More teachers could be cut without “BP bill”
Jefferson County, Ala.(WVTM)—-Last week, State Superintendent Dr. Joseph Morton made that pronouncement and this week he is taking that message to national audiences on national networks.
If BP doesn’t reimburse the State Education Department for lost revenues, more cuts may be on the horizon. That’s according to the head of the largest school district in Central Alabama.
Jefferson County School Superintendent, Dr. Phil Hammonds said, “As bad as things have been, this was the last thing we needed.“
Dr. Hammonds reference to “this” - is the oil spill off the gulf coast. It’s having a negative effect on tourism, sending sales tax collections way down for the state. That bottom line will hurt school districts, due to the way public education is funded in Alabama.
Dr. Hammonds said, “If people are going to not be employed because of people not spending money that then that hurts two of our major sources of funding for public education.“
Ten different taxes support the Education Trust Fund or ETF. Sales and income taxes are the two main sources. With just 3-1/2 months left in this fiscal year, if there aren’t enough taxes collected to fund education that poses the risk of further across the board budget cuts or what’s called