The Alabama Policy Institute (API), which is valiantly running its own DOGE effort in the state, commissioned a poll through the Napolitan News Service of 800 Registered Voters. Results showed that 86% of Alabama voters think the state should cut spending and 74% think the Alabama Legislature should cut taxes.
Alabama has enjoyed a budget surplus since 2016 yet continues to pass the largest budgets in state history. As API reports, much of that budget goes to education. But Alabama (and other states) have lost federal education funding lately due to the federal DOGE efforts by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, along with Trump’s directive to dismantle the United States Department of Education (ED).
“Alabama has been receiving millions a day from the U.S. Department of Education,” 1819 News recently reported. “Those funds were halted Wednesday after the federal department announced massive layoffs as part of the Trump administration's effort to cut wasteful spending.”
Not millions a year, but millions A DAY. What is being done with that money?
“Our schools depend on these funds,” Alabama State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey said, “and as long as the funds continue to be made available for our schools, less federal regulation and burdensome paperwork we would welcome.”
Mackey “carried out his normal duties afterward,” appearing unworried, 1819 News reported, and telling a statewide event “that he expected the funds to be restored, possibly by Thursday.”
Even if the funds are restored, with an already substantial outlay from Alabama taxpayers and a huge annual surplus from previous years, what exactly would Mackey need to worry about?
As another another API report explains:
“The Education Trust Fund (ETF) budget funds all state education activities, including K-12 programs and higher education. The primary revenue streams for the ETF budget are income and sales taxes. In fiscal year 2024, individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, and general sales taxes account for over 92% of ETF revenues.”
On a related note, the Alabama State Board of Education (BOE) is weighing whether to grant Mackey a 55% RAISE, increasing the value of his contract by $135,000 over his $245,000 current contract. For what, exactly? Has Mackey’s performance reflected this increased worth?
So, here’s a few questions for Mackey: Why have we been robbing other American taxpayers of millions of dollars a day for an education budget that is already 92% funded by our own citizens? How exactly do Alabama schools depend on these funds? Who benefits from that 10 percent we get from the federal government? And how about no federal regulations or paperwork at all?
What’s worse in my mind is the fact that our education metrics are not showing a good return on investment on the amount spent. Despite improvements, Alabama still languishes at middle-of-the-road (34% in fourth grade reading, 32% in fourth grade math) in the country for education. Who is demanding accountability on what exactly these dollars are being spent on?
According to this same education API report, many of these funds are going to non-governmental organizations. Recent news about USAID and other NGOs show much of the money funneled to these kinds of organizations gets wasted on causes that have little to nothing to do with Americans or their concerns. Makes one wonder what is happening with all our local education funds going to these NGOs. Is anyone investigating? With our federal representatives not even bothering to care about USAID waste, it’s doubtful our local representatives care about what is occurring in their own backyard.
Gov. Kay Ivey should also receive the same questions as Mackey about wasteful spending of education dollars. By our laws, she is the chairwoman of the BOE. In January, she said she wanted Alabama to be in the top 30 in education. Concerning the ED cuts, 1819 News quoted Ivey as saying, “I'm all for shrinking government where we can.”
As Shakespeare wrote in “Julius Ceasar,” “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”
Alabama could set the precedent by slashing its own government, especially in this area of education. Why isn’t this a priority? Why are certain actors in the state trying to get a gambling initiative passed, partially under the guise of building revenue for an “education lottery” when education is already quite well funded in the state?
The problem is not the dollars, it’s the utilization of the dollars.
Between 2015 and 2024, the ETF budget grew by 48% – totaling 11 billion last year – including the supplemental slush fund, API reports. If our Alabama representatives believe in less government spending and less paperwork, then why are they not using our money wisely? What exactly is being done with all this money on top of the almost 10% we’ve received from the federal government? Perhaps it’s time for Alabama to learn to do more with less.
While API has done yeoman’s work in documenting these facts, it is up to us, the citizens to hold our elected representatives’ feet to the fire. Both federal and state representatives want to brag about how much they support government efficiency, all while passing more laws and budgets ensuring they never have to tighten their own belts, but demanding the taxpayers give more. Education spending is the elephant in the room that everyone wants to ignore.
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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