Legislature(1999 - 2000)
02/15/2000 03:56 PM House HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 336 - QUALITY SCHOOL GRANT FUND INCREASE CHAIRMAN DYSON announced the first order of business as House Bill No. 336, "An Act increasing the eligible maximum amount for quality school grant funding for school districts; and providing for an effective date." Number 0036 RICHARD CROSS, Commissioner, Department of Education & Early Development (EED), came forward to present HB 336. He explained that HB 336 changes existing law to increase the eligible amount school districts are to receive for quality school grants from $16 to $52 per student. The cost of this increase is approximately $7.6 million. The fiscal note on this bill shows zero dollars, and the reason for that is there is $7,552,300 increase in cost. This amount has been placed in the Governor's budget as a part of the foundation formula. In making a comparison to the Governor's budget, the fiscal note is zero, but the department is not trying to hide the fact there is a real cost associated with this bill of approximately $7.6 million. The reason for asking for this increase is to deal with short- term needs that school districts are going to face as a result of the process of implementing the Quality Schools Initiative, specifically the high school graduation qualifying exam. COMMISSIONER CROSS noted it is anticipated that school districts are going to have to implement extra tutoring, summer school programs and different kinds of remediation for students who don't meet the expected higher standards. The idea that school districts are going to be able to immediately adapt to this without any additional resources is an unrealistic expectation. What was anticipated in the budget for the foundation formula was $19.9 million more than the EED is now telling the committee that is needed next year. The reasons for that is some declining school enrollment, some of the federal money received, PL-874 [Federal Law Title VIII, Public Law] funds are greater than anticipated and local communities are going to have to share more of the burden for education because the assessed valuations went up. When the assessed valuations go up the required local effort goes up and therefore the state share goes down. The districts are struggling across the state to deal with this $19.9 million loss. COMMISSIONER CROSS cited the levels of funding from other states on school reform: Washington - $113 per student; Connecticut - $128 per student; Louisiana - $256 per student; Minnesota - $82.74 per student. Much less is being asked for in HB 336. He urged the committee to move this bill along in the process so the school districts can receive the needed funding as a result of significant school reform. Number 0408 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked why the money is put in this component of the formula rather than the base student level. COMMISSIONER CROSS answered that this particular component is a grant program that school districts apply for, and it was chosen to make sure that it was directed at the needs school districts are going to have as a result of the testing that will be done. The EED is not asking that each district do the same thing. The school districts will be asked to tell the department what they will do with the money, and EED will approve it assuming it is a strategy that is directed at improving student performance. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked if the local school districts are going to be told what to do with the additional money or will it be left up to the local school districts to decide. COMMISSIONER CROSS answered that the districts will be asked to use the money for improving student performance, which may include summer school programs, extended day programs or other remediation programs. The districts are not being told what must be done with the money, but the districts need to direct the money towards the same kinds of purposes that the original $16 was directed toward. It is a grant program; in order to receive the money, the grant does have to be approved by EED. There are strings attached. Number 0612 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked: If the student number had gone up from last year, would the commissioner be asking for more money because there were more students to educate? He said there aren't as many students now, so the funding is going down. Representative Green wondered if now the commissioner wants to use that money to do something else; he asked if that is a kind of "shell game." Number 0631 COMMISSIONER CROSS answered that he didn't believe it is. Some of the reason that the $19.9 million is available is due to declining student enrollment but also to an increase in federal funds and an increase in local effort. Districts that have required local effort are going to have to go to their assemblies and ask for more money to make up the state's share in order to perform the same level of service. It isn't all tied up in student enrollment. Some dramatic and radical school reform is going to cause school districts to have to make significant changes to meet the needs of all the students. Under these circumstances, an increase in funding is needed. COMMISSIONER CROSS explained that districts are going to find that many of their students will not meet the high standards. The school districts are going to need to implement some short- term and long-term strategies in order for those students to be successful, particularly because those students haven't had the advantage of third grade, sixth grade or eighth grade assessments. The tenth graders who will be taking this test in three weeks have not had the advantage of that forewarning. COMMISSIONER CROSS stated that without respect to increasing or decreasing enrollment, the EED would be there asking for a fairly modest amount of money to address an immediate need so students can be successful. The larger factor in determining whether or not the Quality Initiatives and the high school graduation qualifying exam is going to be determined is not initially on how the students perform but on how the adults and policy makers behave in reaction to student performance. School districts will need to recognize that some immediate short-term and long-term changes must be made to the way business is done at schools in order for all of the students to be successful. The EED believes that $7.5 million is a very modest way to give the school districts the opportunity to make the significant changes needed. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked Commissioner Cross why these changes haven't been implemented in the past. Number 0886 COMMISSIONER CROSS replied that he cannot do anything about what did or didn't happen in the past, but now it is evident that significant changes are going to have to be made. A significant number of the sophomores are not going to meet the standards. That is not a reason for panic; that is a reason to realize that in those students' junior and senior years of high school they are going to have to be involved in activities that are significantly different than what is being offered to juniors and seniors right now if they are to be successful and meet those standards. The EED is asking for an opportunity to give students the tools and opportunities, whether it is extended day program, summer school program or other strategies that districts might identify. Number 0982 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN commented the standards have been talked about all the time he's been here, over 23 years. Now he is hearing something needs to be done, and money is the answer. He isn't sure that is necessarily the case, and he is concerned what is going to be done for these students other than money. COMMISSIONER CROSS answered it is time to move on and do everything possible to make sure the students meet the standards. He thinks if that can be done, it will be something everyone has hoped for. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN commented that these standards have to adapt to what is going on in the world, and today's world is dramatically different than it was 23 years ago. People must recognize that difference and adjust the standards accordingly. By creating the qualifying exam and benchmarks, a very systematic effort is in place to ensure that the students will meet the high standards that are needed to compete in a high-tech world. This bill is looking at recognizing how much students need to know to get a high school diploma today. It seems to him people need to be prepared for that. A number of parents are going to be upset when their children don't do well on the exam and the school district isn't going to do anything for them. There won't be summer school or tutoring, and that would be a gross injustice to the children. This money is prepared for next year's budget. He wondered if a tenth-grade student fails the exam, how long will that student have for remedial work to be brought "up to speed." Number 1204 COMMISSIONER CROSS replied this year's sophomores will have two more years before graduation. The law states that students can take the test after they normally would be scheduled to graduate for three more years. Hopefully the district would be able to get them there in two years. Number 1227 REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN asked Commissioner Cross what school districts will do if the state doesn't provide any additional funding to accommodate the students who fail to meet the standards, for example special needs students. COMMISSIONER CROSS said all he can tell the committee is in states that have implemented successful reform and gotten improved performance have provided additional resources in order to have that change occur both on the part of the student and the district. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN concluded that the money is needed to ensure success. COMMISSIONER CROSS replied he believes that additional resources are necessary to get effective change and be successful. Number 1326 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE asked Commissioner Cross if the need for this money is time limited: that after the first four or five years of students having problems, the system will shake out, reform will be made and there won't be a need for this additional money. COMMISSIONER CROSS said whether or not there is going to be additional resources needed for education in the future, it is reasonable to predict that there will be additional needs for resources. The department isn't saying that this is the only type of resource that districts need. This bill identifies a particular need that in the short term will be more urgent than in the long term, but it is difficult to say that three years from now the school districts should be able to absorb it within their existing budgets. It is going to depend on what kind of programs are necessary. Number 1391 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE commented that this leads back to his original point about the need not to have it in a grant line where school districts have to apply and be answerable back to a centralized department but rather to put it within the base of the student level and to increase that level, which obviously needs to be increased. COMMISSIONER CROSS said he is not here to argue against general increases. He is here to argue there is a specific identified need. He believes the success of this year's sophomores depends on some resources being available for programs that are targeted to help them, and that is what is being asked for in this bill. REPRESENTATIVE BRICE commented that hindsight is 20-20. During the debates on SB 36 when the $16 was established, he was led to believe that the $16 was going to cover the needs of school districts coming through the exit exam. The legislature passed SB 36 a year after the exit exam was passed, and at that time he thought the $16 was low. Number 1471 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked if this goes with a regular annual appropriation, and then this particular bill would only affect that one appropriation. COMMISSIONER CROSS answered no, this would become a part of the public school foundation formula and would become calculated every year for districts depending on their adjusted ADM [average daily membership]. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked what is the intended life of the quality schools grant. Number 1505 COMMISSIONER CROSS answered that the quality schools grant, as contemplated in the rewrite of the public school foundation formula, was intended to be an integral part of the formula. It was the intent of the legislature to have a certain part of increase funding for education targeted for a specific purpose. An additional $7.5 million is being asked for in HB 336 for specific purposes that districts identify, as opposed to the general operation of their school districts. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked if the grant is a better vehicle than going directly to the foundation formula. COMMISSIONER CROSS answered that the grant ensures that the money is targeted to specific programs that are identified by the district and approved by the EED. It gives the legislature assurance that the types of changes that need to occur in order to ensure that students meet high standards, there are programs in place, and that the money isn't being diverted and used for some other purpose. Number 1585 REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL said he doesn't understand why HB 336 doesn't have a "shelf life" on it. He wondered why it isn't said that this is needed for a certain period of time, but after that, the regular formula should be sufficient. COMMISSIONER CROSS said there are two answers to that. First, the money was put in the Governor's budget for the next fiscal year. The legislature considers foundation funding and the amount of money that is appropriated for it on an annual basis so all aspects of the foundation formula are considered from year to year. Second, students are going to need more time on task in school whether it is through summer school or extended day programs. In most countries, students spend more time on task than in the United States. Those programs are going to cost, and that cost is not going to go away. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL commented that doing it this way is questionable to him, especially what is already being paid at what he considers a pretty sizeable foundation formula. He asked Commissioner Cross to explain the relationship of PL 874 to this particular grant. Number 1684 COMMISSIONER CROSS explained that the correct terminology for PL 874 is Title VIII Impact Aid. Federal Title VIII Impact Aid is money that the districts receive "in lieu of taxes." It is money for children who live on military bases or Indian lands where there is no property tax paid. The state takes that amount into account when it determines how much state aid is going to be given to districts. This year the state will receive more impact aid than was anticipated. It doesn't decrease the effort required on the part of school districts, but it does decrease the resources that the state provides under the formula to districts. The school districts still have the same job to do but more of the money received is federal and less state. REPRESENTATIVE KEMPLEN referred to a comment made about more countries requiring longer periods of time for their students to be on task. He assumes that is required because of the demands of a high technological world and wondered if that is correct. Number 1763 COMMISSIONER CROSS answered that's correct. When he started kindergarten, only half of the students in this country were graduating from high school. Today all the students need to meet extremely high standards in order to be successful. It is going to take more time on task. This bill will be an opportunity to identify where the students are starting to fall behind in certain area, and what skills are not being acquired as the third, sixth and eighth graders are tested. The tests will show whether the skill is actually occurring between those grades, and if not, it can be fixed. For many students that will mean more time on math in order to get those skills within the time frame, and that will take additional resources. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN noted that teachers know whether or not their students are measuring up or not. He wondered why has it waited until the students are sophomores to find out, where did the system go astray and how is this going to allow students to learn in two years what they needed to learn in ten. Number 1926 COMMISSIONER CROSS answered the simplest answer is because the assessments in three weeks are going to show things that weren't known before. The standard fare doesn't work for all students. The school districts have to figure out what to do with those students in order to make them successful. He is asking for the opportunity to let the schools keep moving in that direction. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked what the $7.5 million is based on. COMMISSIONER CROSS replied that there is nothing magic or scientific about the $52 per student which adds up to the $7.5 million. The department is trying to provide a modest but significant enough increase for schools to be able to implement programs successfully. CHAIRMAN DYSON advised Commissioner Cross to have a sunset or one-time or two-year limit instead of putting it into law forever. Number 2065 CARL ROSE, Executive Director, Association of Alaska School Boards, came forward to testify in favor of HB 336. He associated himself with many of the comments previously stated. He pointed out there is an educational dilemma. With the standards and quality initiatives, there will be accountability which will require some things done differently. Simultaneously, operating expenses are struggled with. The Governor's bill is the accountability and quality part of the solution. There still is an operational problem because there are diverse and tremendous needs. Not all have been met as a result of the foundation formula. The world is changing at a great rate, and it is a different place than what it was. If students can't read, write and compute, they'll not be able to take advantage of many technological changes today. MR. ROSE commented that the decisions made today will impact the children tomorrow. Rather than to just argue the point of how it will be paid for, what bill should move, or what should be addressed, he asked them to take a broader look in terms of where the state is, what the responsibilities are going to be to the students, and how are the students going to be helped to get them get where they need to go. He referred to Commissioner Cross' strategy to look at benchmarks and ensure progress and identify areas of weakness and the third, sixth and eighth grade levels. The school districts are looking for strategies to help those students be at grade level in terms of performance. In the long- term, students coming through those benchmarks will not have a problem with the exit exam which seems to be the major problem right now. MR. ROSE believes it is a short-term problem. The students are not going to fare well this year, but the good news is that the students will succeed in time if the districts meet the responsibilities to get the students the things needed to meet the benchmarks. Operational resources are needed as well as the ability to deal with the quality initiatives. He is concerned about the issue of responsibility to the students. He urged the legislature to do the right thing. The AASB supports the Governor's bill as one of the tools that is needed. Number 2293 JOHN CYR, President, National Education Association (NEA)-Alaska, came forward to testify in favor of HB 336. The NEA believes the Governor's Quality Schools Initiative is going to cost local school districts money; the $16 is not enough. However, he is optimistic. Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) scores in Alaska are higher than ever, and more than half of the students in Alaska are scoring in the top 50 percent on standardized tests which is better than the national average. Schools are doing a good job, but of course schools could be doing things better. It is true some of the students will not do well on the qualifying exam or the benchmarks. The question though is what is to be done with those students. He also remembers what was done 25 years ago with those students; there were meaningful jobs for those students to support their families. Those days are gone and that is the problem. TAPE 00-14, SIDE B Number 2260 MR. CYR noted that this money will help. It is needed as well as other money. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked Mr. Cyr if this is a temporary fix or is it something to be added to the school funding formula in order to bring the students up and keep them there. MR. CYR believes changes are going to be made in the way business is done in education, and that will probably take long-term resources. Putting money into K-12 education is a good investment. The state has to be clear about what it wants schools to do, and the people in the schools need to be held responsible for that. There will be some changes looked at over the next few years. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN said he truly believes that most legislators would gladly spend the money if they knew it would work. Many legislators are concerned that if this amount is paid and there still is trouble, more money would have to be paid later; it is going to take something more than money. MR. CYR said the schools are a measure of the society and many problems come through the doors which are never going to be cured. The ills are too great. A large portion of students are not being served now as well as they could be, and that will cost more. He doesn't know what the appropriate level is, but some of the right things are being done to get there by looking critically at the system rather than just giving out the money. The committee took an at-ease from 4:49 p.m. to 4:54 p.m. CHAIRMAN DYSON closed public testimony on HB 336. [HB 336 was heard and held.] Number 2161 The committee took another at-ease from 4:54 p.m. to 4:59 p.m.
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