By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Alabama Education Association executive secretary Paul Hubbert is hoping the state legislature will approve educator pay raises this year. He says recent financial increases should be able to provide a seven percent pay raise for teachers, retirees and other education workers. State Senate President Pro Tem Lowell Barron says lawmakers likely will approve such a raise, but there's no sense about how much it would be. The Alabama Education Trust Fund grew nine-point-five percent during the last fiscal year. It received about four-point-four billion dollars in tax revenue. State finance officials say the fund is still growing this fiscal year, growing seven percent since October first.