MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- State officials are predicting that Alabama's Education Trust Fund will pull in enough money to meet its spending target for this fiscal year and avoid cuts in budgeted spending from proration.

The Birmingham News reports that the state Finance Department said Monday that the trust fund collected $4.25 billion in October through June, an increase of $269.9 million, or 6.8 percent, from the same period a year earlier.

Tax collections by the trust fund are the main source of state tax dollars for public schools and colleges. They need to grow by about 5.6 percent this fiscal year to reach the budgeted spending total of $5.63 billion.

Lawmakers this year approved taking an additional $40 million from the fund this fiscal year to reserve it for spending in the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. The fund's tax collections need to grow by about 6.3 percent in this fiscal year to meet the combined budgeted spending and put away the planned money in reserve for next year.