By Associated Press
Montgomery AL – BP has declined for now to pay Alabama on its $148 million claim for tax revenue lost by the massive oil spill - a move that caused the governor to order a deep cut in school funding for the rest of September.
State school officials said Thursday the 2 percent cut - on top of a 7.5 percent cut earlier - will amount to about one-fourth of the money school systems had been expecting this month. The cut doesn't affect salaries, but it does put a hole in the budgets for supplies and repairs.
BP officials partly blamed the delayed payment on the lawsuit filed against the company by Alabama Attorney General Troy King. King says BP is not dealing with the state in good faith.
Gov. Bob Riley also blamed King's lawsuit for the mandatory school budget cuts.