Legislature(2017 - 2018)ADAMS ROOM 519
04/10/2018 09:00 AM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| HB339 | |
| Start | |
| HB339 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 339 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
April 10, 2018
9:08 a.m.
9:08:33 AM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Foster called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 9:08 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative Paul Seaton, Co-Chair
Representative Les Gara, Vice-Chair
Representative Jason Grenn
Representative David Guttenberg
Representative Scott Kawasaki
Representative Dan Ortiz
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Cathy Tilton
Representative Tammie Wilson
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
ALSO PRESENT
Representative Les Gara, Sponsor; Michelle Sydeman, Staff,
Representative Les Gara; Monica Goyette, Mat-Su Borough
School District, Mat-Su; Jack Walsh, Superintendent, Craig
School District, Craig; John Conwell, Superintendent,
Unalaska School District, Unalaska; Scott MacManus,
Superintendent, Alaska Gateway School District, Tok; Jeff
Deeter, Board Member, Alaska Gateway School District, Tok;
Mike Hanley, Superintendent, Chugiach School District,
Chugiach; Sean Egan, Self, Juneau; Laural Jackson,
Superintendent, Delta/Greely School District, Delta
Junction; Christie Hendrick, Self, Juneau; Martin Stepetin,
Self, Juneau; Martin Stepetin, Self, In Room; Mark Miller,
Superintendent, Juneau School District, Juneau; Jeff Short,
Member, Juneau School Board, Juneau; Dan Carstens,
President, Alaska Association of Secondary School
Principals, Nikiski; Amy Lujan, Alaska Association of
School Business Officials; Ralph Watkins, Hoonah City
School District, Hoonah.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
David Brighton, Kenai Peninsula Education Association,
Kenai; Deena Mitchell, Self, Anchorage; Josh Keaton, Vice
President, Juneau School Board, Juneau; Deena Bishop,
Superintendent, Anchorage School District, Anchorage; David
Nees, Self, Anchorage; Thomas Claameyer, President,
Anchorage Education Association, Anchorage; Mary McMahon,
Alaska Association of Secondary Principals.
SUMMARY
HB 339 INCREASE BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION
HB 339 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
Co-Chair Foster discussed housekeeping.
HOUSE BILL NO. 339
"An Act relating to the base student allocation; and
providing for an effective date."
9:09:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LES GARA, SPONSOR, provided a PowerPoint
presentation titled "Education Matters: It's Time to
Increase the BSA" (copy on file).
MICHELLE SYDEMAN, STAFF, REPRESENTATIVE LES GARA,
introduced herself.
Co-Chair Foster asked committee members to hold questions
until the end of the presentation.
Vice-Chair Gara addressed Slides 2 through 4. He believed
that the FY19 discussion about education boiled down to two
issues: early funding, without which teachers were
demoralized, and adequate funding, which demoralized
parents. He said that the bill would increase education
funding by $100, per student, roughly 1.7 percent. He
asserted that BSA funding had been flat for the past many
years, funding had decreased for some of those years, most
markedly in 2016. He stated that the department had
attempted to use the General Fund balance to survive the
last few years and were now being forced to consider severe
cuts. He relayed that many schools had been using reserves
to make up for funding shortfalls and many were nearly
broke.
9:10:55 AM
Vice-Chair Gara turned to Slide 5 and reported that funding
was down about $17 million since FY 15.
Vice-Chair Gara continued to Slide 6, "Why Has School
Funding Declined Since FY 2015":
• $43 million added in FY 15 was deleted from the
budget in FY 16.
• This was only partially offset by $50 BSA
increases in FY 16and FY 17, each of which added
$12.6 million.
• Overall, funding through the BSA has fallen by
roughly $17million. When you add in changes due
to student counts &local contributions, the loss
since FY 15 is about $25 million.
9:11:35 AM
Vice-Chair Gara turned to Slide 8, which highlighted that
funding was down $90 million since 2015, considering
inflation. He lamented that another year of flat funding to
the Fairbanks School District would result in the loss of
50 positions; the district had lost 231 since 2009. He said
that since 2003, nearly 400 positions (teachers, career
counselors, and guidance counselors) had been cut as
classroom sized had increased. He shared that the same had
happened in many of the state's larger districts. He
related that Special Education enrollment numbers had
increased, as well as Intensive Needs enrollment, which
greatly increase costs to districts.
9:12:41 AM
Vice-Chair Gara shared one teacher's story on Slide 13,
which offered several bullet points describing a classroom
size increase of 28 to 32, which had hindered the teacher's
ability to fairly teach students at an individual level. He
shared that the Juneau budget reductions had been
significant; the district faced a $3.5 million deficit for
FY 19 and had lost nearly 100 positions. (Slide 14)
9:13:19 AM
Vice-Chair Gara addressed Slide 15 and spoke about Mat-Su
facing similar cuts. He noted that the district has
experienced an increase in student population but had not
been able to hire teachers to meet the increasing need.
Nome impacts were on Slide 16 and included cuts to
activities and the elimination of summer school. Kenai and
Kodiak impacts on Slide 17 reflected bigger class sized and
fewer options for students. He lamented that these were the
results of an extended period of flat and reduced funding
for schools.
9:14:17 AM
Vice-Chair Gara reviewed impacts to the Lake and Peninsula
School District on Slide 18, where 20 school days had been
cut from the school year; the superintendent of that
district was concerned about eventual cuts to core
services. He said that some Bristol Bay communities were
starting to combine classes (Slide 19) in the effort to
minimize the loss of teachers. He opined that many schools
had to cut art and music classes. He furthered that impacts
in Sitka (Slide 20) class sizes had increased while funding
had remained flat. He stated that Wrangell High School no
longer provided 3 years of foreign language, which impacted
college applications.
9:15:27 AM
Vice-Chair Gara moved to Slide 22 and shared that a teacher
of the year Sarah Birrmanns was considering leaving the
state, fearing a bleak future in education in Alaska. He
warned that cuts in education would result in the loss of
the state's best teachers.
9:16:07 AM
Vice-Chair Gara turned to slide 25 and stated they had not
figured out a way to solve the fiscal problem. Adults
needed to get their act together. Some of the school
districts supporting the bill were on Slide 26:
? Anchorage
? Fairbanks
? Mat-Su
? Kenai Peninsula
? Bristol Bay
? Juneau
? Southwest Region
? Lake & Peninsula
? Cordova
? Hydaburg
? Kuspuk
? Iditarod
? Petersburg
? Craig
? Sitka
? Aleutian Region
? Delta/Greely
? Haines
? Kodiak
? Chatham
Vice-Chair Gara turned to Slide 27, which listed additional
organizations that supported the legislation:
? Alaska Association of School Boards
? Alaska PTA
? NEA-Alaska
? NAACP Education Committee
9:17:01 AM
Representative Wilson argued that the increase would not be
$100 per student across the board but would depend on which
school district the student was in and the size of the
school. She requested a chart that detailed how the bill
would impact each student in every district.
Vice-Chair Gara would ask the Department of Education and
Early Development (DEED) to provide the detail.
Representative Wilson asserted that smaller schools would
benefit, and larger schools would not.
Vice-Chair Gara would request the information from the
department.
Co-Chair Foster OPENED public testimony.
MONICA GOYETTE, MAT-SU BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, MAT-SU,
testified that the budget for her district of 47 schools,
serving 19,000 students, was approximately $250 million,
$232 million for general operating expenses and additional
federal grant funding. She said that the cost of doing
business from year-to-year increased by $7 million each
year. She stated that flat funding for FY 19 would result
in reducing services by $7 million. She lamented that 2018
had been the first year that the district had been unable
to use reserve funds to close the fiscal deficit. She
shared they had cut 87 employees. She shared that next year
high school class sizes would be 33 to 1 and elementary
classes would average at 25 to 1. She stated that a big
achievement of the current year was every kindergarten
class had been under 30 students, with no class aides. She
spoke about the rising cost of healthcare - it was the
largest cost driver at $40 million and the district had
experienced a 25 percent increase in cost. The health care
cost had compounded the issue of funding over the past
year.
9:22:25 AM
JACK WALSH, SUPERINTENDENT, CRAIG SCHOOL DISTRICT, CRAIG,
shared that his district had a $7 million budget. He had
been told their health insurance rates would increase
between 8 and 11 percent. He only had 35 teachers and would
not eliminate teacher positions, but he would have to
eliminate one administrative position in the coming year.
He understood the issue impacted everyone in different
ways. A $100 increase to the BSA would mean about $85,000
for his district; it would help with the deficit. He was
losing a federal grant of $400,000 to support reading and
math intervention for students. It was not easy to tell
parents they had just lost money and there was no recourse
to be taken.
Representative Ortiz asked whether the federal grant had
been discontinued. He asked for detail.
Mr. Walsh answered that the federal grant had been an
Alaska Native education grant. He hoped in the future the
grant would return. He lamented that there were fewer
grants available to supplement the district's programs.
9:26:34 AM
JOHN CONWELL, SUPERINTENDENT, UNALASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT,
UNALASKA, shared many of the same concerns as his
colleagues. He stated that 75 percent of the students in
his district spoke languages other than English in home and
25 percent spoke no English. The district had to cut
approximately 10 percent of its teachers in recent years
including the art teacher, librarian, and others. The
district depended on the generosity of the city for funding
support. The increase would go a long way to help backfill
deficits. He urged the committee's support for the bill.
Representative Ortiz referenced Mr. Conwell's testimony
about students not that came from homes speaking a language
other than English.
Mr. Conwell replied that approximately 70 percent of the
district's student came from homes that did not speak
English as a first language, or at all. He said 25 percent
of the student population had been identified buy the
state's English language assessment as needing specialized
services.
Representative Ortiz spoke to the loss of the English as a
second language (ESL) teacher. He asked whether any ESL
staff remained in the district.
Mr. Conwell answered they had 1 ESL teacher remaining.
Representative Wilson asked about the school's graduation
rate.
Mr. Conwell replied it was 100 percent.
9:30:08 AM
SCOTT MACMANUS, SUPERINTENDENT, ALASKA GATEWAY SCHOOL
DISTRICT, TOK, testified in support of the bill. He
provided statistics about increases in healthcare costs. He
opined that the district could not provide healthcare to
classified employees. The district was on the road system
and did not have high turnover, but it struggled with how
to provide competitive benefits to employees. The district
had to give a 2 percent raise to teachers in the current
year because without it they would not have the ability to
attract or retain them. He shared he had attended job fairs
and reported there had been 1,600 energetic teachers
looking for jobs but that the state could not compete with
a starting salary of $59,000. He lamented that when people
did not have a connection to Alaska and the salary and
benefit package was not high, it was difficult to compete
with other states for quality teachers.
9:33:49 AM
JEFF DEETER, BOARD MEMBER, ALASKA GATEWAY SCHOOL DISTRICT,
TOK, shared that he was a graduate of the school in Dot
Lake. He provided detail about the life of his family. He
thanked the committee for its work during session. He saw
light at the end of the tunnel due to the work that had
been done by the legislature. He believed one of the best
things the government could do was eliminate uncertainty.
He supported a BSA increase. He spoke about rising health
insurance costs. He contended that an increase to the BSA
would level out with healthcare increases.
9:36:40 AM
MIKE HANLEY, SUPERINTENDENT, CHUGIACH SCHOOL DISTRICT,
CHUGIACH, shared that Alaska's schools operated in some of
the most difficult conditions in the country. Alaska led
the country for rates of child abuse and neglect, domestic
violence and substance abuse. He shared that his district
brought in students from other districts to have access to
programs in its schools. The travel cost alone was putting
pressure on the district and the programs would probably
have to be set aside. He believed that this was a tragedy.
The district was not able to bring the kids in as it
tightened its own belt. He testified that the $100 BSA
increase was a very smart investment that would have
positive economic impacts.
Representative Guttenberg shared a positive experience he
had as a legislator in the classroom. He explained that
sitting in the classroom to witness everything first hand
was something that districts should continue offering to
legislators.
Co-Chair Seaton spoke about the increasing healthcare
costs. He asked whether the district had a program of
looking at avoidable costs to keep teachers, employees, and
dependents healthy.
Mr. Hanley answered the insurance company provided healthy
advice and excess to some programs but nothing specific.
9:42:17 AM
SEAN EGAN, SELF, JUNEAU, spoke about pupil teacher ratio.
He shared that he had two children in the Juneau School
District and there were only 39 seats in his son's class of
40 students. He spoke about the load on English teachers,
some teachers stopped assigning writing assignments because
they did not have time to read all the essays. He spoke
about welding classes that could be eliminated; however, he
reasoned that if they eliminated the classes there would
not be a future workforce for building a gas pipeline. It
was necessary to keep physics, shop and other courses. He
asked the committee to increase the BSA.
Co-Chair Foster noted Representative Kawasaki had joined
the meeting.
9:45:35 AM
DAVID BRIGHTON, KENAI PENINSULA EDUCATION ASSOCIATION,
KENAI (via teleconference), spoke in support of the
legislation. The district had received flat funding for
four years. The district was looking at spending even more
of the fund balance, which was quickly disappearing. He
said that the district had to cut over $8 million in the
last two years. They were looking at combining elementary
classes in some schools. His son had lost the option to
take French. He stated that most elementary schools no
longer taught art and that teachers were trying to do the
best they could. They were looking at cutting the district
wide art coordinator. The past year they had made cuts to
custodial staff and teachers had been asked to help with
those duties. The district was doing all it could to reduce
costs. He lamented that high healthcare costs were a burden
on his district.
9:49:07 AM
DEENA MITCHELL, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke
in favor of the bill. She shared the need for adequate and
predictable funding to allow districts to plan for
spending. She asserted that annual cuts in education were
harmful to students. The district was looking at a $13
million gap in its budget in the current year. She stated
that were the bill to pass, the district could reduce the
budget gap by about $9.1 million because the local
contribution would be increased. The bill would not fill
the gap completely, but it would help considerably.
Co-Chair Seaton asked whether Anchorage was looking at
controlling its medical costs by going out to bid for
specialty work out of state. He wondered whether they had
found costs savings for members to travel outside of Alaska
for treatment.
Ms. Mitchell answered that the district was looking at all
kinds of possibilities for savings. She shared that the
union had its own healthcare. She said that nonunion
members had established the Vera Health Clinic, which
should result in savings.
Co-Chair Seaton asked for districts to follow up with
similar methods and cost savings.
9:53:38 AM
JOSH KEATON, VICE PRESIDENT, JUNEAU SCHOOL BOARD, JUNEAU
(via teleconference), spoke in strong support for the
legislation. The district was at the bottom of the barrel
in terms of cuts to finances. He opined that the district
was looking at cutting additional teachers. He stressed
that the quality of education in the state rested in the
legislature's hands. He urged the BSA increase.
9:55:20 AM
DEENA BISHOP, SUPERINTENDENT, ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support of the
bill. She stressed that Alaska needed the legislation to
propel the state into action. She spoke about Alaska's
rating as last in reading achievement. She felt that the
state's low rating would likely result in a blame game but
no accountability. She stressed the importance of looking
for answers and coming together for Alaska's youth. She
pointed out that the revenue allotted for education in the
state was the highest in the nation, yet outcomes were some
of the lowest. She underscored the importance of working
together to change the outcomes. She spoke about the high
costs of items in Alaska including education,
transportation, and infrastructure. It was a challenge that
had to be embraced. The work had to start with students and
families and it took resources. She spoke about other
issues such as high domestic violence, lack of mental
health care, opioid abuse, and other; schools were a
microcosm of the community.
10:00:24 AM
DAVID NEES, SELF, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified
against the bill. He spoke about recent increases to the
BSA. He stated that the money to districts had gone up in
recent years. He said he would provide his testimony in
writing.
10:02:28 AM
LAURAL JACKSON, SUPERINTENDENT, DELTA/GREELY SCHOOL
DISTRICT, DELTA JUNCTION, shared that her district had
faced a $240,000 deficit and still faced a $30,000 deficit
after many cuts had been made. She stressed the importance
of the bill. She stated that because of the unique
structure of educators' negotiated agreement the increase
in health insurance would come directly from teachers'
salaries. She strongly believed that the increase was
necessary and that it came down to whether the legislature
would act.
Representative Ortiz thanked Ms. Jackson for her work. He
spoke to the problem of unfunded mandates coming from the
state. He asked whether she saw that as a problem in her
district.
Ms. Jackson answered that the mandates hindered the
district's ability to prioritize where and how money could
be spent in other areas.
Representative Wilson spoke about local contribution. She
asked if there was a mechanism that could be put into place
that could help the district.
Ms. Jackson answered that it would depend on who was asked.
She believed mostly the people of Alaska were willing to
help pay for public education. From a personal standpoint
she said, "Tax me."
Representative Wilson stated people in unorganized areas
had not been given the opportunity to voluntarily
contribute to the formula.
Representative Thompson asked understood the Pogo Mine made
a payment in lieu of taxes that was given to the school
district in Delta Junction.
Ms. Jackson answered that the payment in lieu of taxes went
to the city of Delta Junction, which was not required to
give any of the money to the school district. She added
that Pogo Mine had donated to some extracurricular
activities.
10:08:16 AM
CHRISTIE HENDRICK, SELF, JUNEAU, testified in support of
the bill. She was a parent of two in the Juneau School
District. She worked part-time to have a strong presence in
her children's lives after school, to assist in their
classrooms, and to testify today. She noted that many
parents did not reserve the same luxury. She shared that
despite the teachers' best attempts, often it was
controlled chaos in classrooms. She relayed that there were
over 30 students in her daughter's middle school classroom.
She stated that when learning did not happen at school the
burden was on the parents at home. She related that she
could do it, but many parents were unable to bolster their
children's education at home. She believed that the
importance of education could not be understated. She
emphatically supported the BSA increase and forward funding
for education.
Vice-Chair Gara relayed there was about 30 minutes left in
the meeting and if others wanted to testify they could sign
up. He asked about parents considering leaving the state
because of a lack of the commitment to education.
Ms. Hendrick answered that she had friends who had left the
state temporarily who had been appalled at how far ahead
students elsewhere were. She said that parents were
considering relocating from Alaska in pursuit of a better
education for their kids.
10:13:05 AM
MARTIN STEPETIN, SELF, JUNEAU, spoke in support of the
bill. He brought his small daughter with him to the table.
He did not support additional cuts or flat funding to
education, the Office of Children's Services, or other
children's services. He stressed that flat funding was
comparable to a budget cut. He stated it was sad to lose
teachers and teachers did not get paid enough. He provided
detail on his kids in the education system. He said he
would be willing to pay higher taxes to fund education. He
asked the committee to pass the bill and support education.
Representative Guttenberg thanked Mr. Stepetin for his
testimony.
10:15:50 AM
MARK MILLER, SUPERINTENDENT, JUNEAU SCHOOL DISTRICT,
JUNEAU, shared that he had tried to cut the district's
budget with "a scalpel and not a chainsaw." He stated that
the district had tried to do more with less, but now it was
doing less with less. He testified that 1 in 5 students in
Juneau had an individualized education plan (IEP). He said
that very little school funding was discretionary, most was
mandatory. He provided details about the elimination of a
middle school study program. He stated that auto shop would
likely be eliminated the following year. He lamented that
the district's technology implementation that allowed
students to do more online collaboration and learning would
be cut in the next year. The district could only afford 50
percent of the necessary textbooks to implement the
curriculum for 2019. He relayed that the increase would
allow the district to do more; the increase would be
significant.
Representative Kawasaki queried how the cuts had impacted
the middle school and high school extracurricular
activities.
Mr. Miller answered that one of his first actions had been
to cut all funding to travel for students. He shared that
he only way to travel from Juneau was on a ferry or to fly.
He relayed that the expense was significant.
10:19:28 AM
Representative Grenn asked whether minimum qualifications
had changed for teacher hire.
Mr. Miller answered that they had not changed their
qualifications, but there had been more open positions that
went unfilled. He said that the consequence of that was
filling the position with a substitute or to contract some
services in the Lower 48 telephonically. Currently, the
fill rate for substitutes was often as low 50 percent,
meaning that 1 out of 2 of the classrooms that needed a
substitute went without a teacher.
Representative Grenn asked what the lack of teacher
substitutes did to the quality of education.
Mr. Miller answered that it could mean a student sitting in
a room staring at a wall versus being taught by a quality
teacher.
Vice-Chair Gara asked for the number of positions cut in
the past few years.
Mr. Miller answered that administrative positions had been
cut by 33 percent, and 18 percent of teachers.
Vice-Chair Gara asked whether the district was at a point
where flat funding would impact academic achievement and
student's ability to get into college.
Mr. Miller answered that the districts had cut back as far
as possible and had used every dollar of end fund balance
available. He said that the end fund balance for 2018 was
likely to be between $500,000 and $750,000 out of an $80
million budget, which would fund less than 2 school days;
The district was broke. He lamented that all that could be
done was to cut back on teachers, staff, and students would
receive fewer educational opportunities.
10:22:52 AM
Vice-Chair Gara stated that several other districts had
gone through the buffer of their reserves. He asked whether
future flat funding of education would have more severe
impacts to education.
Mr. Miller replied in the affirmative.
Representative Ortiz asked about teacher recruitment. He
asked about unfilled positions in Special Education.
Mr. Miller answered that there had been one position filled
during the second semester. He said he was sending the
Special Education director to Michigan the following week
to recruit candidates from that area.
Representative Ortiz asked how many positions remained
unfilled.
Mr. Miller answered that they had filled all the positions,
many had been unfilled for a portion of the year.
Representative Ortiz asked about a connection between the
ability to have certified staff and the level of federal
funding.
Mr. Miller responded that federal dollars helped fund more
expensive educational needs. He relayed that the severity
of disabilities that needed accommodation were becoming
increasingly severe.
10:25:45 AM
Vice-Chair Gara asked whether there was anything the state
was doing to make recruitment more difficult.
Mr. Miller answered that the problem was nationwide. He
believed that the current generation did not view teaching
as a viable profession, which he attributed to the
increased demands placed on teachers and the decrease in
compensation.
10:26:42 AM
JEFF SHORT, MEMBER, JUNEAU SCHOOL BOARD, JUNEAU, spoke in
support of the bill. He relayed that he had paid the
initial income tax and had been happy to do it. He stated
that he had also paid the past school tax. He revealed that
her would gladly pay both taxes again, at higher rates, if
it would mean adequately funding education. He implored the
committee to pass the $100 BSA increase. He reminded the
committee that they had taken a 10 percent cut over recent
years due to increases in inflation. He reminded the
committee that Alaska was not a poor state; the problem was
solvable. He stressed that if the problem was not fixed the
state would face long-term negative economic impacts.
Vice-Chair Gara asked for examples of effective programs
that had been cut.
Mr. Miller cited the middle school Advancement Via
Individual Determination (AVID) program as an example. He
added that the pupil to teacher ratio in middle schools had
increase to an unsustainable level.
10:29:51 AM
DAN CARSTENS, PRESIDENT, ALASKA ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY
SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, NIKISKI, testified in support of the
bill. He believed that the education system was not broken
but fractured. He thought that the continued erosion of
education funding would exacerbate the problem. He spoke of
having to shift students around in order to compensate for
lack of teachers. He said that sometimes teachers were
asked to teach classes that they were not qualified to
teach. He lamented the two openings for Special Education
teachers in his school and expressed fear that he would not
be able to fill them. He said that the increase to the BSA
would allow for a real valuation of teachers and educators.
Representative Grenn asked whether Mr. Carstens was a
principal.
Mr. Carstens answered in the affirmative.
Representative Grenn asked how the salaries impacted
morale.
Mr. Carstens answered that the culture in his school
fostered a positive morale; however, the outlook on the
valuation of the work that teachers do was negative. He
spoke about the high cost of living in Alaska. He did not
want a statewide strike and hoped that steps would be taken
to place a higher value on education in the state.
Representative Grenn asked what was maintaining the morale
in his school.
Mr. Carstens answered stability. He believed that good
leaders could inspire positivity. He stated that morale
killers were not valuing teachers and having large class
sizes.
10:34:34 AM
Representative Kawasaki asked what a good student/teacher
ratio looked like at the secondary level.
Mr. Carstens answered that the mid-20s would be a good
place to start. He explained that he generally had 60
students that needed to take Algebra 1 and he struggled
with choosing between two classes of 30, or three classes
of 20. Without the additional BSA he would be forced to
choose two classes of 30.
10:35:26 AM
AMY LUJAN, ALASKA ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL BUSINESS OFFICIALS,
spoke in support of the bill. She commended all the school
districts in the state for working to provide their
students with quality education during tight financial
times. She stressed that it was not possible to go back
and take third grade again. She stressed that the increase
was a worthwhile investment. If the funding was not
provided, Alaskan's would realize that their children were
in a class of 30; it would be apparent in the fall. She
warned that education had been underfunded and it would not
be possible to keep up with cost increases without
additional funding.
10:37:36 AM
RALPH WATKINS, HOONAH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, HOONAH,
testified in support of the legislation. He said that he
acted as the superintendent, principal, technology
director, and middle school teacher for his district. He
opined that he did not want to subject his students to a
subpar education. He stressed the importance of funding
education in the state. He detailed the various ways that
his district had worked to find efficiencies and savings.
He said that the way his district was currently functioning
was unsustainable but there was no money to hire additional
teachers. He said his school has a 33 percent Special
Education population and no Special Education teacher.
Representative Wilson asked whether SB 185 would allow the
district to hire a teacher for special education.
Mr. Watkins answered absolutely. He said that there were 15
retired teachers in Hoonah that would love to come back and
teach, it would allow the school to fill the position and
the middle school position.
Representative Ortiz asked whether it was relatively new
that the superintendent had teaching responsibilities and
was also the principal.
Mr. Watkins answered it was new and out of necessity.
Alaska currently had 4 superintendent principals.
10:41:59 AM
THOMAS CLAAMEYER, PRESIDENT, ANCHORAGE EDUCATION
ASSOCIATION, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified in
support of the bill. He was hopeful the improving economics
would allow the legislature to increase the BSA. He
stressed that kids were suffering and were losing
educational opportunities necessary for a well-rounded
education. The budget cuts were wearing on everyone
involved in education. He provided examples of high
classroom sizes. He noted that job opportunities outside
Alaska were high. He hoped the legislature would help offer
kids the education they deserved. He stated that early
funding of education would provide stability in the school
budget planning process.
Co-Chair Seaton asked whether the Anchorage Education
Association was exploring travel for medical options
outside Alaska.
Mr. Claameyer answered that members received their health
insurance through the Public Education Health Trust and had
been participating in Bridge Health, where quality care was
provided outside the state, and in-state contracts for
providing aftercare. He furthered that the members
participated in TelaDoc for minor health issues. He said
that members also participated in the Aetna network with
preferred providers negotiating lower rates within the
network. He stated that the trust had initiated a wellness
program that offered incentives for members seeking to
proactively reduce their healthcare incidents by living
healthier lifestyles.
10:48:30 AM
Co-Chair Seaton wondered about a report on the success or
cost savings of the various programs.
Mr. Claameyer would follow up with the information.
10:49:14 AM
MARY MCMAHON, ALASKA ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY PRINCIPALS
(via teleconference), testified in support of the
legislation. She expressed concern about teacher turnover
rates in Alaska. She stressed that it was possible to solve
the education funding problem if everyone worked toward a
common goal. She stressed that public education was in a
desperate place.
Vice-Chair Gara spoke about the lack of prospective
teachers at job fairs. He asked whether the lack of
commitment shown to teachers was impacting the declining
number of prospective teachers.
Ms. McMahon answered absolutely. Her son had elected to go
a different career route because of the lack of commitment
shown to education.
Co-Chair Foster noted there was an amendment deadline of
9:00 a.m. the following day. He discussed housekeeping.
Co-Chair Foster CLOSED public testimony.
HB 339 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
10:53:54 AM
The meeting was adjourned at 10:53 a.m.