Alabama Politics in
Doc’s Political Parlor
& Home of Lawn Mower Repair

MONTGOMERY — Opponents of Gov. Bob Riley’s school spending proposal say it’s politically motivated. Riley insists it’s not.

Whatever the reasons for the governor’s $500 million capital improvement plan, some observers believe it will be an asset for him in the November election, and perhaps in the June primary against former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.

Riley’s proposal will first run the legislative gauntlet, and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate already have criticized the size of the plan and its timing in an election year.

Still, the proposal has supporters on both sides of the aisle. Sen. Gerald Dial, D-Lineville, said his constituents strongly supported Riley’s plan at a recent public meeting.

"They want see conditions changed," said Dial, who supports Riley’s proposal. "The governor’s offered a positive plan to people who understand it, so if the legislature fails to act on it, for whatever reason, then it’s the legislature’s fault we haven’t fixed the schools."

Riley has proposed taking $500 million from the state’s Education Trust Fund to spend on repairs, expansions and upgrades of school facilities around the state.

About $250 million would go to K-12 schools; the remainder would go to colleges, universities and other educational institutions. Each school district would get a minimum of $200,000 for capital improvements, with additional money awarded based on enrollment.

"I just think we need to be more conservative," Sen. Lowell Barron, D-Fyffe, the Senate president pro tem, said on Monday. "I think we should not play politics at this time.

"It certainly smells of election year politics, and I don’t think we should play politics with our children and their future."

Democrats have zeroed in on the governor’s proposal to abolish one of the state’s two rainy-day funds and spend the money on education. Barron proposes to spend $250 million on capital improvements this year, place the remainder in the state’s statutory rainy-day account, and issue a $1 billion bond issue next year to fix state schools.

Savings have become a mantra for many Democrats on Goat Hill. Sen. Hank Sanders, D-Selma, chairman of the Senate Education Finance and Taxation committee, and Rep. Richard Lindsey, D-Centre, chairman of the House’s Education Finance and Appropriations committee, expressed reservations Monday about Riley’s plan.

"I’m sure the governor hopes he’ll get benefits from spending all the money, but that’s not fiscally conservative," Sanders said. "I’m not sure how that’s going to weigh with the public.

"I do think this is about politics through and through."

Sanders supports a larger salary increase for teachers and says Riley’s plan to give money to every district takes money from districts that have greater needs than others. Lindsey said Riley’s plan was "good," but that he had concerns about its use of projected revenues for funding.

"If we have a downturn in the economy, we may not have these dollars to spend," Lindsey said.

Like Sanders and Barron, he favors saving the extra money. "I think it’s much more prudent, much more conservative, to have any even bigger capital program to address true needs of the school systems," Lindsey said.

Riley’s staff and his legislative supporters deny that his proposal is aimed at the governor’s re-election, and argue that the Democrats want to spend the money on teacher raises favored by Alabama Education Association Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert, vice-chairman of the state Democratic Party.

"This $500 million for school renovations is one-time money," said Jeff Emerson, a spokesman for Riley. "What the AEA, what Paul Hubbert, wants to do is spend it on recurring expenses.

"You can’t spend one-time money on that."

Emerson also noted that Democrats last year opposed a Riley proposal to float a $1 billion bond for school improvements.

"So now they’re back to wanting a bond issue all of sudden," he said. "It doesn’t make much sense."

Riley’s budget removes the $234 million statutory rainy-day fund — essentially a state savings account — but funds the constitutional rainy-day fund, a line of credit that must be repaid, to its maximum of $248 million. Dial said that’s enough money to cover future shortfalls.

"We’re either going to have $250 million in a rainy-day account or $500 million," he said. "If you take half of that, you’d have to have a terrific downturn in the economy and a pretty liberal spending legislature to spend that money into proration."

While Riley insists no political motives fuel his proposal, some see benefits from it.

"All voters want to save for a rainy day, but all voters want to reap the benefits of a good economic climate," said David Lanoue, chairman of the University of Alabama’s political science department. "In a sense, Riley’s selling the syrup, and the Democrats are selling the medicine.

"It seems, in a political sense, that gives Riley an advantage."

Riley also has stressed the benefits his plan would give to rural schools.

Natalie Davis, a political science professor at Birmingham-Southern College, notes that Moore is expected to do well in the rural counties of Alabama, where his message of fundamentalist Christianity and low taxes should play well, and where Riley’s negatives "are more pronounced."

"And in fairness, those (rural districts) are probably the ones that need the most help," she said. "In rural districts, they can do more with base amount than they could do in affluent school districts."

Moore has called for the extra $500 million in the Education Trust Fund to be returned to taxpayers. J. Holland, Moore’s communications director, called Riley’s education spending plan a ploy.

"We feel like it’s another political election year way to get attention and lure voters," he said.

Emerson said Riley has been interested in rural areas, particularly the Black Belt, throughout his term.

"The election has nothing to do with this," he said. "Governor Riley has been addressing needs of rural Alabama since he became governor."

Those inside and outside the Legislature doubt Riley will get $500 million. Randy Wood, R-Saks, strongly supports the governor’s proposal, but expects it to change significantly as it goes through the process.

"I’m sure it’s going to change 180 degrees once it comes out of the education committee," he said.

Lea Fite, D-Jacksonville, agreed.

"That package will probably change 10,000 times before we vote on it," he said. "All you see is a very basic roadmap about where we will possibly end up.

"There’s gong to be a lot of heated discussion. I’ll bet the governor won’t recognize the end result."

That’s expected, Emerson said. "It’s not a my-way-or-the-highway situation," he said. "Governor Riley wants to work with the Legislature."

On Wednesday morning, an Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform rally in Montgomery will present a petition to legislative leaders calling for the House and Senate to let the people vote on whether the state should call a convention to rewrite Alabama’s antiquated Constitution.

But even before the rally at the Capitol steps, ACCR members will be hard at work. Earlier that morning, the House Constitution and Election Committee will discuss the proposal. Without the committee’s endorsement, the measure will not move forward.

Here, for ourselves and for our children, is democracy at work.

We are guaranteed by our federal Constitution the right to publicly assemble and to petition our government for a redress of grievances. Those rallying Wednesday feel that few of our grievances are greater than the burdens placed on Alabama’s people by their state Constitution.

There are, of course, those who do not want the Constitution changed. They have prospered under the current system, so they will not be at the rally. Instead, they will be lobbying legislators to keep the people from voting — working against democracy.

ACCR and its supporters will be lobbying legislators as well and we urge senators and representatives to listen — especially Rep. Steve Hurst from Mumford who sits on the Constitution and Election Committee. The position of those calling for a vote is simple and clear. If the people can be trusted to put legislators in office, those same people can be trusted to vote for or against a constitutional convention.

Under the bill being proposed, the people will get three chances to vote on the issue. First, they will vote on calling a convention. If they vote yes, then they will vote for delegates to that convention. And lastly, they will vote on the document that the convention writes.

In essence, this is a rally for democracy. We urge our legislators to stand up for democracy and let the people vote.