School Funding In Vestavia: Local Funds Pick Up Slack

VESTAVIA HILLS, AL — Consistently, Vestavia Hills City Schools are among the best in the state, and that can be attributed largely to the amount of money local residents spend on taxes to fund the schools. While the state has had increasing problems with school funding, Vestavia has had to turn to its 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.

Funding Sources

The school system ranks in the top 20 for funding per student. And that largely comes from higher property taxes locally.

Here is where the money comes from, according to the Alabama Department of Education:

• State Revenue Sources: $35,848,572
• Federal Revenue Sources: $1,997,414
• Local Revenue Sources: $48,812,866
• Other Revenue Sources: $1,333,121
• State Revenue Source Per Pupil: $5,049
• State Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 131
• Federal Revenue Source Per Pupil: $281
• Federal Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 134
• Local Revenue Source Per Pupil: $6,875
• Local Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 6
• Other Revenue Source Per Pupil: $188
• Other Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 86
• Total Revenue Source Per Pupil: $12,393
• Total Revenue Source Per Pupil Rank: 30

Local Support

The Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation is a non-profit corporation was created in 1996 to provide ongoing and dependable funding for critical academic "extras" such as professional development, technology, and classroom enhancements.

"Vestavia Hills has a strong tradition of giving unparalleled community support in providing all of our students the opportunities to learn without limits," said Superintendent Dr. Todd Freeman. "The Foundation commits to this mission by supporting teachers with resources to innovate, create, and design wonderful learning experiences. It sets the standard for excellence in partnering with Vestavia Hills City Schools."

In the 2018-2019 school year, the Foundation awarded 34 grants totaling $110,000 to the eight schools in the Vestavia Hills system and to the Vestavia Hills Board of Education.