By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – The legislature's budget committee chairmen say they will recommend a raise for education employees. Senator Hank Sanders and Representative Richard Lindsey say they'll suggest a six percent raise. The Alabama Education Association initially wanted seven percent, but executive secretary Paul Hubbert recently backed away from that amount. A-E-A Associate Executive Secretary Joe Reed says his organization will agree to the six percent recommendation, but it won't support anything lower than that. Governor Bob Riley, meanwhile, is still pushing for a four percent raise. The Legislature must decide on the size of the pay raise and approve the education budget by May 16th.