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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor 

ALABASTER – The Alabaster City Schools Board of Education has passed a $121 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The ACS Board of Education approved the budget during a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, Sept. 9 after reviewing the materials with Chief School Finance Officer Ed Roberson.

“I appreciate all the work that’s gone into (the budget),” Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said. “It’s nice working with someone like you Ed. It’s nice to work with someone like you because you get things done, but you also help us all get better, and we all have a better understanding of our departments.”

The fiscal year 2024 budget will run from Sunday, Oct. 1 until Sept. 30, 2025.

Some budget highlights from the FY 2025 budget include:

• Creek View Elementary Renovations Phase II
• ACS Champions Craft Academy renovations and completion
• The purchase of 25 new school buses
• Construction and completion of new ACS Central Office

As passed, the budget includes $79,907,542.67 in total general fund revenues with $79,947,518.73 in total general fund expenditures. The total expenditures for the fiscal year 2025 budget is $121,008,321.96.

Roberson shared that this will mark the first year that programs will be paid for with local dollars instead of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds which were provided to help schools address the challenge of reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is our first budget without the ESSER funds from the state, so it’s a much leaner budget than Alabaster City Schools is used to having,” Roberson said. “It’s a good budget and not only me, but all of the chiefs and principals and everybody had input going into it. So, I think we’ve got a good, solid budget in place for the district.”

In other news, the Alabaster City Schools BOE approved the following during the meeting:

• Out-of-state field trip requests
• ACS Science Textbook Adoption Committees
• Microsoft product renewal
• Alabaster City Schools Capital Plan
• Developing Alabama Youth program agreement