Alabama voters will decide Nov. 4 whether to give new protections to public schools against unfunded mandates enacted by the Legislature.
Amendment Four requires that at least two-thirds of the Legislature must pass a law that causes city and county boards of education to collectively spend more than $50,000 in local funds if the state is not going to pay for the increased expense. Currently, that can be done by a majority vote.
The executive director of the Alabama Association of School Boards, Sally Howell, says the two-thirds margin is a protection that Alabama voters gave to cities and counties with a constitutional amendment in 1999, and it is time school systems got the same protection.
The Business Council of Alabama and the Alabama Farmers Federation are supporting Amendment Four.