Trussville School Funding: Local Support Makes The Difference

TRUSSVILLE, AL — School has started for the 2019-2020 school year, and in Trussville, students are fortunate to attend some of the best schools in Alabama. With the state ranking last or close to last in most categories in education funding, communities like Trussville have had to turn to their citizens to pick up the slack.

Alabama increased its K-12 formula funding by 1 percent per student last year. But that funding is still far below pre-recession levels: 15 percent less per student after adjusting for inflation.

Alabama was 45th nationally in spending per student at $9,636 in 2018. The Education Trust Fund is funded primarily through taxes, the largest of which are the individual and corporate income tax, sales tax, utility tax, and use tax.

The state divvies up tax dollars through a formula, mainly based on the number of students and schools, but then deducts the equivalent of 10 mills of property tax. That's a big deduction in wealthy areas, where property values are high, and a small deduction in rural areas. It's meant to help poorer systems.

This means that when the economy is hurting, so are Alabama's schools. To make up for budget shortfalls, local school systems have to raise local property taxes to help fund their schools.

Revenue Sources

Trussville spends more than $11,500 per student, according to the Alabama Department of Education, well above the state average. Here is where the revenue comes from:

• State Revenue Sources: $25,176,558
• Federal Revenue Sources: $1,192,067
• Local Revenue Sources: $25,187,866
• Other Revenue Sources: $939,150
• State Revenue Source Per Pupil: $5,557
• State Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 121
• Federal Revenue Source Per Pupil: $263
• Federal Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 135
• Local Revenue Source Per Pupil: $5,559
• Local Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 11
• Other Revenue Source Per Pupil: $207
• Other Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 82
• Total Revenue Source Per Pupil: $11,587
• Total Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 51

Superintendent Dr. Pattie Neill said the system is spending what it is earning and growth is playing a factor in that spending. Neill said the system is watching the growth and staying ahead of any changes.

"We’ve got to keep our eye on the age of the new children that move in, that we don’t have yet," Neill said. "We don’t know if those homes will have children that are babies or they could be in high school. We just don’t know."