Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday while speaking to the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, announced she has signed the Education Trust Fund. While speaking to the crowd of around 1,000 business and community leaders, Governor Ivey noted the strategic investments the state is making in our students. The governor issued the following statement on signing the Education Trust Fund:
“Here in Alabama, we are renewing our focus on the basics, and that is teaching core instruction to our students. This year’s historic Education Trust Fund wisely targets our dollars to accomplish this mission.
“During my state of the state address, I stated that we should no longer accept the existence of failing elementary schools in our state, and this budget strategically directs money, using a customized approach, to meet the particular needs of those struggling schools as we begin the process of working towards achieving this goal. We are covering the spread in education – from adding Pre-K classrooms to providing math coaches to funding after school programs, we are making sure Alabama does not accept the status quo and to ensure every student can have a bright future. Our teachers are getting a well-deserved pay increase, and we are recognizing, rewarding and retaining experienced teachers.
“We are continuing our fiscally conservative approach and are fully funding the ETF’s rainy day fund for the first time in history, completely paying off the state’s PACT liability years earlier than anticipated and by making investments that will directly benefit our students and teachers for years to come. As someone who was a former teacher, I believe strongly that education is the number one issue here in Alabama and across our nation, because with that strong educational foundation, doors will open for the rest of one’s life.”
