FROM STAFF REPORTS

Alabama’s public schools will not be affected by a recent proration of the state’s general fund budget, according to a press release from Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley.

Bentley on March 16 declared a 10.6 percent proration on the state’s general fund budget for the remainder of fiscal year 2012, which ends Sept. 30. The state’s general fund and education budgets are separate.

As a result of proration, state agencies financed by the general fund budget will be required to reduce their expenses throughout the current fiscal year.

Alabama’s general fund has been impacted by several major factors that make proration necessary, according to the press release.

The largest factors include tens of millions of dollars in state funding required for tornado recovery, Bentley said. Also, stock market conditions during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 were among the worst in the last 60 years, according to the press release.

“Just as families must reduce their spending when money is limited, government must also reduce its spending,” Bentley wrote in the release. “We must live within our means, and we will make financial decisions that honor our commitment to taxpayers to keep a balanced budget.”