment funding (about $5.7 million) to support expanded reporting, multilingual parent letters and test form development. Staff also walked the board through possible options for offering the ACT and WorkKeys to more students and discussed voucher options and cost estimates.

What the board discussed and next steps Board members and department leaders discussed the timing and sequence for consideration. Payne reminded the board this work session is an initial briefing; the department intends to present an updated, more formal work‑session package next month and expects to return a recommendation to the board in October so the department can meet the governor’s office and legislative calendar.

Board members pressed for clarity on several items, including: whether math and reading coaches will be fully funded locally; how the department would prioritize the requests if revenue forecasts change; the costs and options for expanding state‑funded administrations of the ACT or vouchers for a second ACT administration; and how proposed allocations would flow to districts of different sizes. The department agreed to provide additional breakdowns and scenario modeling ahead of the formal October recommendation.

What officials stressed Payne emphasized the request is preliminary and subject to revision: the FY‑23 appropriation is set and the FY‑24 request will be adjusted through public input and further review over the coming weeks. State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey and other staff noted that final increases for teacher pay and the governor’s decisions on raises will affect the final numbers the legislature will have to consider.

Taper/Beyond the meeting Department staff told the board that many items—such as the numeracy coach rollout, expanded reading supports and school safety investments—are multi‑year efforts. Several board members urged the department to return to the board with additional details: cost formulas by district, the distribution plan for proposed coaches, and concrete estimates for the suggested ACT voucher or additional statewide testing options.

Speakers quoted or paraphrased in this report spoke at the SDE work session and are listed in the speaker section below. Formal legislative action on the FY‑24 request rests with the governor and the Legislature; the department’s schedule calls for a formal, revised work‑session presentation next month and an October recommendation so the submission to the governor’s office meets the November 1 deadline required by state practice.