By Staff
By Adrienne McKenzie – Special to the Standard
Gov. Bob Riley announced last week that his administration would be releasing $17 million to Alabama's public schools to help pay for a variety of different needs, ranging from basic toiletry items to utilities.
Escambia County's public school system was awarded $105,303 and according to Superintendent William Hines, the money will be used to pay for employees.
Hines said the money is based on units earned and Escambia County had earned 300 teacher units.
The overall funding for the State of Alabama was incorporated in this year's educational budget as conditional appropriation. The release of the money was dependant upon whether the Education Trust Fund had sufficient revenues.
That revenue level was reached and the $17 million was released into public school systems across Alabama. The distribution to different school systems depends on the amount of state-funded teachers it has.
Riley said in a press release that our economy is strong and because of that, the Education Trust Fund can sufficiently assist schools across the state.
Riley also said it is important to keep in mind that funding for education is not possible unless the economy steadily grows.
The overall $17 million was included in the educational budget under the &#8220Other Current Expenses” grouping. This category is used for schools to cover essential expenses that are not otherwise allocated in the budget.
This additional $17 million brings the &#8220Other Current Expenses” total to