02/17/2004 11:03 AM House EDU

HB 471-INCREASE AMT OF BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
[Contains discussion of HB 477]                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  GATTO  announced  that  the   committee  would  return  to                                                               
discussions   about  HB   471.     He  told   the  members   that                                                               
Representative  Gara  would  provide  a minority  report  on  the                                                               
subcommittee on education funding.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Number 1907                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GARA  asked  if  the  chair  wishes  to  take  up                                                               
Amendment 3 today.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  GATTO  responded  that  he  would  like  to  hold  off  on                                                               
Amendment 3 until Thursday.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Number 1977                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GARA said  that he appreciates all  the efforts of                                                               
the subcommittee members and those  who took the time to testify.                                                               
The bill before the members goes  a long way to repair the damage                                                               
to the schools over the last  many years, he said.  Comments that                                                               
were  heard  today  from  the  Matanuska-Susitna  Borough  School                                                               
District  and  testimony  heard  in  subcommittee  actually  went                                                               
further than what the bill  offers.  For example, Kenai Peninsula                                                               
School  District indicated  that  it would  need  a base  student                                                               
allocation of  $4,570, if  the PER  and TRS  was rolled  into the                                                               
[base  student allocation],  just  to be  held  harmless to  last                                                               
year's  level,   he  said.    Matanuska-Susitna   Borough  School                                                               
District needed the same amount of  money to be at the same level                                                               
as  last  year,  he  added.   Representative  Gara  reminded  the                                                               
members that the school districts  were very clear that last year                                                               
education  funding  was  cut  and  the  funding  fell  behind  on                                                               
inflation [proofing].  These actions  caused severe impacts which                                                               
required  the   districts  to   layoff  substantial   numbers  of                                                               
teachers.   Representative  Gara  pointed out  that  HB 471  only                                                               
mitigates  this year's  damage  and does  nothing  to repair  the                                                               
damage from last year's [budget cuts].                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Number 2010                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GARA  told the members that  he and Representative                                                               
Kapsner have filed HB 477 in an  attempt to go the second step in                                                               
repairing  some of  last  year's  damage.   As  the members  will                                                               
recall, he  said, last year the  legislature eliminated community                                                               
schools  funding, cut  what goes  into pupil  transportation, cut                                                               
the program that helped school  districts pay for the extra costs                                                               
of educating  foster children, and  cut the  kindergarten program                                                               
for four-year olds.   Representative Gara said he  believes it is                                                               
time to start  repairing the damage.  He explained  that his plan                                                               
would  include an  increase  in the  base  student allocation  to                                                               
$4,600 per student, which would  include rolling the PERS and TRS                                                               
amount [into  the bill].   The reason  that is important  is that                                                               
the amount then  becomes part of the base  student allocation and                                                               
it will not be necessary to go  over the PERS and TRS issue again                                                               
next year.   The numbers are not that far  off, he commented, the                                                               
number  in HB  477 recommends  is  $4,600, while  the number  the                                                               
subcommittee  is recommending  is  the equivalent  of $4,557  per                                                               
student.  Representative Gara pointed  out that the difference is                                                               
$8 million  and 160 teachers.   He summarized that for  not a lot                                                               
more money  [the legislature] could go  a long way to  solve this                                                               
problem.    Representative   Gara  applauded  the  subcommittee's                                                               
action  in addressing  inflation by  increasing the  base student                                                               
allocation into  the future  by 2 percent  annually.   He pointed                                                               
out  that inflation  may  exceed 2  percent so  a  better way  of                                                               
addressing this  issue would  be to  acknowledge the  damage that                                                               
has taken place  over the last decade, and to  repair that damage                                                               
into the future by increases  to the base student allocation with                                                               
inflation [proofing],  plus another  2 percent until  class sizes                                                               
come down  to a  level that is  acceptable.   Representative Gara                                                               
reiterated his  appreciation for the  work the committee  did and                                                               
acknowledged that [HB  471] is a good bill, but  noted that there                                                               
is much to be done to repair past damage [to public education].                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Number 2162                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  GATTO commented  that Representative  Gara's reference  to                                                               
the  funding being  "not  that far  off" is  music  to his  ears,                                                               
because there  have been  many times that  the members  have been                                                               
very far apart.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
[HB 471 was held in committee.]