The Alabama Commission on Higher Education is requesting a $207.1 million, 11.1% increase in state funding for colleges and universities in fiscal 2024.
The ACHE board approved the more than $2 billion request on Friday, citing schools’ increased salary and benefits costs and inflation-related expenses.
Meanwhile, the state Senate’s education budget leader on Friday said he expects any funding increases in 2024 to be “moderate.”
The commission held budget hearings with several schools last month. Jim Hood, ACHE’s deputy director of financial and information systems, on Friday said inflation-related cost increases were a common theme of the conversations. He said one university noted that a recent construction project went from an expected $5 million to $7 million because of jumps in supply costs.
