Taxes collected for the Alabama Education Trust Fund—primarily on sales and income—have risen 8.9 percent in the first 11 months of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, state finance director Jim Main reported last week.
The fund underwrites K-12 and higher education.
Revenues jumped $340 million over that span, from $3.8 billion to $4.2 billion. This past month was particularly good, with tax collections outpacing those for August 2003 by almost 25 percent.
In fiscal 2004, the state cut almost $100 million from its $3 billion K-12 budget after voters rejected a ballot measure to rewrite the tax code. (“Alabama Voters Reject Gov. Riley’s Tax Plan,” Sept. 17, 2003.)
But much of the surplus has been budgeted for in this school year, and $36 million will be added to a rainy-day fund, a spokeswoman for the state department of education said.
