By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery AL – By a 11-nothing vote, the Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee approved a bill that would provide a 5 percent cost of living raise to public school employees from kindergarten through the junior college level and a 7 percent raise to education retirees. The committee also approved a measure that would extend the school year by five days to 180 days. School employees would get extra pay for those extra days. Both measures have already won House approval and now head toward final approval in the Senate. Governor Bob Riley would still need to sign both bills before they take effect. Riley has said the pay raise is higher than he thinks the state can afford.