Legislature(2011 - 2012)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/16/2012 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing-professional Teaching Practices Commission | |
| Confirmation Hearing-ua Board of Regents | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 16, 2012
8:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Kevin Meyer, Co-Chair
Senator Joe Thomas, Co-Chair
Senator Bettye Davis, Vice Chair
Senator Hollis French
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Gary Stevens
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING-PROFESSIONAL TEACHING PRACTICES COMMISSION
- CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
CONFIRMATION HEARING-UA BOARD OF REGENTS
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JILL M. EXE, Appointee
Teacher Representative
Kaktovik, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions as appointee to the
Professional Teaching Practices Commission.
LOUIS PONDOLFINO, Appointee
Principal Representative
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions as appointee to the
Professional Teaching Practices Commission.
MARI FREITAG, Appointee
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Responded to questions as appointee to the
University of Alaska Board of Regents.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:04:53 AM
CO-CHAIR JOE THOMAS called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:04 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators French, Davis, Co-Chair Meyer and Co-Chair
Thomas.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING-PROFESSIONAL TEACHING PRACTICES COMMISSION
CONFIRMATION HEARING
PROFESSIONAL TEACHING PRACTICES COMMISSION
8:05:26 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS announced the confirmation hearing for Jill Exe
from Kaktovik and Lou Pondolfino from Anchorage for the
Professional Teaching Practices Commission (PTPC). He said the
commission is comprised of nine members appointed by the
governor. They must be actively engaged in the teaching
profession for five years immediately preceding the appointment;
there must be five classroom teachers, one principal, one
superintendent, one department representative, one higher
education representative and all of the appointees must have
been selected from respected associations. The term is for three
years. The commission develops criteria, professional practices
in areas of ethics, performance, professional services and
contractual obligations. It holds hearings to judge and sanction
educators not meeting standards established by the commission
and they suspend and revoke certificates of educators based on
reasons set out in AS 14.20.030.
8:06:19 AM
JILL M. EXE, Teacher Representative, Kaktovik, Alaska, said she
was looking forward to being reconfirmed for a second term with
the Professional Teaching Practice Commission. She said serving
on it had been an incredible experience. She had taught in
Alaska for 19 years and has always been interested in advocating
for the profession. Everyone wants good teachers in every
classroom and good principals at every site; the commission does
an "excellent job" of ensuring that due process is followed and
that investigations happen appropriately.
Serving on the commission has been a learning experience for her
as well, she said. A variety of cases have come forward over the
last three years and each one was thoroughly vetted in the
interests of better education in the state of Alaska.
8:07:02 AM
SENATOR DAVIS joined the committee.
SENATOR FRENCH asked her to tell them a little more about the
commission.
8:08:10 AM
MS. EXE answered that the commission has nine members and they
represent teachers, superintendents, principals and higher
education. They meet three times a year during the school year
in Anchorage; they discuss cases and addressed serious issues
like suspending or revoking teachers, certified staff members
and certificates. They work hard to ensure that due process is
followed in the interests of better education.
8:11:19 AM
SENATOR FRENCH said he was thrilled that she wanted to serve and
that it's fantastic someone is there from the northern regions
in the state. He asked if some transgressions automatically
revoke someone's certificate, for example, conviction of a
crime. He also asked if many of the people that come to the
commission have already lost their jobs and are waiting to lose
their licenses or are they sometimes still working in the
classrooms with certificate actions pending against them.
MS. EXE answered that her experience in the last three years has
been that people can still be in their position throughout the
investigation. Generally there is some kind of district policy
such that they may be on administrative leave or something like
that. It depends on the actual allegation. It's more of a final
step in the process and as such, it's "kind of a formal
situation." The director, Patricia Truman, makes sure they have
all the necessary documentation and decisions are not made
lightly.
In some situations the teacher or administrator has been removed
from the position and revoking the certificate is a means of
making sure they don't turn around and get into another
educational employment situation with the ability to do the same
thing again.
8:14:32 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked if transgressions, like a DWI, require
automatic license revocation.
MS. EXE answered yes, but she couldn't speak directly to the
DWI.
8:15:05 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked if their meetings are open to the public or
if they are confidential because of the personnel actions.
MS. EXE answered that part of them are open to the public; they
go into executive session for personnel reasons. However, the
public meeting is taped recorded and members of the public have
attended.
She said one issue was brought forth about hiring times and the
windows in which a teacher can sign a contract and then choose
to renege on by a school district's HR department. The
commission changed its brochure a little bit because of that.
8:16:55 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked for an example of a contractual obligation
that the board would deal with.
MS. EXE answered that "it's kind of the dark-side of education."
They have dealt with pornography on school computers, for
instance or educators being involved with students; it's
anything that is not ethically appropriate.
8:18:21 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said he understood the ethical part, but he was
curious about what type of contractual relationships they deal
with.
MS. EXE answered that anyone affiliated with education -
parents, community members - if they feel that a behavior or an
action on the part of the educator who has the certificate, they
can a complaint to the commission at which time the director
would investigate and follow through on it. She said the state
of Alaska and the commission have a complaint filing process;
the complaints are investigated and, if the situation requires,
the person's certification can be revoked.
8:20:07 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked what the appeal process is.
MS. EXE answered that she had been through the appeal process
once and at that time, they used the Professional Teaching
Practice Commission's lawyer and there was a hearing. The
teacher attended the commission's meetings and served somewhat
like a jury listening to both sides and made a recommendation.
8:21:08 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked once the commission makes its decision
what the next step is if someone disagrees with it.
MS. EXE answered when the commission makes a decision, it goes
to the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) and
the certification is revoked. She had not been involved with
anything beyond that.
SENATOR FRENCH guessed that every citizen has a right to appeal
to Superior Court. He said he would look it up.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS agreed.
8:22:18 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS, finding no further questions or objections,
announced that the Senate Education Committee would forward Ms.
Exe's name onto a joint session of the legislature for
consideration adding that this did not reflect any intent by any
of the members to vote for or against her confirmation.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS welcomed Mr. Pondolfino to the committee and
asked him why he was interested in continuing to serve on the
Professional Teaching Practices Commission.
8:23:05 AM
LOUIS PONDOLFINO, Principal, King Career Center, Anchorage,
Alaska, said prior to working there, he was principal for seven
years at Service High School. Before that, he was an assistant
at East High School for two years; prior to that he spent 10
years in the classroom at three different schools. Prior to
that he was a blue-collar worker in Nome learning how to build
houses and he worked a little bit for the Alaska Gold Company.
He also spent four or five memorable months working for Peco
Alaska on a project in Prince William Sound.
MR. PONDOLFINO said he moved up from New York in 1982 when he
graduated from undergraduate school in West Virginia. He was
interested in serving on the commission again, because as a
professional it's their obligation and duty to give back to the
profession and to oversee their membership to make sure they are
performing as professionals and that any ethical lapse of
judgment or contractual violation is addressed appropriately. He
said it had been a pleasure working with the other eight members
of the commission who are folks across the state, another added
benefit, especially working with Patricia Truman, the Executive
Director and former Alaska Teacher of the Year. She is a
consummate professional and does a thorough job investigating
cases before they are brought before the commission.
8:25:54 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER said that Service High School missed him and that
he appreciated Mr. Pondolfino offering his time and energy for
the commission. He was a good example of the right type of
person they want on it. He asked if he was filling the role of
the principal on the commission.
MR. PONDOLFINO answered that was correct.
CO-CHAIR MEYER noted this was his second term and asked during
his first term if any teaching certificates were revoked and why
that happened.
8:27:02 AM
MR. PONDOLFINO answered that he had to recuse himself from his
very first meeting on the commission, because there was an
assistant principal whose certification was revoked for moral
turpitude and criminal activity. He had to deal with theft of
district equipment and gambling for which he was arrested and
convicted.
He explained there are different levels of sanctions: a
reprimand, a one-year suspension, a suspension for life or a
revocation. The latter two have the same effect; one is a little
bit stronger administrative action. He said suspensions for life
are accepted if the teacher or certificated person admits to
his/her inability to perform the duties in the profession and
hold to its high standards and they have committed a very
serious ethical lapse.
He said the criminal case last year in Anchorage involved a
teacher who had a sexual relationship with one or more students,
who was arrested and convicted and surrendered his certificate
for life; they accepted that.
MR. PONDOLFINO said their executive director, Patricia Truman,
investigates all the cases and makes recommendations and then
brings those before the commission for its consideration. If
there is any disagreement either by the certificated member with
her decision or by commission members, they would have a hearing
with the one being sanctioned or they could, as a body, overturn
her recommendation.
MR. PONDOLFINO said most often they hear breach of contract
issues; it happens very frequently, more so in Alaska than in
the Lower 48, because young teachers come up here and the
remoteness and homesickness gets to them, and they forget that
they are under contract or don't hold it to the standards they
ought to. Walking away from their contract leads to suspension
of their certificate for one year, which goes on a national
database. If districts in other states look at it, they will see
that the candidate had their license suspended.
8:30:24 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked if all states participate in the national
database. He was concerned that a teacher could have their
license revoked in Idaho and then they come up to Alaska and try
to get a teaching job. Would we know that?
MR. PONDOLFINO answered yes; before the department grants
certification to any candidate, they check the national
database.
8:31:28 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked if he deals primarily with the individual
contracts or issues that arise based on the school district
contracts with the Education Association or some other entity
that they deal with.
8:31:55 AM
MR. PONDOLFINO asked if he was talking about breach of
contracts.
CO-CHAIR THOMAS answered yes.
MR. PONDOLFINO explained that Alaska statute talks about the
contractual obligation of the teacher. In the Anchorage school
district, and most others', teachers actually sign yearly
contracts. The statute says that a teacher is assumed under
contract if they have not been dismissed, laid off or whatever
by the end of the school year. The PTPC clarified it to say if a
teacher on June 30 has not been released or has not resigned
from their contract, they are assumed under contract for the
following school year. So, if sometime in July or August a
teacher finds an opportunity in some other state, they will be
sanctioned, because they are under obligation to the state of
Alaska for the following year.
He explained that it seems harsh, but the fact of the matter is
that Alaska doesn't have a really highly qualified wait list of
teachers waiting in the wings to come up to Alaska. In order to
get the best teachers it's important to look for them early
before they secure positions elsewhere. That is incidentally,
one of the reasons forward funding is so important, he added.
8:34:39 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS asked him to explain the commission's voting
process.
8:35:12 AM
MR. PONDOLFINO answered that the commission uses a roll call for
each sanction that involves at least a suspension; it is a
majority vote. But they work and deliberate until they can gain
consensus for the most part. There may have been one or two 8:1
votes, but mostly they are unanimous decisions after
deliberations and discussions.
8:35:58 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS thanked him for his testimony and finding no
objection, announced that Mr. Pondolfino's name would be
forwarded to the joint session of the legislature for
confirmation. This did not reflect any intent by any of the
members to vote for or against the confirmation of the nominee
during any further sessions.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING-UA BOARD OF REGENTS
CONFIRMATION HEARING-UA BOARD OF REGENTS
8:36:41 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS invited Mari Freitag from Fairbanks forward to
comment on her appointment to the University of Alaska (UA)
Board of Regents.
8:36:49 AM
MARI FREITAG, UA Board of Regents nominee Fairbanks, Alaska,
said she was born and raised in Ketchikan and graduated in 2008
from Ketchikan High School. She moved up to Fairbanks and has
lived there for four years. She will graduate next spring with a
degree in political science with a minor in justice. She plans
on going to law school after that and she will return to Alaska.
8:38:36 AM
MS. FREITAG said she first became involved with student
governance in her freshman year when she became a student
senator with the Associated Students of the University of Alaska
Fairbanks (UAF). She was a senator for two years and was elected
vice president. She was then elected president last spring and
is currently serving in that capacity.
She said she was exposed to statewide university student
government governance in 2010 through the Coalition of Student
Leaders and that is when she started attending Board of Regents
meetings. She learned of the opportunity to become to student
regent and was elected as one of the two candidates that would
be forwarded from UAF to the governor's candidate pool. She was
appointed last May.
Since she has been on the Board, she has found it to be
incredibly rewarding to be able to represent over 34,000
students, because it is such a diverse population. She has
learned a lot about how incredibly complex the university
institution is; it is an experience she wouldn't have gotten
anywhere else. One of the things she likes about it most is
being able to return back to the Coalition of Student Leaders
and the ASUAF and talk to them about what is going on within the
university and help them better understand how the university
works and how they can forward their goals.
8:39:10 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS thanked her and noted that the Board of Regents
is comprised of 11 members who each serve an eight-year term;
but the student regent serves a two-year term. The board was
established by the Alaska Constitution that is responsible for
the University of Alaska Policy and Management through the
university president. He said it has two staff, one is Tim
Lamkin with the Office of Senator Stevens and the other is Joe
Hardenbrook with his [Senator Thomas'] office.
8:39:54 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked if she found that her K-12 education in
Alaska, high school in particular, adequately prepared her for
college or did she think academic standards needed to be raised.
8:41:08 AM
MS. FREITAG answered that she felt she was adequately prepared.
She took a fairly rigorous class load and quite a few AP
advanced placement classes. Her AP English, Composition and
Literature classes contributed the most to her preparation for
further education. She felt if she hadn't taken those classes
and had taken less rigorous classes, things wouldn't have turned
out the same.
8:42:15 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER said her GPA was over 4.0, but that was probably
because of the AP classes. But then he noticed it had gone to
2.9 at UAF, and commented that it must be a whole lot harder at
the collegiate level.
MS. FREITAG said she had an explanation for that. She started
her degree program with biochemistry and then realized she
wanted to be a lawyer. So she changed course and most of the
chemistry classes contributed to the 2.9. Her GPA has actually
risen about .3 since she has been on the board. She made the
Dean's list last spring and the Chancellor's list last fall. She
plans on making the Chancellor's list again in the spring.
8:43:29 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked if she felt that she had received adequate
college counseling as far as what classes to take to graduate in
four years.
MS. FREITAG answered that she will graduate in five years
because she changed majors twice, but she had an excellent
advisor since she switched to the Political Science Department.
She said it's not the case for every student, because all
departments are different. She actually needs 12 more credits
for her degree, but she is extending it more so that she can
spend two full years on the Board.
She said that she and the Coalition of Student Leaders, along
with the president and the Board, have been focused on improving
career counseling.
8:45:29 AM
CO-CHAIR MEYER asked as a Student Regent if she had one burning
issue she wanted to bring forward on behalf of the students to
the Regents.
MS. FREITAG answered that she is not the type to bring radical
change to an institution. She likes to focus on things she knows
she can accomplish while on the Board, like increasing tuition
issues. She wants to make sure that the changes needed in
advising come out of the money that is put into it, because
there is a difference between money going into something and
really identifying what would make the biggest difference for
students.
8:47:23 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked what the Board's most difficult issue has
been so far.
MS. FREITAG answered that she hadn't encountered anything "super
difficult," but she anticipated that the upcoming tuition fight
would be the most difficult. Personally, she has had to learn
how to survive executive sessions.
8:48:52 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked if the board had any votes that were not
unanimous.
MS. FREITAG answered yes, a few; one was when they passed their
budget request last November. She added that she hadn't gone
through an entire meeting yet where every vote was unanimous.
8:49:31 AM
SENATOR FRENCH asked on the tuition issue if she thought the
legislature was doing a sufficient job of helping young Alaskans
pay for college.
MS. FREITAG answered that the scholarship programs like the
Alaska Performance Scholarship and the Alaska Advantage Grant
Programs are very important to students. They help students very
directly and need to be continued at whatever capacity possible.
She didn't want to pass judgment on how the legislature was
doing, but she thought passing something like HB 272 would
hugely beneficial to the state as well, as it would encourage
students to come back and decrease the "brain drain."
8:51:02 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said the university budget is closely
scrutinized in the legislature and asked if there was anything
she could do in her role on the board to convince the
legislature that the money is being spent properly or
accomplishing its purpose.
MS. FREITAG answered that she thought the greatest way to
accomplish that was just through transparency and explaining
openly where the money is going and how the program is being
implemented, and she is always willing to do that.
8:51:54 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS said usually the criticism surrounds new
programs and expanded programs on an annual basis. He asked what
she thought about the concept of evolution as they move forward
adding new classes and programs and letting others go.
MS. FREITAG answered that the provost looks closely at
enrollment and demand, and she knew there would be a lot of
"cleaning house" very soon. Ultimately, deletion of programs
comes to the Board and if it's something she knows is really
important to students, she would say something.
8:53:34 AM
SENATOR DAVIS thanked her for coming forward saying she was
delighted that she would be serving on the Board.
8:54:06 AM
CO-CHAIR THOMAS thanked her for her willingness to serve and
finding no objection, announced that the Senate Education
Committee would forward Ms. Freitag's name on to a joint session
of the legislature for consideration. This did not reflect any
intent by any of the members to vote for or against the
confirmation of the nominee during any further sessions.
8:55:00 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Co-Chair Thomas adjourned the Senate Education Committee meeting
at 8:55 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| EDUhandbook.pdf |
SEDC 3/16/2012 8:00:00 AM |
Professional Teaching Practices Commission Handbook |
| UA Board of Regents Bylaws.pdf |
SEDC 3/16/2012 8:00:00 AM |
UA Board of Regents Bylaws |
| Confirmation - Resumes.pdf |
SEDC 3/16/2012 8:00:00 AM |
Confirmations - Nominee Resumes |