Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
02/16/2011 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): School Superintendent | |
| HB93 | |
| HB132 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 132 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 93 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 93-SCHOOL GARDENS, GREENHOUSES, AND FARMS
8:37:23 AM
CHAIR DICK announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 93, "An Act relating to school gardens,
greenhouses, and farms."
8:38:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GUTTENBERG, Alaska State Legislature,
introduced HB 93, paraphrasing from the sponsor statement, which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 93 creates a grant program for non-profits
who operate school gardens at public schools and have
raised operation funding in their communities. It
would allow the state to provide an additional one-
half of one percent of state aide to a school for the
purposes of supporting a non-profit run school garden,
farm or greenhouse.
This legislation makes recognition of Alaska's
problems with obesity and food security. By teaching
young Alaskans how to grow their own healthy food in
their own communities we can begin to ease both
problems.
The school gardens currently in operation are
producing more than 2,000 pounds of fresh produce per
year for students to take home, school snacks,
purchase by members of the community, and donations to
local food banks. There is also a pilot project in
Fairbanks to use the vegetables from school gardens in
school lunches.
House Bill 93 will provide low-cost fresh, nutritious
vegetables for communities throughout Alaska with
minimal impacts to the State Budget.
The committee took an at-ease at 8:41 a.m.
8:41:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked why the bill is directed to an
entire district, rather than being introduced as a pilot project
in specific schools. He opined that the financial threshold
established in the bill seems prohibitive, and appears to
require district wide participation.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG deferred.
8:44:16 AM
JAY HARDENBROOK, Staff, Representative David Guttenberg, Alaska
State Legislature, explained that the intent is to implement
this on a school by school basis; however, the district would
need to make application for the grant.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON suggested that the intent may not be
clearly stated in the bill. He directed attention to the bill
page 1, line 5 and paraphrased from the language, which read
[original punctuation provided]:
A nonprofit corporation authorized under this section
must contribute to the operation of each school
garden, greenhouse, or farm matching funds in an
amount that is equal to or greater than one-half
percent of the state aid received by the school
district under AS 14.17.400 for the school each year.
MR. HARDENBROOK interpreted the language as referring to the
school, each year, where the garden, farm, or greenhouse
operates.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to the fiscal note that lays out
a projected five tenths of a percent, and said:
Those are on the entire school district, but those
funds wouldn't have to be there because if it was only
five percent of the schools then we'd be looking at
five percent of that amount.
MR. HARDENBROOK answered absolutely.
8:46:02 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE inquired whether intent is to provide
produce for the school meals program.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG indicated that availability of fresh
produce to the school would be a by-product of the program, and
said that the excess harvest from the school garden in Fairbanks
is sold at the farmer's market; returning funds to the program.
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked if any regulations would need to be
altered to allow the use of the produce by the school meals
program.
MR. HARDENBROOK established that vegetables are currently being
used for school snacks, and he deferred to a representative of
the farm for further details.
8:47:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI stated his understanding that the school
district would be the authorizing agency and each school would
need to apply. The fiscal note is high, as it reflects the
possibility of 100 percent school participation. He asked how
schools are currently funding garden programs.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG answered that fund raisers are held,
such as bake sales. In addition, Calypso farm was able to
secure grant funding.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI directed attention to the bill, page 2,
section 4, and asked whether, if a school district authorizes a
non-profit to operate a garden, greenhouse, or farm, a funding
application must be submitted.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG said no, if the program can be
operated without funding, it is not a requirement, nor a
prerequisite, for having a garden.
MR. HARDENBROOK concurred.
8:50:29 AM
SUSAN WILLSRUD, Director, Calypso Farm and Ecology Center, said
Calypso is a 501C3 non-profit organization, operating as an
educational farm, which participates in the farm to school
program in partnership with the Fairbanks North Star Borough
School District. She continued, paraphrasing from a prepared
statement, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
The Schoolyard Garden Initiative is a network of
large, multi-purpose school gardens. These gardens
are dynamic outdoor classrooms, food production sites
for both the surrounding neighborhood and the school,
and a site for a unique summer job training and
agricultural program for teenagers.
This program was piloted in 2003 at one school and has
evolved and grown to now include 7 schools. This
summer we expect approximately 150 young people to
participate as Student Gardeners to maintain these
gardens over the summer. Each school garden grows
over 25 types of vegetables, a selection of herbs and
flowers. Each of these gardens yields approximately
3,000 lbs of produce - which is distributed in a
variety of ways - including being taken home by
Student Gardeners, marketed to neighborhood residents
(each farm stand accepts Food Stamps - currently one
of the only ways that a person can purchase locally
grown food using those benefits), donated to the local
soup kitchen and then when schools resumes in the fall
- used in the school in a variety of ways.
With Calypso's support, these gardens are used by 100%
of the teachers in each school. Their use extends far
beyond creating a connection to food - The garden is
used as a hands-on context for teaching core subjects,
including math, science, language arts…
The passage of House Bill 93 is not only an investment
in school gardens - it's an investment in our young
people, our communities and a healthy future. At
Calypso we receive regular inquiries - from all over
the state - from people operating similar programs or
interested in starting similar programs. We are
dedicated to helping share the success that we've had
here in Fairbanks. This passage of HB 93 will allow
communities across the state to create similar
innovative programs.
Thank you considering this bill - its passage will not
only have enormous positive impact for Alaskans - it
will provide a "first of its kind" leading example for
the nation.
8:56:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE inquired about the original financing of
the farm, the grant sources, and how much operational money is
derived through sales.
MS. WILLSRUD replied that, as a non-profit, it had a grassroots
beginning through individual donations, followed by grants, and
sales. The Alaska Conservation Association provided an initial
grant of $11,000, which served as start-up money. She indicated
that the grants vary from less than $1,000 to as much as
$30,000, and some are for multiple years. The earned income
represents about 50 percent of the operating budget. School
based programs would have the potential of generating 15-20
percent, she estimated.
9:00:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA suggested that farming may not be
appropriate for all locals, and asked whether there are options,
other than gardening, which would promote building a healthy
environment; such as composting soil or worm ranching.
MS. WILLSRUD said that diversity exists for design elements to
be tailored to particular locals. She stressed the importance
of the partnership between the school district and the non-
profit organization. Parents and teachers cannot carry this
type of program without the support from a non-profit to provide
the continuity essential for a healthy, working garden.
9:04:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON noted the $100,000 operating costs for the
seven schools, under Calypso's umbrella, and asked what the
budget is for each school. Further, he stated his understanding
that the bill calls for the non-profit and EED to share the
operating costs on a fifty-fifty basis, and asked to have this
confirmed.
MS. WILLSRUD responded that the individual site costs are
approximately $15,000, for items and services which include:
seeds, plant starts, tools, port-a-potties, first-aid
requirements, an intern who acts as the school garden
supervisor, and a full-time supervisor employed for the six
months covering summer and shouldering the beginning and end of
the school year. She said the employee costs are the bulk of
the budget, and noted that the intern is paid a stipend wage
along with gratis room and board. Ms. Willsrud confirmed that
HB 93 stipulates that the operating costs are to be split fifty-
fifty.
9:07:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON queried where the gardens are located
in regard to the school property.
MS. WILLSRUD reported that the current gardens are on the school
property; covering approximately one fourth acre. She said that
some schools have established weather stations in the garden
area, which are used throughout the year.
9:08:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked for an estimation of the length of
time it takes for a school to implement a garden program, and
suggested that transition language may need to be added to the
bill.
MS. WILLSRUD indicated that it requires a long term planning
process. A new school should allow three years from inception
to groundbreaking. She reported that schools in Anchorage and
Homer have been working to implement a garden program, and two
schools may be ready for participation next year.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked whether transition language limiting
the funding to 10 schools in the next year and the ability to
add 5 per year, would be reasonable.
MS. WILLSRUD agreed.
9:12:37 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON queried whether the programs could
become self sustaining, thus, state funds would be used
primarily for start-up purposes.
MS. WILLSRUD said that self sustainability may be possible;
however, annual operating costs will persist, and hiring a full
time person would still be necessary; continuity is important.
9:15:17 AM
HUNTER NANCE, Student, Hunter Elementary School, stated support
for HB 93, paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
I'm a 12 year old 7th grader. At my school we are
currently planning to begin building a garden this
next year. Our challenge as we get it going has been
funding so I ask you to support house bill 93. Now I
will share with you many positive ways gardens would
benefit students in my community:
Gardens would be a great experience for the younger
kids to learn about plants and ecology. And to have
great visual diagrams.
Gardens would offer hands on learning, personally I
love hands on learning because I think that I learn
more when I have a living plant that I could see,
tough, take care of, harvest, and eat. Plus it's a
lot more interesting to learn about plants when you're
doing something with them rather than just reading
about them.
Great opportunity to have healthy snack grown locally
and it would rub off good food habits on the students
of Chinook.
Great for students to learn what getting a job is like
because the gardens would provide job opportunities
for students my age.
Gain good working skills.
Students would be outside and active rather than
playing video games and watching TV.
Teaches us about different varieties of vegetables and
how students can start their own garden.
Get an understanding of plants.
Get to bring home healthy vegetables every week.
Which could teach students great food habits.
It's great that people would be able to use WIC,
senior coupons, or food stamps to buy locally grown
crops at our school farm stand. This could teach
students to take care of all members of our community.
Foods that are grown locally taste better and are
better for you.
Alaskans don't have many options for locally grown
food because most are shipped from the Lower 48 and
they lose a lot of nutrients in the process, so buying
locally grown vegetables here would promote health in
Fairbanks as well as the growth of the economy.
We have a very small school so if we had a garden
where older students could work with younger students
it would build our community, help the older and
younger students get to know each other, and it would
almost build another classroom outside for the fall
and spring.
Having a garden would be a fantastic learning
experience. By making funding possible year after
year you could help us ensure that school gardens are
around for a long time to offer learning experiences
to many generations of students in our community.
9:18:39 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked how much time he would anticipate
working in the garden, and noted the apparent enthusiasm and
excitement expressed through his testimony.
MR.NANCE said he would work, as much as possible, to build the
garden throughout the summer.
9:19:26 AM
MARK LEWIS, Operations Manager, Teaching and Learning Support,
Department of Education and Early Development (EED), explained
the development of the fiscal note, stating that the maximum,
state aid amount, 0.5 percent, was used to calculate a bottom
line number. However, because a grant application process will
be used, not every district is expected to apply. Further, a
district could decide where to use the funding at one site or at
multiple schools. He suggested that other departments will need
to be brought into the application development process:
Department of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental
Conservation (DNR), (DEC) and the UA Cooperative Extension
Service. The concept of gardening, as an educational program,
fits into the Alaska content performance standards and grade
level expectations. He said that within the department, duties
would need to be assigned to an education specialist to develop
the application, handle the processing, and administer the
program. The cost of grant administration is charged to a
specific code, which draws on federal funds. However, a minimal
amount of general funds were requested to allow coding to a
state program.
9:21:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON referred to the previous discussion
regarding the addition of transition language, to limit
applications, and asked about the acceptability of the
parameters.
MR. LEWIS said yes, a new fiscal note could be prepared to
reflect that type of action.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON noted that some schools may choose to
consolidate efforts to one site, and asked whether a $10,000 cap
per school would be adequate to fund a model, without
overpopulating the program.
MR. LEWIS said the actual cost for running a program was not a
factor used when establishing the fiscal note.
9:23:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked for further clarification of the
fiscal note.
MR. LEWIS responded that the basic state aid amount was used, as
calculated through the foundation program, and the 0.5 percent
applied; multiplied by the number of districts.
9:24:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON questioned whether the local contribution
requirement was calculated prior to the state aid contribution.
ELIZABETH SWEENEY NUDELMAN, Director, School Finance and
Facilities Section, Department of Education and Early
Development (EED), said:
State aid is the remainder due to the district's after
local is removed. So after the local contribution is
paid then state aid is what remains.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON pointed out that the state pays more to
some school districts than others, and this may not prove to be
equitable. Local mil rates may need to be considered.
9:27:52 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI directed attention to page 2, line 7 and
read, "the school district shall apply for a grant" to ask about
the use of "shall" and how it is to be applied.
MR. LEWIS deferred.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI withdrew his question.
9:28:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE maintained an interest in understanding the
term "shall" in the context on page 2, line 7.
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG answered that school districts would
not be expected to apply for any program they are not interested
in implementing. The intent of the bill is to provide a
pragmatic approach to this program, and provide funding for a
specific purpose. He opined that schools will require a
transition/development period, and the program growth will, and
should be, slow. Furthermore, it is not expected to serve every
school in the state.
9:30:15 AM
FRANCI HAVEMEISTER, Director, Division of Agriculture,
Department of Natural Resources (DNR), stated support for the
garden concept, and offered appreciation for the accomplishments
of Calypso farm in the Fairbanks area. She said the Division of
Agriculture supports agricultural education and "getting the
kids in the dirt," but did not declare an official position for
DNR.
9:31:14 AM
CATHY KERR reported on the impact that the Sands and Seeds of
Change farm, Lebanon, Oregon, has had as an intervention
program. The standard school curriculum was aligned with the
garden program and, within three months of inception, the
participating students raised their standardized test scores by
25 percent. She opined that a garden program can be a life
changing experience, and that long term benefits may be observed
through this type of school/community involvement.
9:33:23 AM
SHOSHANA KUN, Parent Volunteer, Calypso Farm and Ecology Center,
stated support for HB 93, and said she volunteers at the Hunter
Elementary School garden. She reported observing improved
social behavior among the students participating in the program,
including her own daughter. Hunter Elementary is located in a
reputedly rough neighborhood, and the garden provides a positive
social outlet for children. Additionally, low income families
can work in the garden and earn vegetables for their table. She
stated her belief that it is important for students to know
where food comes from and to learn the skills associated with
gardening. Further, she opined that social development will be
grown along with the garden, and considers it to be a great
investment.
REPRESENTATIVE KAWASAKI described the demographics of the Hunter
school area, and the community pride that has been brought to
the neighborhood because of the garden, which has not been
vandalized despite expectations.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON observed that a greenhouse may be
needed in for schools located in Southeast, Alaska.
9:39:00 AM
MS. WILLSRUD indicated that a greenhouse system could be an
option, and interest has risen from the Juneau area for this
approach.
9:39:39 AM
MS. KERR suggested that passively heated greenhouses would be an
option and should be considered. Fresh manure can be buried in
a way to produce enough heat to sustain warmth in a greenhouse.
The greenhouse approach would have the potential to directly
relate to, and be incorporated in, the curriculum for career and
technical education.
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON expressed enthusiasm and said Wrangell
Island has a healthy horse population, making this a viable
option.
9:42:16 AM
CHAIR DICK directed attention to the committee packet and two
handouts: a memo dated 2/15/11, from Marcy Herman (EED), to
Sheila Peterson, on the subject of Gardening Content Standards
Citations, with two attachments; and selected pages titled
"Introduction to Science Performance Standards (Grade Level
Expectations), pages numbered 109-135. He referred to the memo,
attachment 1, to point out how a teacher might align a garden
program with the science standards being required by EED. He
paraphrased from the enumerated points to indicate how the
garden program would qualify within the curriculum requirements,
which read as follows:
A-1) develop an understanding of the processes of
science used to investigate problems, design and
conduct repeatable scientific investigations, and
defend scientific arguments;
A-3) develop an understanding that culture, local
knowledge, history, and interaction with the
environment contribute to the development of
scientific knowledge, and local applications provide
opportunity for understanding scientific concepts and
global issues;
B-3) develop an understanding of the interactions
between matter and energy, including physical,
chemical, and nuclear changes, and the effects of
these interactions on physical systems;
C-1) develop an understanding of how science explains
changes in life forms over time, including genetics,
heredity, the process of natural selection, and
biological evolution;
C-2) develop an understanding of the structure,
function, behavior development, life cycles, and
diversity of living organisms;
C-3) develop an understanding that all organisms are
linked to each other and their physical environments
through the transfer and transformation of matter and
energy.
9:45:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GUTTENBERG finished, stating that it is evident
how important this type of project can be.
9:46:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON returned to the discussion point regarding
the possibility of the legislature appropriating start-up funds,
and then "winding-down" the state contributions. However, he
cautioned, it is the lack of incremental, continual funding that
causes farms to go fallow, and he encouraged the committee to
embrace the 50-50 split funding proposal.
9:47:48 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 9:47 a.m. to 9:48 a.m.
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