Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
04/06/2011 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Superintendent, Juneau School District | |
| HB145|| HJR16 | |
| HB143 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SB 1 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 143 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HJR 16 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 145 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 143-ADJUST BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION: INFLATION
CHAIR DICK announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 143, "An Act providing an increase and an
inflation adjustment to the base student allocation used in the
formula for state funding of public education; requiring a
review and recommendation for future adjustments to the base
student allocation; and providing for an effective date."
9:21:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB
143, paraphrasing from a prepared statement, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
House Bill 143 would protect our students and school
districts from having to pay for inflation with fewer
education opportunities. Inflation happens every
year, and if the Base Student Allocation is not
adjusted to cover annual losses to inflation then
local districts have to make up the losses by cutting
services or through increased municipal taxes. For
many districts increased taxation is not a legally
available option.
The Base Student Allocation and the foundation formula
are the primary means of providing state support to
local K-12 education in Alaska. Over the last three
years there have been statutory increases to the BSA
which have allowed school districts to operate with
knowledge of how much state support they would receive
through these three years. This bill will also allow
for better multi-year planning, since districts will
know that the BSA will be protected from inflation.
During this three year period the Department of
Education would be tasked with conducting a
professional study of the true changes in costs for K-
12 education and the department would submit a
recommended BSA amount for consideration before the
2014 regular legislative session. This will allow the
Legislature to consider any changes to the costs of
providing education in Alaska that might not be
reflected in the Consumer Price Index.
Alaska has many complicated issues that must be
addressed to improve our education system, and I know
that this committee has been hard at work on many
different bills this session. I certainly don't think
that this bill solves all our problems, but I know
that if we make our students pay for inflation through
fewer educational opportunities that this will only
make things worse.
There has been some suggestion that school districts
should not receive an inflation adjustment because
people are not satisfied with efforts to increase
graduation and student performance. In Anchorage our
district has been making steady progress at increasing
graduation rates over the past decade and has the
lowest dropout rate of Alaska's five major urban
school districts. Anchorage has implemented several
innovative programs to improve graduation, including
the successful graduation coach program, and these
programs can find themselves on the chopping block
when the BSA loses ground to inflation.
I urge you to support this bill to allow school
districts to perform better multi-year budgeting and
ensure that our students do not have to pay the cost
of inflation by having fewer educational
opportunities.
9:24:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PETERSEN pointed out that school supplies were
not fully covered and teachers would often seek contributions to
fill the gap.
9:25:41 AM
DAVID DUNSMORE, Staff, Representative Pete Petersen, Alaska
State Legislature, presented the fiscal note, paraphrasing from
a prepared statement, and explained that Section 1 raised the
Base Student Allocation (BSA) to $5,838, an increase of $158
over the current amount, but only effective for the upcoming
fiscal year. He said that Section 2, Subsection 1, established
that the Department of Education and Early Development (EED)
would annually adjust the BSA for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 to
reflect the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Anchorage. He
directed attention to Section 2, Subsection 2, which required
EED to review the actual changes in educational cost per student
in each district, and would give the legislature information
about education specific factors not necessarily reflected in
the CPI. He reported that Section 2, Subsection 3, required EED
to submit a report to the 28th Legislature, prior to the 2014
regular session, to recommend an amount for the BSA for fiscal
year 2015. He noted that Section 3 established July 1, 2011 as
the effective date for the proposed bill.
9:28:01 AM
BABES HUDSON, President, Parent Teacher Association (PTA),
stated support for HB 143. She said that she was the parent of
three special needs children, and that the proposed bill would
provide assurance for the continuation of the necessary
financial support for education.
9:30:07 AM
PETE LEWIS, Superintendent, Fairbanks North Star Borough School
District, stated that the proposed bill was forward thinking
with the tie to the CPI, and that the study of the BSA would
continue. He expressed support of the bill.
The committee took an at-ease from 9:30 a.m. to 9:33 a.m.
9:33:01 AM
MR. LEWIS concluded that the bill allowed forward thinking for
school planning.
9:33:41 AM
SUE HULL, Member, School Board, Fairbanks North Star Borough
School District, stated support for HB 143 and stressed the need
for the BSA adjustment. She opined that this was an important
investment in the future of Alaska, as it was important to do
more for kids and not to cut the budgets.
9:35:11 AM
BRETT GILLAND, Teacher, Anchorage School District, described the
enrollment size of the math class which he taught, and the
difficulties in meeting the needs of the students. He pointed
out that he was teaching an additional class during his
scheduled planning period, to allow for smaller classes. He
encouraged communication with the school districts as the
responsible means toward change when inefficiencies were
recognized. He stressed that "shorting funding to schools
throughout the state" was not a responsible means of change, as
under funding would not reduce the inefficiencies, but would
exacerbate them. He pointed to the difficulty of offering the
necessary individualized instruction in classrooms that were
overcrowded.
9:39:21 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, referring to the consumer price index
(CPI) which currently indicated zero inflation, asked how
funding would be decreased if this became negative inflation.
MR. GILLAND replied that his comments had been directed to the
minimum obligation for funding, and he asked for a reason to
budget for low growth.
9:41:03 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, noting that the proposed bill was based
on the CPI, asked if the CPI was a good index as 85 percent of
the school district budget was based on wages and not on
supplies.
MR. GILLAND deferred.
9:42:16 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked what was the expectation for class
size.
MR. GILLAND replied that it was 32 students, although even that
was large.
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked about Mr. Gilland's experience as a
teacher.
MR. GILLAND replied that class sizes in Alaska were as large as
any he had taught. He relayed that he had taught for three
years in Oklahoma and three years in Alaska. He reported that
20 students was a reasonable number for a class if he expected
to offer any individual interaction. He stated that more
students than this resulted in a lecture hall approach. He
opined that if Oklahoma could maintain smaller classes, then
Alaska should be able to do as well.
9:43:17 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked where the efficiency would result, as
a student base allocation allowed for more money with more
students.
MR. GILLAND replied that decreasing class size from 30 students
to 20 students would mean an increase of 50 percent to the
teaching staff.
9:44:50 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE proposed to make more staff positions into
teaching positions.
9:45:15 AM
MR. GILLAND replied that the school board was responsible to its
constituency.
9:46:04 AM
JACOB BERA, Teacher, Eagle River High School, Anchorage School
District, stated support for HB 143, paraphrasing from a
prepared statement, which read [original punctuation provided]:
My name is Jacob Bera. My wife and I both teach for
the Anchorage School District, and we have a 2 year
old son, Leif, that will eventually attend Anchorage
Public Schools. I would like to speak this morning in
favor of House Bill 143. I believe Alaska has the
capacity and resources to create the strongest
educational system in the nation. We all agree in the
importance of education, especially early education,
in setting young Alaskans on a path to success in
life. My school, Eagle River High School, is full of
strong teachers who give everything they have to our
students. Our graduation rate is 89%, well above the
district ave, teachers volunteer to serve on a 9th
grad success committee that tracks freshmen as they
start their high school career, and we pride ourselves
as a staff on eating our lunches not in the staff
lounge, but a desk with our students helping with
homework. Yet every year we're being asked to do more
with less. I am the only art teacher at my school,
and where most teachers are asked to lead no more than
3 different, I teach 5 different groups including an
Advanced Placement course in order to provide a
complete curriculum. As a department chair and member
of my schools leadership committee, we're constantly
trying to keep class sizes at a reasonable level as
we're asked each year to cut positions. I believe
this bill is a step in the right direction towards
providing more financial security, now & in the future
for Alaskan schools, and the best possible educational
opportunities for my son our Alaskan students.
9:47:51 AM
ANDREA LANG, Teacher, Eagle River High School, Anchorage School
District, explained her role as the choir, theater, and guitar
teacher, and she detailed the ongoing success of a number of her
students. She pointed to the difficulty of showing success in
the arts, as it was not reflected in the usual performance based
tests. She expressed her support for HB 143. She reflected on
the difficulties encountered with large classes and the lack of
materials and supplies. She read from a prepared statement:
[original punctuation included]
During my time here I have spoken to a number of
legislators for & against the BSA. Though the issue
may seem rather complicated to you... this is what I
know: My kids need my time- I know my kids need to be
in a class w/ a manageable # of students My kids need
materials...My kids need the best education that a
state flush with money can provide.
And while politicians debate on giving 2 billion
dollars a year back to corporations that raked in an
average of 1.7 billion dollars net profit for last
year under ACES.
She requested that the committee pass HB 143.
9:51:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON expressed her understanding of the
situation.
9:52:26 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON agreed that the committee recognized the
situation and the importance of the arts for keeping kids in
school.
9:53:34 AM
STEWART MCDONALD, Superintendent, Kodiak Island Borough School
District, stated support for HB 143 and included statements of
support from other small districts. He pointed out that the
only flexibility within his budget, if funding was cut, was for
teachers and programs. He declared the need for future funding
increases as it was imperative to provide the technology needed
to keep the remote schools competitive.
9:57:02 AM
ROD MCCOY, NEA-Alaska, provided a collection of statements in
support of the bill. He stated that he was from a family of
educators, and that his wife and his children were teachers. He
emphasized that raising knowledgeable children was imperative.
He disagreed with the statement that education was fully funded.
10:00:30 AM
CHAIR DICK stated that public testimony would remain open, and
that HB 143 would be held over.
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