Thursday, Eric Mackey, Alabama state superintendent of schools, announced that the department would be requesting extra funding for school safety, math and reading programs and transportation once the legislature returns in March of 2019.

Mackey said the department would be seeking a $30 million in nurse funding and a pre-K special education funding increase of $16.8 million.

“That does not pay for one more nurse than is out there,” Mackey said. “They’re paying for that now. If we can fund that, that frees up other local money.”

Among the different proposals is a $5 million increase to provide extra support for dyslexic students and focuses greatly on the Alabama Reading Initiative.

Mackey also mentioned that this funding could assist local schools in funding of other programs.

“All across the state, local communities, superintendents, and school boards want to expand their programs,” said Mackey. “Some want to expand their AP programs. Some want to expand their middle school computer science classes. Those priorities change from community to community.”

An $11 million increase in transportation and an increase in funding for English language learners from $140 per student to $400 is suggested in the proposal.

“Those students may not have been in school,” Mackey said. “They are not proficient in Spanish. It’s very difficult to teach them the basic tenets of language. You’re not just teaching them another language, but teaching them to read for the first time.”

@RealKyleMorris is a Yellowhammer News contributor and also contributes weekly to The Daily Caller