Legislature(2011 - 2012)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/28/2011 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB3 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 3 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 3-FUNDING FOR SCHOOL MEALS
8:02:58 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS announced the consideration of SB 3. He informed
the committee that the original bill had a typographical error.
8:03:25 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER moved to adopt [the committee substitute (CS) for
SB 3] labeled 27-LS0020\B, as the working document. There being
no objection, version B was before the committee.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS explained that there was a one word change on
the first page, replacing "or" to "and".
8:04:21 AM
SENATOR BILL WIELECHOWSKI, sponsor of SB 3, said that this bill
passed the Senate Education Standing Committee last year, but
was hung up in the House Finance Committee.
He said that numerous studies have documented that eliminating
hunger in children increases school attendance and performance
and decreases school violence and obesity. Alaska is one of
twelve states that does not provide a state match to the federal
free and reduced price school lunch and breakfast program. SB 3
would provide a state match for schools participating in this
program and encourage more schools to provide nutritious meals
for underprivileged children.
He explained that for every free and reduced priced breakfast or
lunch the federal program funds, the state will provide a match
under this bill of 35 cents per breakfast and 15 cents per
lunch. Most school districts will receive some additional
assistance through a funding formula based on the applicable
School District Cost Factor for each district. He said that he
believes that while SB 3 will cost the state in the short term,
Alaska will be better off for making this investment in the
short and long term. Dealing with these problems now will
prevent problems that will be much more costly to society in the
future, he added.
He continued that this bill has support from numerous school
districts and hunger groups, which include: the Anchorage School
Board, the Fairbanks School Board and Association of Alaska
School Boards, the Cordova School District, the Kenai Peninsula
School District, the Chugach School District, the Alaska Food
Coalition, the Food Bank of Alaska, and the Alaska School
Nutrition Association.
8:07:00 AM
CHRISTY HARVEY, staff to Senator Wielechowski, sponsor of SB 3,
said the purpose of the bill is threefold:
· To try and get the program adopted by more schools.
· To get more children into the program where the program has
already been adopted.
· To have more nutritious food available.
She said there is a need for legislation like this in Alaska.
The most recent statistics from the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) show that during at least one point of the
year, one out of eight Alaskan families struggle to put food on
the table. The Food Pantries have statistics that show that 4
out of 5 households who rely on food pantries for their food
have children under the age of 18.
She said she understands that one of the duties the legislature
is tasked with is being good stewards of the state's money. For
this reason this bill is twofold. The short term immediate
results include better school performance, feeding hungry kids,
and maintaining classroom order. The long term results include
lower obesity patterns and getting children on the right path to
move forward.
She noted that she has a large bibliography that supports
research behind this study. The bottom line is when children are
hungry they do a little worse in school and when they are fed
they do a lot better. She said the research she found most
compelling was the affect of school breakfast in improving test
scores and achievements. For example, there was a study from the
American Journal of Diseases in Children which showed that
scores on standardized tests improved significantly when larger
percentages of children ate breakfast. Other tests showed
improvement in math, language, reading, general attention and
memory function. When people are fed they concentrate better.
The USDA evaluation of the school breakfast program found that
kids that eat in the morning have a decrease in oppositional
scores. These are the scores, she explained, that measure
whether students are more likely to break rules, oppose
authority, or are quicker to anger in comparison to kids in the
same age bracket.
8:10:43 AM
MS. HARVEY said a separate study found higher rates of
attendance and lower rates of chronic tardiness. When food is
provided in school, more kids are going to show up to partake in
those meals and stay for class. Finally, she explained, studies
have found that eating school breakfasts lead to better health
and lower obesity rates. This was especially the case in
families that do not have enough to eat and where cheap food
tends to be higher in fat, sugar, sodium, and chemicals. Recent
studies project that if the national weight problem continues as
it has been, obesity is projected to cost the United States an
estimated $344 billion in medical related expenses by 2018.
She added that Alaska spends about $49,000 per year on prisoners
who enter the prison system. It has been correlated that
individuals who have not graduated from high school are a larger
percentage of the prison population. It seems, she said, that
there is a causal link in keeping children in school and looking
at some of these long term solutions.
She urged the committee to reach out to teachers to get more
information.
8:12:41 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked how many school districts currently do not
have a lunch or breakfast program.
MS. HARVEY replied that there are currently six school districts
that do not offer either the lunch or breakfast program. Twenty
percent of the school districts that participate in the school
lunch program do not offer breakfast, which impacts about 22,000
Alaskan children. Of these 22,000 children, 7,000 are from low-
income families. Currently, it costs the schools in total $58
million in outlay for the lunch and breakfast program, of which
$32 million is reimbursed by the federal government. Most of the
rest of the cost is made up by students who pay either full or
reduced price; however, there is still a gap of over $2 million.
The schools then have to bring in money from other programs in
order to fill this gap. She added that the additional outlay for
many small or rural schools is a struggle.
8:14:55 AM
CARL ROSE, Lobbyist, Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB),
testified in support of SB 3. He said that recently the Chicago
Public Schools passed a breakfast program for all students. The
anticipation of children being able to go to school and get food
is being received well in Chicago. There were 1,100 people who
signed a petition in opposition to this effort. By chance, those
who signed the petition came from schools where less than 20
percent of the children qualified for free or reduced lunches.
He explained that these individuals' concern was that it would
take out of instructional time. He said that 80 percent of
Chicago Public School students qualify for free and reduced
lunches and those that oppose a program like this come from
affluent districts.
He said that students' abilities in the classroom are enhanced
greatly, especially in young students, by spending more time in
school even if it is for meals. He continued that, in general,
all indicators point to the importance of focusing on early
childhood and elementary age students because the benefits will
follow children throughout the system.
8:19:19 AM
BRENT ROCK, Doctor and Director, Student Nutrition Department,
Anchorage School District (ASD), testified in support of SB 3.
He noted that much of his testimony is in a letter which he and
Superintendent Carol Comeau drafted and sent to President
Stevens. He explained that even with Alaska's wealth and
opportunity some families still struggle. Often it is the
children that struggle the most and the meals that are offered
at their schools are the only meals they receive for the day.
The funds included in this bill will make it possible for
schools to enhance or add to an existing program or start a new
one. He said that ASD pledges to use all funds offered through
this legislation to enhance the food purchased for student
meals.
8:23:13 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked how ASD avoids stigmatizing children who
receive breakfast and lunch for free, rather than paying for it.
DR. ROCK answered that he believes most districts go about this
in a similar manner as ASD. In his school district a student
punches in their student number so there is no way to
differentiate between a student who pays for a meal and a
student who receives a meal for free or at a reduced price. He
explained that though some students may tell others kids about
receiving meals for free, ASD keeps the information completely
confidential.
8:24:39 AM
DAVE JONES, Assistant Superintendent, Kenai Peninsula Borough
School District, testified in support of SB 3. He said the Kenai
Peninsula has over 9,000 students, of which 40 percent are
eligible for free or reduced cost meals. Over the last few
years, that percentage has been increasing by about 2 percent
each year. He said that across the state districts are
subsidizing student nutrition services with a transfer from
their general fund. The reason that the Kenai Peninsula School
District has historically done this is because it believes there
is strong evidence of improved academic performance related to
school meals.
He said that with SB 3 the district would receive approximately
$60,000 in breakfast reimbursements and about $80,000 in lunch
reimbursements.
8:27:26 AM
JORDIS CLARK, School Nurse, Anchorage School District, testified
in support of SB 3. She said as a health professional she knows
how critical to health and education it is to receive adequate
and nutritious food. She explained that from a physiological
point of view a brain needs energy to function, which works best
on energy from a recently eaten meal. Otherwise, the brain has
to rely on stored energy, which takes longer to metabolize and
is more readily absorbed by muscle tissue. This means, she
explained, that a child that does not eat breakfast is losing
the opportunity for an optimally energized brain.
She pointed out that poverty is the leading determinate of both
health and educational outcomes. Having a lower educational
level and economic level means there is less availability to
food. Getting food to children at school is critically important
so that they can have the best physiological position to be able
to absorb their education. She noted that her school, Sand Lake
Elementary, began a breakfast program two weeks ago and they are
serving over 100 meals per day. Already the kids in the morning
are calmer, more ready to go, and settling down faster. Their
educational day is beginning better and the program will be
beneficial in the long term.
8:32:57 AM
CAROL COMEAU, Superintendent, Anchorage School District,
testified in support of SB 3. She said that the schools in
Anchorage who have the breakfast program really benefit from it.
ASD would like to offer this program to more schools but the
funding issue has a substantial impact on them.
8:34:28 AM
ELIZABETH NUDELMAN, Director of School Finance, Department of
Education and Early Development (DEED), presented the fiscal
note for SB 3. She said the fiscal note for the bill includes
the dollars calculated for the match for the existing federal
meals that are currently being served. It also includes the
dollars for the consumer price index (CPI) as directed in the
fiscal note. She said for FY2012 the cost would be $2,143,000.
8:35:56 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked what the federal contribution is and
whether it is a month-to-month match.
MS. NUDELMAN replied that for eligible students the federal
program matches the eligible federal meals. She explained that
with SB 3 the state would contribute 35 cents for breakfast and
15 cents for lunch where there is an eligible federal meal.
CO-CHAIR MEYER said it would be good to know what the federal
funding contribution is. He explained that his concern is if the
federal government were to decide to cut back on funding then
the state would have to make up for that amount.
SENATOR FRENCH noted that the fact sheet from the bill sponsor
states that the federal government is now spending $32 million
dollars on the program in Alaska.
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked Ms. Nudelman if she had heard whether there
was any jeopardy of losing federal funding.
MS. NUDELMAN answered no.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked if she would be prepared to explain how
some of the existing expenses come from the boroughs.
MS. NUDELMAN replied that she could give an overview.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked if she could break down how the money
would be used.
MS. NUDELMAN answered that currently the breakfast programs are
in a special revenue fund, which are funded by receipts from
paid meals and reimbursements from the federal program. School
districts also transfer money from their operating fund into the
special revenue fund for child nutritional services if there is
a need. Statewide, $9 million is transferred from the operating
fund into the child nutritional funds. The spreadsheet for the
fiscal note for SB 3 also includes an estimate of the total
breakfasts served.
She explained that the breakfast differential adjustment takes
the current cost factors that are used in the foundation formula
and reduces those by dividing by four. This gives a smaller cost
factor that is unique to each district. The calculation was done
based on the number of meals currently being served and applying
the cost factor in the bill in order to see what it would cost
for the state match.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said any other information or further examples
of how this breaks down would be helpful, especially when it
goes to Senate Finance.
8:41:36 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked if the administration has taken a position
on the bill.
MS. NUDELMAN answered no.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if the bill is exactly the same as last
year's.
MS. HASTY replied that there is one small change. The original
bill legally said 35 cents for breakfast or 15 cents for
breakfast. This is the legal way of saying that a school would
not have to do both. However, there was concern that this could
be misconstrued down the line so "or" was replaced with "and".
SENATOR FRENCH asked if this changed the fiscal note.
MS. HASTY replied no.
8:43:43 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS closed public testimony and announced he would
hold SB 3 in committee.
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