MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A state Senate committee today passed its version of next year's state education budget, which likely will be debated Thursday by the full 35-member Senate.
The Senate Finance and Taxation - Education Committee voted 9-0 for its education budget for the 2012 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. It is similar to the budget approved earlier this month by the House of Representatives.
The proposed budget and related spending bills would spend $5.59 billion from the Education Trust Fund, an increase of $240.7 million, 4.5 percent, from this year's spending level. The trust fund is the main source of state tax dollars for public schools and colleges.
The committee-passed budget would spend $72 million less than this year from the trust fund for teachers' salaries, so there would be 1,125 fewer state-funded teachers next year.
The budget would maintain the number of days in a school year worked by most teachers: 180 days with students and seven days without.
It has no money for cost-of-living raises. Public school employees last got a COLA in October 2007.
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