Legislature(2023 - 2024)ADAMS 519
03/22/2023 01:30 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB39 || HB41 | |
| Public Testimony: Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Kenai, Bethel, Cordova, Kotzebue, Nome, Utqiagvik | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 39 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 41 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
March 22, 2023
2:37 p.m.
2:37:54 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Johnson called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 2:37 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bryce Edgmon, Co-Chair
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative DeLena Johnson, Co-Chair
Representative Julie Coulombe
Representative Mike Cronk
Representative Alyse Galvin
Representative Sara Hannan
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Dan Ortiz
Representative Will Stapp
Representative Frank Tomaszewski
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Gina Schumaker, Alaska Center for FASD, Anchorage; Michael
Jeffery, Alaska Center for FASD, Utqiagvik; Brian Ridley,
Chief Chairman, Tanana Chiefs Conference, Eagle; Danielle
Logan, Self, Fairbanks.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Kara Carlson, Deputy Director, Interior Alaska Center for
Non-Violent Living, Fairbanks LIO; Ana Barbosa, Victims
Services Director, Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent
Living, Fairbanks; Brother Tom Patmor, Community of Clam
Culch, Clam Culch; Susanna Litwiniak, President, Kenai
Peninsula Educational Support Association, Moose Pass; Jim
Williams, Mayor's Office, Fairbanks North Star Borough,
Fairbanks; Winter Marshall-Allen, Self, Homer; Kira
Eckenweiler, Administrative Director, Behavioral Health
Services, Norton Sound Health Corp, Unalakleet; Sue Sherif,
Self, Fairbanks; Margaret Henson, President, Northwest
Arctic Borough School District, Kotzebue; Eileen Arnold,
Tundra Womens Coalition, Bethel; Roseann Eban, Self,
Bethel; Ellen Ganley, Self, Fairbanks; Maggie Winston,
Self, Kenai; Keisha Simmons, Self, Fairbanks; George
Pierce, Self, Kasilof; Sarah Sears, Self, Bethel; Nathan
Erfurth, President, Kenai Peninsula Education Association,
Kenai; Jaela Milford, Self, Bethel; Patricia Lee, Self,
Fairbanks LIO; Nicole Bowers, Self, Juneau; Kathleen
Douglass, Self, Kotzebue; Alana Greear, Self, Kachemak
Selo; Andy Degraw, Chief Operations Officer, Fairbanks
North Star School District, Fairbanks; Zacary Nelson, Self,
Fairbanks; David Brighton, Self, Kenai; June Rogers, City
Council Member, City of Fairbanks, Fairbanks; Marie
Franich, Self, Fairbanks; Sandi Ryan, President, Fairbanks
Education Association, Fairbanks.
SUMMARY
HB 39 APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET/LOANS/FUND; SUPP
HB 39 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 41 APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET
HB 41 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Johnson reviewed the meeting agenda. She reviewed
public testimony protocol and call-in information.
HOUSE BILL NO. 39
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
loan program expenses of state government and for
certain programs; capitalizing funds; amending
appropriations; making reappropriations; making
supplemental appropriations; making appropriations
under art. IX, sec. 17(c), Constitution of the State
of Alaska, from the constitutional budget reserve
fund; and providing for an effective date."
HOUSE BILL NO. 41
"An Act making appropriations for the operating and
capital expenses of the state's integrated
comprehensive mental health program; and providing for
an effective date."
2:40:46 PM
^PUBLIC TESTIMONY: FAIRBANKS, DELTA JUNCTION, KENAI,
BETHEL, CORDOVA, KOTZEBUE, NOME, UTQIAGVIK
2:40:48 PM
GINA SCHUMAKER, ALASKA CENTER FOR FASD (ACFF), ANCHORAGE,
supported funding for aging and disabilities. She shared
her personal story with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
(FASD). She communicated that she was on the ACFF board and
discussed her career and what the centers mission. She
explained that she was diagnosed with FASD at age 50 and
had always felt that something was wrong with her because
she learned differently than others. She shared details
about her personal life. She was reluctant to share her
invisible disability with others in the workplace because
of the difficulty people with disabilities had finding
jobs. She spoke in support for the Alaska Mental Health
Trusts (AMHTA) recommendation for $300,000 and $250,000
for aging and disability centers in the Department of
Health (DOH) and for $1.5000,000 for the Crisis Now
Continuum of Care. She thanked the committee.
2:43:14 PM
MICHAEL JEFFERY, ALASKA CENTER FOR FASD, UTQIAGVIK, spoke
in favor of funding for disability services. He shared his
life experience and noted that he had been a Superior Court
Judge for 36 years and had experience working with FASD. He
reported that FASD was an invisible disability. In his
prior career he realized that there were many people who
had needs for adaptation, but it was not visible, and he
was unaware of the issue. He had to change his approach to
his work. He asked the committee to support the AMHTAs
recommended amount for the Aging & Disability Resource
Centers (ADRC). The Crisis Now Continuum of Care within
DOH, and wholistic defense within the Public Defender
Agency. He believed that all of the items helped provide
important services for individuals that needed adaptations
to live their lives.
2:45:25 PM
KARA CARLSON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, INTERIOR ALASKA CENTER FOR
NON-VIOLENT LIVING, FAIRBANKS LIO (via teleconference),
testified in support of increased funding for the Council
on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) in the
Department of Public Safety (DPS) for victim services. She
indicated that the budget included a one-time increment of
$3 million in General Funds (GF) and $3.5 million in
federal funding for victim services. She was grateful for
the one-time increase but emphasized that utilities and
expenses had increased for the center, but funding had not.
She hoped the committee could find adequate funding going
forward. She was in support of two additional positions for
the Violent Crimes Compensation Board (VCCB). She believed
that when victims were compensated in a timely manner it
facilitated healing. In addition, she requested increased
support in the areas of domestic violence prevention and
accountability of offenders through prevention programs
that were crucial in changing societal and community norms
to help break the cycle of violence.
2:47:41 PM
ANA BARBOSA, VICTIMS SERVICES DIRECTOR, INTERIOR ALASKA
CENTER FOR NON-VIOLENT LIVING, FAIRBANKS (via
teleconference), testified in support of CDVSAs victims'
support services in DPS. She relayed that the center had
been struggling with staff retention and had experienced a
high turnover rate. Staff was working long hours without
additional compensation to keep up with the increased
workload. The center was unable to hire more staff to
provide its wide range of services and support employee
morale and workload. The cost of living had increased
significantly, and the centers average employee was unable
to sustain itself on the current salary. She believed that
a long-term solution for the agency's budget was needed.
She emphasized the importance of programs in violence
prevention and developing new programs to decrease crime in
the state and advocated for more support in these areas.
2:50:15 PM
BRIAN RIDLEY, CHIEF CHAIRMAN, TANANA CHIEFS CONFERENCE,
EAGLE, requested support for an increase in the K-12 Base
Student Allocation (BSA) and for inflation proofing the
education budget. He related that he was not only
testifying on behalf of the Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC)
but also the Alaska Regional Coalition (ARC), a consortium
of four Alaska regional native nonprofit organizations and
one regional tribe that represented 101 tribes and 65
thousand Alaskans around the state. The conference
supported increased public education funding including
inflation proofing and indicated that lacking inflation
proofing amounted to funding cuts. The coalition also
supported early childhood programs including $5 million for
Head Start and cultural specialists for The Alaska Reads
Act. In addition, the coalition supported funding in the
Department of Health to eliminate the SNAP backlog and
upgrade its computer systems. The organization supported
expanded Medicaid Postpartum Care services and requested
enhanced support for behavioral health services not covered
by the 1115 Medicaid waiver. Lastly, the coalition
supported the enhancement of the Village Public Safety
Officer (VPSO) program by 10 officers for $2.8 million, the
VPSO director position, and proposed increase for rural
trooper housing. He asked the committee to consider ways to
maximize federal infrastructure grants in the capital
budget.
2:53:53 PM
Representative Cronk thanked Chief Ridley for his testimony
in person.
2:54:10 PM
BROTHER TOM PATMOR, COMMUNITY OF CLAM CULCH, CLAM CULCH
(via teleconference), spoke in support of road improvements
for his community. He shared that the community had no
stores, church, communal buildings, or other infrastructure
except for one road. He explained that the road in the
community was the only public access to the beach and
during clam digging season over 2 thousand people a day
used the road. The road was designated for two lanes but
there were several places it was too narrow for both cars
and had no guardrails. He noted that the road was dangerous
and shared personal experience of a perilous situation
where people could have died. He indicated that it would be
the perfect year to fix the road.
2:57:00 PM
Co-Chair Johnson recognized Representative Justin Ruffridge
in the audience.
2:57:43 PM
SUSANNA LITWINIAK, PRESIDENT, KENAI PENINSULA EDUCATIONAL
SUPPORT ASSOCIATION (PESA), MOOSE PASS (via
teleconference), testified in support of a BSA increase.
She shared that she was a secretary in a public school and
the mother of a student in the Kenai Peninsula Borough
School District (KPBSD). She requested a meaningful
increase in the education budget in order to retain vital
and essential support staff that served schools in a number
of capacities that included administrative support,
custodians, and nurses. She related that individuals were
leaving the district because they could not afford to work
there. She believed that students lost a sense of
belonging in their schools when they lose support staff
that carried out vital school functions. She spoke of the
residual effects of insufficient support staff on remaining
staff that included burnout, which created even more
vacancies. Due to the anticipated budget deficit, the
district was considering cutting school managers and
theatre technicians. She asked for a meaningful increase
for education in consideration of the impacts budget
shortfalls imposed on students, essential support staff,
and the community.
3:00:10 PM
JIM WILLIAMS, MAYOR'S OFFICE, FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH
(FNSB), FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), spoke in favor of
community assistance, school debt reimbursement, and a BSA
increase. He informed the committee that the mayors office
was in the process of writing next years education and
overall budget. He highlighted the impacts of inflation,
workforce, and interest rates on the community. They were
working to bring down mill rates and create a frugal
budget. He spoke in support of community assistance in the
amount of $30 million, full school debt reimbursement, and
a BSA increase. He noted it had been seven years since
there had been an increase in the BSA and added inflation
was eating up school funds. The community was unable to
contribute enough to makeup for inflation and he requested
the state increase BSA funding.
Representative Stapp thanked Mr. Williams for testifying.
3:03:19 PM
WINTER MARSHALL-ALLEN, SELF, HOMER (via teleconference),
testified in support of education funding. She agreed with
the prior caller about the detrimental effects of losing
support and certified education staff. There were currently
over 2,100 certified positions open statewide. She reminded
the committee that the Department of Education and Early
Developments (DEED) motto was to reach, teach, and
inspire, was not happening under the current fiscal
situation. She stated the squeeze of inflation was
impacting schools and direct services to Alaskans. She
believed it was imperative the state find new revenue
streams. She emphasized that the states financial problems
were increasingly compounding. She had observed teachers
leaving the state 10 years prior and thought the situation
did not provide stability nor a quality education to
students. She requested adequate funding for education and
all support services in the state and asked the legislature
to help communities find solutions that would make a
difference.
3:06:19 PM
KIRA ECKENWEILER, ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR, BEHAVIORAL
HEALTH SERVICES, NORTON SOUND HEALTH CORP, UNALAKLEET (via
teleconference), supported behavioral health services. She
discussed the benefits of growing up in a small rural
community , yet acknowledged there were also issues. She
shared that she knew 20 individuals who had taken their
lives. She had lost family to murder and substance abuse.
She had experienced many things she did not want children
to experience and wanted her community to thrive. She
reported on the difficulty people experience when
attempting to receive care. She stated that 50 percent of
her clients were on acute care and went to Emergency Rooms
(ER) for mental health and substance abuse issues. Funding
from the state was vital to help fund mental health
clinicians, build substance abuse prevention programs, and
help the community feel empowered. She emphasized that the
work was not a moneymaking business.
3:08:33 PM
SUE SHERIF, SELF, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), testified
against the elimination of $403,700 for the Public Library
Assistance Grant program. She characterized the cut as
devastating. She relayed that she founded the Healy
library and had worked with the states rural libraries for
9 years. She knew the impact the reduction would bring to
the state library program. She indicated that the cut would
be detrimental to small community based libraries where the
$7,000 grant represented 50 percent of their annual
operating budget that included maintaining at least 10
hours of services each week. She added that most of the
small community libraries survived on the state grant as
well as matching grants from other sources, fund raisers,
volunteers, and lots of community support and did not have
the funding larger urban libraries had through property
tax. The small libraries were a bargain to the state
providing learning, cultural programs, reading materials,
and internet access in rural areas. She emphasized that
there was no waste to be cut. The modest program should be
a point of pride in a high cost state and not a target for
budget cuts. She spoke of the effectiveness of the grant.
She also requested $635,000 for the Statewide Library
Electronic Doorway (SLED) program.
Representative Galvin thanked Ms. Sherif for helping
legislators to understand that a rural library operates
differently than an urban library and placed them in the
context of how their services provide critically needed
opportunities in those communities.
Representative Josephson asked Ms. Sherif for a description
of the SLED program. Ms. Sherif answered that the SLED
program was an online database were the digital resources
allowed people all over the state to get authentic and
authoritative information versus just googling the
information and reinforced the work of rural libraries. She
stressed that it was a vital resource for people living in
communities without a library.
3:13:03 PM
MARGARET HENSON, PRESIDENT, NORTHWEST ARCTIC BOROUGH SCHOOL
DISTRICT, KOTZEBUE (via teleconference), testified in
support of an increase to education funding. She supported
an increase to the BSA to $7,210 on behalf of the 2
thousand students in her district. She referenced the
governors initiative to recruit, attract, and retain
qualified teachers however, the school districts growing
financial crisis was being ignored. She shared that COVID
funding; the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency
Relief Fund (ESSER Fund), had helped the district pay for
Pre-K, counselors, major maintenance, and critical
personnel over the past three years as well as $1 million
to provide school lunches. She reported that the ESSER
funding was no longer available to cover the program
shortfalls and the district was facing a $1 million
deficit. She emphasized that the state could not continue
to ignore the education financial crisis. She asked the
state to take care of its most valuable resource its
children. She urged support for the funding increase.
3:15:58 PM
Co-Chair Edgmon temporarily chaired the meeting and
reminded individuals of the two-minute testimony limit.
EILEEN ARNOLD, TUNDRA WOMENS COALITION (TWC), BETHEL (via
teleconference), testified in support for CDVSAs victim's
services in the DPS budget. She shared that over 900 people
sought services from TWC in 2022. She listed all of the
services TWC provided including shelter, teen advocacy,
youth advocacy, housing vouchers and assistance, and
outreach and education. She reported that it could be
difficult to get a law enforcement response in rural Alaska
and people could turn to victims' services in communities
where law enforcement was lacking. The agency spent over
$10,000 on heating fuel in January in addition to increased
food costs and not accounting for the increases represented
a loss to the program. She believed that victims and
survivors deserved excellent advocates and TWC had to pay
competitive salaries in the region. She noted that staff
turnover dropped when TWC increased its wages. She asked
the committee to consider victims services in the budget.
3:18:38 PM
ROSEANN EBAN, SELF, BETHEL (via teleconference), supported
funding for CDVSA and shared that she was a domestic
violence survivor. She appreciated all of the help she
received when she and her son arrived at TWC and emphasized
that the organization saved her life.
Representative Galvin thanked Ms. Eban for having the
courage to share her story.
3:20:22 PM
ELLEN GANLEY, SELF, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference),
testified in support of the Medicaid Self-Directed Care
Services program for seniors and disabled persons. She
explained that the programs services were typically
provided through agencies, which tended to slow services
down and was especially needed in rural communities lacking
care workers and where family and friends could be employed
by the person needing home support and paid through the
Medicaid program directly. She indicated that there were
cost savings associated with the program and many senior
and disabled people wished to remain in their home.
Assisted living and institutional care cost more than the
self-directed care programs. She supported an amendment to
the budget to support the first years development of a
program and after that it would be a waiver program with no
impact to the state.
3:23:27 PM
MAGGIE WINSTON, SELF, KENAI (via teleconference), testified
in favor of spending on Medicaid services. She relayed that
she relied on Medicaid services and supported the
governor's $1.5 million increment that supported
independent living centers in the Senior and Disability
Services (SDS) Community Based Grant program versus relying
on costly nursing facilities. She thanked the committee for
its support. She was pleased for the growing awareness in
the legislature about participant self-directed care
services. She voiced that the option would allow her to
have more autonomy and control over her services and it
addressed crucial workforce issues. She favored an
additional increment for SDS self-directed services.
3:24:56 PM
KEISHA SIMMONS, SELF, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference),
supported disability funding. She shared that she was
paralyzed from the chest down resulting from an accident at
15 years of age. Prior to her waiver, her mom and sister
were doing everything for her at home. Her Medicaid waiver
enabled her mother and sister to have successful careers.
She had been able to get a master's degree from the
University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and was gainfully
employed for 21 years. She believed that people with
disabilities are more reliable and work harder because
they had to fight to be employed. The Medicaid waiver had
been incredible for her and her family whom all turned into
productive taxpayers. She currently had caregivers that
came to her home and got her out in the community. She was
an active volunteer in the community. She expressed sadness
because she had considered moving into a nursing home
because of the shortage of caregivers. She reported that it
was even sadder for families without a waiver because the
waiting list was so long. There was a real crisis in the
caregiving world due to low wages. She also supported
participant directed Medicaid services and funding to help
increase caregiver salaries. She urged the committee to
fund disability services.
3:28:46 PM
GEORGE PIERCE, SELF, KASILOF (via teleconference), opposed
any increases in the budget. He indicated that the
following years budget would comprise 65 percent of state
revenue from the Permanent Fund and roughly 30 percent to
35 percent from oil revenue. He believed that Alaska needed
to recover from excessive government spending. He pointed
out that the price of oil fluctuated. He opposed the salary
increase for legislators. He believed that Undesignated
General Fund (UGF) would decline by 20 percent by next year
and supported a spending limit. He supported a balanced
approach and felt the state should not be reliant on the
price of oil.
3:32:24 PM
SARAH SEARS, SELF, BETHEL (via teleconference), testified
in support for CDVSA victim services in the DPS budget. She
shared that she was a family nurse practitioner. In her
work, she carried out the forensic exams on children who
arrived at the Child Advocacy Center following sexual or
physical abuse or after witnessing domestic violence. She
requested full funding for victims' services. She explained
that she was the leader of the medical sexual assault team
and the child maltreatment team for the Yukon-Kuskokwim
Delta (YK Delta). She worked closely with many native
organizations and state agencies. She detailed that after
an incident advocates, law enforcement, and medical
practitioners come together and provide support and
resources for the survivor until the case was resolved. She
reiterated that TWC provided shelter for women and
children. She voiced that TWC had to constantly worry about
insufficient funding and coupled with inflation they had to
provide less programmatic support.
3:34:30 PM
NATHAN ERFURTH, PRESIDENT, KENAI PENINSULA EDUCATION
ASSOCIATION, KENAI (via teleconference), advocated for
increased education funding and support for mental health
services. He relayed that he was a history teacher and had
lost students to suicide. He shared his experience about
the loss of a student that had been threatening suicide at
school and subsequently died due to insufficient support.
He emphasized that mental health issues were endemic and
increasing and he considered it a crisis. Mental health was
a top priority for educators because students often confide
in teachers when more help was needed. He emphasized that
the statistics in Alaska were terrifying. He believed that
more young people would survive with more support and
resources. He asked for an increase in education funding in
the BSA and added that stable funding was critical for all
students futures. Cutting schools or leaving them to
languish did not serve students, the workforce, or the
state. He commented that running a healthy society took
resources.
3:36:45 PM
JAELA MILFORD, SELF, BETHEL (via teleconference), spoke in
favor of funding for CDVSA victims services. She shared
that she worked as the Executive Director for Winter House,
a homeless shelter in Bethel. She referenced TWC in Bethel
and relayed that Winter House and TWC had been service
partners for many years. Currently, TWC provided free
clothing and winter gear for Winter House. Similar
donations and support enabled Winter House to operate as an
emergency shelter. In addition, TWC implemented and
continued to lead the housing coalition to end homelessness
in Bethel. With the help of TWC, Winter House will build a
24 unit apartment complex and offer other homeless services
throughout the region. Full funding will help TWC provide
life changing resources.
3:39:02 PM
PATRICIA LEE, SELF, FAIRBANKS LIO (via teleconference),
spoke in favor of support for people with disabilities,
caregivers, and reducing the waiver list. She shared that
her son had recently passed away. She had the opportunity
to help her son and learn how to obtain care for a person
with disabilities. She discussed the low salary provided to
caregivers. She indicated that the pay for personal
caregivers was so low that an individual had a higher
salary working at McDonalds. She emphasized that caregivers
were very important to the lives of people with
disabilities and their families. She had to become her
sons personal caregiver and was allotted 18 hours per week
at $15 per hour even though she provided 24 hour care. She
wondered who could live on such a low a salary. She asked
the committee to consider giving a reasonable living wage
of up to $25 per hour.
3:41:56 PM
DANIELLE LOGAN, SELF, FAIRBANKS, supported increased
education funding. She shared that she was an educator in
the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District (FNSBSD)
and currently served as president of the Education Support
Staff Association (ESSA). She relayed that over the past
seven years the school district had changed due to fiscal
struggles. She observed more turnover in the support staff
than in prior years and many support positions were
proposed to be cut and were often the first to be cut with
tight funding. The custodial staff was shorthanded and
often schools were run without custodial services. She
shared that undertrained staff were being asked to do jobs
that were not in their area of expertise. She believed that
students ultimately suffer from the situation. She believed
that being an educator was becoming harder and the
situation existed prior to the pandemic. She believed that
every educator cared about students and wanted what was
best for their students. She commented that support staff
were essential to running a school and they were the lowest
paid employees in the district. She listed the many ways
support staff assisted running the school. She stated that
there was rapid turnover and over 80 percent of support
staff had a second job. She characterized support staff
jobs as hard. She asked for a significant increase to the
BSA.
Representative Stapp thanked Ms. Logan for representing
Fairbanks.
3:45:24 PM
NICOLE BOWERS, SELF, JUNEAU (via teleconference), supported
funding for childcare grants. She related that she was a
teacher at a daycare center for 5 years. She explained that
the funding went directly to support wages for teachers and
staff. Currently, daycare centers were extremely
understaffed, and they were struggling to keep quality
staff primarily due to low wages. She shared that she
previously switched her workplace because the prior
childcare center closed due to lack of staff. She
emphasized that someone made more money working at
McDonalds than caring for children. She reminded the
committee that without teachers the childcare system would
crumble, which was already happening. Higher wages would
help mitigate the problem.
3:47:23 PM
KATHLEEN DOUGLASS, SELF, KOTZEBUE (via teleconference),
spoke in favor of funding for disability services. She
shared that she was the mother of a son with multiple
disabilities who could not do any of his daily living
chores by himself. He was happy and currently living in an
adult facility for individuals with disabilities. She
detailed that the family had a longtime caregiver who
eventually moved away, and they were unable to find a
replacement. Subsequently, her husband, the son's father
was killed in an automobile accident, and she was left as
the sole provider and had to reduce her work to part-time,
which was a hardship. He moved into a disability home when
he was 16 and she was grateful for the home and great care
they provide her son. She communicated that the facility
was short-staffed and needed additional funding. She asked
for an increase for home and community disability services.
3:50:40 PM
ALANA GREEAR, SELF, KACHEMAK SELO (via teleconference),
called in support of education funding. She was a K-6
teacher and was the only certified staff in the district
due to budget cuts over the past several years. She
believed that the students were not thriving academically.
She had heard students cry and testify from all districts
about what made schools important for them; theatre,
sports, pools, etc. She observed new teachers having to
leave because they could not afford housing and because the
retirement system was broken. She asked for an increase to
the BSA.
3:53:02 PM
ANDY DEGRAW, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR
SCHOOL DISTRICT, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), testified
in support of an increase in education funding. He spoke to
the arguments regarding education spending and felt they
lacked context. He indicated that FNSBSD was currently
facing a $17 million deficit and was out of cash reserves.
The district was in the process of spending down the
remaining $4 million in COVID funds. The district was
forced to eliminate 85 staff (over 6 percent of the
workforce) in all areas of the district and had cut 230
positions representing a little over 13 percent of its
workforce in the last 3 years. He believed that pointing to
statistics and figures lacked context, but his prior
figures did not need any to understand the situation. In
addition, the district was increasing class sizes at the
kindergarten level up to 27 students, which meant some
classes would end up with 30 students. He stressed that 30
kids in a classroom was a lot. The high school classes
would increase up to 35 students per class. He indicated
that the district eliminated millions of dollars in
contracts and leases. He called for action on increasing
the BSA.
Representative Stapp thanked Mr. Degraw for calling in.
3:56:55 PM
ZACARY NELSON, SELF, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), was
calling on behalf of a friend who had suffered from a car
accident a number of years back. He indicated that the
individual did receive a Medicaid waiver yet struggled to
get caregivers. He stated the family spent $15,000 to
$20,000 annually to support the individual. He did not
believe people understood the level of need that existed
when someone suffered a disability. He felt that that
amount was unreachable for many middleclass families. He
was grateful for the help that was given and indicated that
it was hard to compete with McDonalds. He supported funding
for a living wage for caregivers. He thanked the committee.
Representative Stapp thanked Mr. Nelson for calling in.
3:59:44 PM
DAVID BRIGHTON, SELF, KENAI (via teleconference), supported
an increase to the BSA. He offered that he was a special
education teacher and father of two students in the
district. He stressed that schools had been bleeding for
years from small cuts. He stated that inflation made it
impossible to maintain the same level of education. His
classroom no longer had a whiteboard because it was too
expensive and he was using shower wall material from Home
Depot, which was inadequate. He emphasized the need for an
increase. He had worked for the district for 15 years and
saw many teachers leaving the state due to an inadequate
retirement system. He characterized the situation as
dire. He underscored the need for a BSA increase.
4:01:52 PM
JUNE ROGERS, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER, CITY OF FAIRBANKS,
FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), urged the committee to
fully recapitalize the community assistance fund for FY
2024. She believed that it was a very important
partnership. She vocalized support for funding the
service cost for the Public Employees' Retirement System
(PERS). In addition, she supported maintaining the sexual
assault response team funding in the DPS budget. She asked
the committee to give attention to all of the issues. She
thanked the committee.
Representative Stapp thanked Ms. Rogers for calling in.
4:04:49 PM
MARIE FRANICH, SELF, FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), spoke
in support for disability services. She shared that her son
was severely disabled, and she shared details about her
son's disability. She supported increased funding for
caregivers under the Medicaid waiver. She shared that her
son's caregiver had to manage her hours with her SNAP
benefits and heating assistance and could not make a living
wage as a single mom. She stated that disabled people were
community members too. Her son had a waiver and very few of
the $89,000 available was spent because they could not find
care attendants that would help get him out into the
community. She believed that people deserved to be paid
adequately to take care of others. She asked committee
members to consider the hardship of everyday life for
disabled people. She supported an increase in Medicaid
funding.
4:08:21 PM
SANDI RYAN, PRESIDENT, FAIRBANKS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION,
FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), testified in support of
funding for education. She shared that she was an educator
for 36 years and was ending her classroom career with a
sense of satisfaction and enjoyment. She observed younger
colleagues having a worse experience with inadequate
retirement and lower wages and observed them needing to
relocate or leave the profession. She advocated for a
meaningful increase in the BSA and felt that it was
critical. The district no longer had anything left to cut.
She wanted to retain the best and brightest teachers. She
thanked the committee.
Representative Stapp thanked Ms. Ryan for her service and
testimony.
HB 39 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
HB 41 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Johnson reviewed the schedule for the following
meeting.
#ADJOURNMENT
4:11:47 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 4:11 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HFIN Spring 2023 Revenue Forecast Presentation 2023.03.22.pdf |
HFIN 3/22/2023 1:30:00 PM |