Tuscaloosa City School Board To Vote On $173M Budget Next Week

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa City Board of Education next week will vote on a $173 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

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The budget will be voted on Sept. 12, which comes after it was presented during Tuesday's Board of Education meeting.

Tuscaloosa City Schools says the budget includes a state-mandated 2% raise for all public education employees, plus a state-mandated minimum $15 per hour starting wage for employees in five positions: CNP, custodians, elementary and secondary instructional aides and maintenance grounds crew.

Additionally, Tuscaloosa City Schools Chief School Financial Officer Jay Duke says pay increases help keep wages competitive with rising costs due to inflation, as well as attract high-quality employees, with most of the school system’s budget goes to personnel such as teachers.

“Focusing on our general fund, $106 million of this budget is in salaries and benefits alone,” Duke said earlier this week. “That’s 81% of our general fund budget, which includes everything from teachers, principals and assistant principals, stipends and supplements. Our emphasis is in the classroom."

TCS also said the budget will include $1,000 per teacher in “classroom instructional support” money, which will give teachers funding to stock their classrooms with instructional supplies.

This represents a $100 increase from the previous year's budget.

Duke went on to explain that the increase in salary and hourly wage, along with the increase in instructional support money, is largely funded by the state, with the exception of the teacher units.

Teacher units, Duke said, are paid for through local funds — meaning the increase in pay for those positions will be paid for via local funds.

TCS says other local funding for the proposed budget is dedicated to arts and music instruction, school safety, transportation and programs like pre-K.

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