By Associated Press - Monday, May 16, 2016

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Some Alabama superintendents are upset by funding cuts to a reading program that will disproportionately affect schools with higher reading scores.

Lawmakers in April approved the 2017 education budget, which included about $7.5 million being cut from the Alabama Reading Imitative. The program pays for reading coaches in classrooms.

The TimesDaily of Florence (https://bit.ly/1OvHu9R ) reports that superintendents didn’t find out until May 6 that the program cuts won’t be equal across all schools. Instead, the Alabama State Department of Education is planning next year to give about $76,000 to schools that are below the state’s third-grade reading score average - about $58,000 more than schools with above-average scores will be receiving.

Gov. Robert Bentley spokeswoman Jennifer Ardis says the governor is prioritizing spending in pre-K programs.

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Information from: TimesDaily, https://www.timesdaily.com/

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