Education Budget Surplus

Surprise, surprise! The world didn't end when Riley's tax increase failed. And Alabama actually has an education budget surplus. Of course, Paul Hubbert has a plan to put an end to that.

"Alabama will end the fiscal year Thursday with a surplus of as much as $150 million in education tax revenue, which is prompting school officials to talk about hiring more staff next year.

"The leader of the Alabama Education Association is talking about something else - a teacher pay raise.

"A year ago, state education officials were talking about cutbacks in some programs, including textbooks and libraries, because of the failure of Gov. Bob Riley's $1.2 billion tax plan.

"Now, with the state fiscal year set to end Thursday, state officials are talking about education tax collections exceeding appropriations by $120 million to $150 million."