Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
02/26/2021 09:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: Status Update from District and K-12 Building Leaders | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 26, 2021
9:02 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Senator Roger Holland, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Senator Shelley Hughes
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Tom Begich via teleconference
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
Representative Harriet Drummond, Co-Chair via teleconference
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair via teleconference
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky via teleconference
Representative Grier Hopkins via teleconference
Representative Mike Prax via teleconference
Representative Mike Cronk via teleconference
Representative Ronald Gillham
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: STATUS UPDATE FROM DISTRICT AND K-12 BUILDING
LEADERS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director
Alaska Council of School Administrators
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced the presentation by members of
the Alaska Council of School Administrators.
KERRY BOYD, President
Alaska Superintendents Association;
Superintendent
Yukon-Koyukuk School District
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a status update as part of the Alaska
Council of School Administrators.
ROBIN JONES, President
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals;
Principal
Chief Ivan Blunka School
New Stuyahok, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a status update as part of the Alaska
Council of School Administrators.
JENNIFER RINALDI, President
Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals;
Principal
Willow Elementary School and Bryozova K-12
Willow, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a status update as part of the Alaska
Council of School Administrators.
ANDY RATLIFF, President-Elect
Alaska Association of School Business Officials;
Senior Director
Office of Management and Budget
Anchorage School District
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a status update as part of the Alaska
Council of School Administrators.
SAM JORDAN, Grants Administrator and Outreach
Alaska Staff Development Network
Alaska Council of School Administrators
Mat-Su, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a status update as part of the Alaska
Council of School Administrators.
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:02:29 AM
CHAIR ROGER HOLLAND called the joint meeting of the Senate and
House Education Standing Committees to order at 9:02 a.m.
Present at the call to order were Senators Stevens, Hughes, and
Chair Holland. Senator Micciche joined shortly thereafter, and
Senator Begich joined via teleconference during the course of
the meeting. House members present were Representatives Gillham
and via teleconference Hopkins, Cronk, and Co-Chairs Drummond
and Story. Representatives Zulkosky and Prax joined via
teleconference during the course of the meeting.
^PRESENTATION: STATUS UPDATE FROM DISTRICT AND K-12 BUILDING
LEADERS
PRESENTATION: STATUS UPDATE FROM DISTRICT AND K-12 BUILDING
9:06:22 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND announced the presentation Status Update from
District and K-12 Building Leaders by Dr. Lisa Parady, Executive
Director of Alaska Council of School Administrators.
9:06:33 AM
LISA SKILES PARADY, Ph.D., Executive Director, Alaska Council of
School Administrators, Juneau, Alaska, said the Alaska Council
of School Administrators (ACSA) is a private, nonprofit
organization that represents the Alaska Superintendents
Association, Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals,
Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals, and the
Alaska Association of School Business Officials and the host of
school administrators serving Alaska students every day. ACSA is
also the parent organization of the Alaska Staff Development
Network (ASDN). Each person today will describe their respective
organization.
DR. PARADY said that educators immediately came together to
collaborate on how to respond to the needs of students and
communities during the pandemic. ACSA has hosted weekly meetings
of superintendents, principals, school business officials, and
education leaders from across the state. She thanked Chief
Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink and Dr. Olsen from the Department
of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for providing updates and
Department of Education Commissioner Johnson for his stalwart
and ongoing support to ACSA and all its members.
DR. PARADY presented slide 5 and called attention to the ACSA
joint position statements. Members during the presentation will
refer to different sections of the statements. ACSA is a
collective voice and arrived at these priorities after months of
work to find consensus about what is most important to education
in Alaska each year.
9:11:53 AM
KERRY BOYD, President, Alaska Superintendents Association;
Superintendent, Yukon-Koyukuk School District, Fairbanks,
Alaska, said it has been a challenging year. As Alaska
Superintendents Association (ASA) president, she picked out the
vision statement, "Leading together for Alaska's students."
Alaska is one large state and while it is tight knit, it is 54
school districts stretched out over vast and diverse regions
with diverse needs. Nineteen are Rural Education Attendance
Areas (REAAs). With all their differences, ASA still comes
together weekly or every other week to discuss how to best serve
students in Alaska
MS. BOYD presented slide 8, Alaska schools by the numbers. The
school districts are often the largest employers in these
communities. Alaska has over 132,000 students over 20 percent of
whom are enrolled in correspondence. There are 455 school
facilities and nearly half are more than 40 years old with a
backlog of maintenance needs. There are over 7,500 teachers with
chronic turnover. In the last month she has lost four teachers.
That is a lot when schools have two or three teachers.
9:15:17 AM
SENATOR MICCICHE said he is less focused on the number of school
districts than whether the districts are logically and
effectively organized. He asked her perspective of the
organization of the districts compared to other states
MS. BOYD replied that she will follow up with a response. She
related that she has been working with the state to organize
Rampart School from Yukon Flats into her district because
students have the same cultural beliefs and background. She
opined that that is something to look at.
9:17:17 AM
SENATOR HUGHES asked for the number of administrators among all
the school districts who have no classroom instruction duty.
MS. BOYD replied that she would follow up with the information.
CHAIR HOLLAND recognized that Representative Zulkosky joined the
meeting virtually.
MS. BOYD presented a list on slide 9 to illustrate the volume of
work that has gone on behind the scenes during the pandemic.
This has been her most challenging year as superintendent. It
has actually been more difficult with schools closed. The work
doubled. She doesn't know how the recent closure in the Capitol
has affected legislative work in terms of virtual meetings, but
teachers have had to do this since March. It has been very
disruptive but things are looking brighter with vaccinations.
MS. BOYD displayed on slide 10 the results of a recent
superintendent survey on priorities and barriers for student
achievement. The largest priorities are teacher retention and
literacy and the greatest barriers are teacher retention,
support for teachers, limited bandwidth, and early learning
gaps. Remote learning is noted as a hindrance to student
achievement. All are anticipating that addressing the
consequences of the pandemic will be long term. On the bright
side, districts are planning on using what they learned. She has
heard from colleagues that many students are excelling in the
virtual environment.
9:20:38 AM
MS. BOYD presented slide 11 showing the COVID-19 Hold Harmless
Funding for FY21 joint position statement. Early in the pandemic
ACSA anticipated an impact on enrollment as families struggled
to work from home and home school their children. The slide read
as follows:
October student enrollment numbers are the biggest
determinant of state revenue for districts in Alaska.
COVID-19 has caused major enrollment disruptions. Current
Hold Harmless statutes provide some relief to districts for
enrollment losses in neighborhood brick and mortar schools,
but Hold Harmless does not provide protection for migration
to homeschool or loss of intensive needs students. ACSA
supports legislative action that would provide FY21 Hold
Harmless funding at 100% for the entire Foundation Formula
based on FY20 OASIS enrollment counts for districts with
decreased brick and mortar enrollment. This will allow
districts to honor employment contracts and commitments
made for FY21.
MS. BOYD displayed an ACSA letter to the commissioner on slide
12. She said he has been responsive to the letter and expressed
strong support for using the November 2019 estimated student
count data to determine the amount of student aid for FY2021.
MS. BOYD noted that seven districts might be in a critical
position due to funding.
9:22:06 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY recognized that Representative Prax had joined
the meeting remotely and Chair Holland recognized that Senator
Begich had joined remotely as well.
MS. BOYD displayed shifting enrollment numbers on slide 13.
Typically as a superintendent she projects student enrollment
fairly closely. That is not the case this year for most
districts. Some districts were worried about lost enrollment
while other districts with correspondence programs struggled to
find the staff and resources to keep up with the surge in
enrollment. On average, districts have seen a decrease of 9.41
in Average Daily Membership. The challenge is anticipating what
families will choose to do in the fall. Superintendents are
collaborating about making enrollment projections but they won't
know until fall. Shifting enrollment is another variable.
Districts expect most students to return to brick-and-mortar
schools with a slight decrease but no cost savings.
MS. BOYD spoke to the importance of stabilizing school districts
on slide 14. The pandemic is temporary but the impact is
lasting. Future funding must consider the cost of recovery. The
current statute is not sufficient to cover losses that many
districts face. The cost of turnover alone is great. Using the
November 2019 estimated student count data will still not meet
all of the increased costs to stabilize budgets. It is not just
about funding. It is about students and what districts need to
provide for them, such as summer school, extended learning
opportunities, and academies.
MS. BOYD showed a composite of superintendents from 2009/2010 on
slide 15. She is the only one remaining. The state is losing
superintendents at a fast rate. She could tell the committee why
the state is losing them, but she would rather talk about
solutions.
9:26:30 AM
MS. BOYD said that when she first became a superintendent, the
state paid for a mentor for one year, which was wonderful. That
funding stopped and ACSA has taken over providing mentors for
the last five years. The statistics show that educators from
outside the state do not stay long. ACSA has been offering
programs to mentor Alaskan educators.
MS. BOYD said stable, predictable funding is important. It
improves efficiency, keeps the focus on student achievement, and
districts know what they are working with. She doesn't have to
have three to five plans. When she knows her budget, she can
sign contracts, not pink slips.
MS. BOYD said that ACS has been creating a pipeline to address
some of the chronic turnover. It is a crisis across the nation,
but is more prevalent in Alaska. ACSA has a variety of programs
to help superintendents. So far this year, thirteen
superintendents are leaving, but with the pipeline there will be
new superintendents and principals.
9:29:07 AM
MS. BOYD presented the joint position statement on school
safety:
ACSA advocates for safe and secure schools as a catalyst
for the prevention of school crime and violence. ACSA
supports improving the safety and well-being of our
students knowing this is critical to increasing student
achievement. ACSA supports providing school communities and
their school safety partners with quality information,
resources, consultation, and training services. School
safety is developed through maintaining effective, positive
relationships among students, staff, communities, and
tribes responding to local needs.
ACSA supports full funding for law enforcement, Village
Public Safety Officers, and state troopers. School
districts should have access to these public safety
supports.
ACSA supports funding through the Department of Education
and Early Development's (DEED) school construction process
for construction and modifications to existing school
district facilities in order to provide students a safe and
healthy learning environment. ACSA urges that all safety
improvements should be made a priority.
MS. BOYD reported that school construction and major maintenance
is $2.3 billion. The average building is 39 years old, and 59
buildings are over 60 years old.
MS. BOYD displayed a table on slide 21 from the Alaska Municipal
League showing that the state has funded 8.6 percent of
requested projects, 118 of 1,366. This the only list that REAAs
can use; it is the only funding source. Every two years
districts are required to resubmit an application. It can cost
$20-$30,000 or more to update applications. The backlog of
maintenance is a whole state problem. This needs to be looked at
for the safety of students.
9:31:20 AM
MS. BOYD shared the joint statement on career and technical
education. Some districts are doing well with career and
technical education; others need more help. There have been
different funding sources over the years. Her members agree with
career and technical education as one of the priorities of the
Alaska Education Challenge.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) for both rural and
urban schools is critical to high academic standards and
Alaska's economic growth and stability. Collaboration
through professional learning with DEED, the Department of
Labor & Workforce Development, and the University of Alaska
with educators and industry-based professionals is needed
for the academic integration of rigorous and relevant
curriculum. ACSA fully supports voluntary internships that
prepare students for high-earning, high-demand jobs, as
well as dual credit offerings that provide opportunities to
obtain an occupational certification or credential. These
programs give students the opportunity to build future-
ready skills. The alignment of CTE programs to meet the
needs of local, tribal, regional, and state labor markets
through this collaboration is also important for improving
on-time graduation rates, higher career earnings, and
decreasing dropout percentages.
9:33:54 AM
ROBIN JONES, President, Alaska Association of Secondary School
Principals; Principal, Chief Ivan Blunka School, New Stuyahok,
Alaska, said the theme of her presidency of the Alaska
Association of Secondary School Principals has been "creating
meaningful connections through unity in leadership." She will
describe the work she has done in her school district to
illustrate that.
MS. JONES said she has served in the same district for 12 years.
Early on she realized she had to immerse herself in community
before she could make a difference in the lives of her students,
and she helps her staff connect in the same way.
MS. JONES said a Pew Research study shows that principals are
the most trusted leaders in the country's most prominent
institutions. Public trust is an asset and provides principals a
platform of credibility. That trust puts principals in a better
position to advocate for all students.
MS. JONES said that with a 38 percent turnover rate for
principals and 36 percent for teachers in rural-remote Alaska,
communities have developed a deep distrust of schools,
principals, and teachers. This makes teacher retention efforts
more important than ever.
MS. JONES said that principals affect student learning through
their influence over schools, support of staff, and work to
maintain a positive culture and climate. The principal's ability
to create positive work conditions and collaborative learning
environments play a critical role in attracting and retaining
teachers. Teachers cite principal support as one of the most
important factors in their decisions to stay in a school or
their professions. When principals leave, the instability
creates a loss of shared purpose and trust. A change in
leadership can derail school improvement initiatives, make it
difficult to build school capacity, and lower student
achievement. When many schools in the nation are struggling to
recruit and keep teachers, the leadership of a strong principal
takes on added importance for student success.
9:38:00 AM
MS. JONES said that is important to understand equity issues
that affect turnover and student achievement. Despite the
incredible support of legislators in the past to increase
bandwidth in underserved areas, Alaska still has communities
that do not have infrastructure to support the 25 mbps of
download provided by the Broadband Assistance Grant (BAG) and do
not have access to home internet services. The sudden shift to
virtual learning has highlighted the need for equitable access
to the digital world both inside and outside the school
environment. In Southwest Region School District, despite
extraordinary effort to set up an intranet system, it still does
not have the infrastructure for online learning. Also, there is
no such thing as unlimited internet in rural Alaska. The data
caps make online learning virtually impossible. The average cost
of a 60 gigabytes home plan is $199.99 per month. Even when free
in-home internet was provided in the spring, the sudden increase
in use created a slower connection for everyone. Southwest
Region often has unreliable cell phone coverage, so the district
cannot even rely on cellular service to connect to students and
parents. The Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
and affiliate associations have been joining forces to improve
retention and close the opportunity gap for students across
Alaska.
9:39:57 AM
MS. JONES presented the following joint position statements:
Preparing, Attracting, and Retaining Qualified Educators
Retaining effective educators and leaders is essential to
increasing student achievement and eliminating academic
disparity for all of Alaska's students. ACSA strongly
encourages the development of comprehensive statewide
programs to prepare, attract, and retain high quality,
diverse educators and professionals. ACSA further
recommends strengthening statewide and national recruiting
efforts along with a renewed commitment to growing our own
educators, teachers, principals, and superintendents.
The national teacher shortage compounds our need to fund a
robust educator pipeline with the University of Alaska.
ACSA strongly supports one unified and aligned University
of Alaska College of Education. Exploring innovative
alternative pathways is paramount to attracting high
quality educators to the state and the education profession
to address Alaska's unique circumstances. A nationally
competitive state retirement system is imperative for
attracting and retaining effective educators and leaders.
Increasing Bandwidth in Under-Served Areas
It is critical that we recognize the ongoing and increasing
need for Alaska's students, educators, and leaders to have
equitable access to the digital world both inside and
outside of the school environment. Access to modern
technology in order to transform learning, create
efficiencies, provide online health services, and keep pace
with peers globally is especially essential in rural and
under-served communities where infrastructure is extremely
limited or non-existent.
ACSA supports continuing the Broadband Assistance Grant
(BAG) in order to ensure all schools are able to access a
minimum of 25 megabits of download per second as this
leverages federal E-Rate funds up to a 9:1 match. ACSA also
supports efforts by the legislature to increase innovative
infrastructure capacity through public/private partnerships
and statewide consortiums in an effort to provide all
communities with equitable access to affordable, reliable,
and high-speed internet.
9:40:38 AM
MS. JONES reported that almost 60,000 students lack bandwidth
for digital learning.
MS. JONES said statewide leadership development programs were
cut because of funding, but with partnerships of many Alaska
organizations, the Alaska School Leadership Academy provides
early career principals with a mentor and collegial cohort. Over
three years, the academy has supported principals from 64
schools. She has served as a mentor coach to eight new
principals.
9:43:18 AM
MS. JONES said that instead of becoming a turnover statistic,
she made an ongoing commitment to serve as an educator and
leader in rural Alaska for almost 13 years. At the school level,
principals are the second most important factor associated with
student achievement, right after teachers. Principal turnover
can result in a decrease in student achievement. The average
cost of teacher turnover is $20,000 and an astonishing $75,000
for each principal turnover. Her site has had many years of
almost 100 percent retention of a team with many leadership and
educator awards, but instead of investing in these exceptional
educators, public education funds continually are on the
chopping block and educators are being asked to do more and more
with less and less.
MS. JONES said that each staff member wears so many hats. They
are counselors, nurses, social workers, law enforcement agents,
and mental health providers to students who come to them broken
with some of the highest rates of trauma and Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACEs) in places lacking adequate public safety
supports and health services. Each of her teachers goes above
and beyond every day with extremely limited resources and
training to be everything for these children and meet their
unique needs while making them feel safe and helping them heal.
Her team is stronger because of collegiality, relational trust
and institutional knowledge established by these dedicated
educators who are devoted to increasing student achievement,
preserving culture, closing gaps, and providing students every
opportunity to be successful. Sadly, this story is the
exception, not the rule. One hundred percent of certified staff,
including her, fall into the Tier III, defined contribution
retirement system, with no access to social security and no
safety in their future. Many are trying to model what has been
accomplished in New Stuyahok, but until education funding is
prioritized, until a more competitive retirement system is made
available, until school safety measures along with social,
emotional, mental health supports are in place, until students
have access to equitable opportunities regardless of where they
live, while she will just stand to lose exceptional educators
from her team every year, it is the students and communities who
thrive and rely on this consistency who will suffer the most.
She asked legislators to support any legislation that helps
create these meaningful connections through unity in leadership.
9:47:00 AM
JENNIFER RINALDI, President, Alaska Association of Elementary
School Principals; Principal, Willow Elementary School and
Bryozova K-12 Willow, Alaska, described the structure and
mission of the Alaska Association of Elementary School
Principals, which has increased membership this year. Before
talking about two important education issues, she wants to share
two beliefs that have helped guide her when challenges arise as
an administrator. The first is that an ounce of prevention is
worth a pound of cure. By approaching issues from a proactive
perspective, an incredible latitude is gained when it is
necessary to course correct. This is preferable to operating in
a reactive mode where in education, the effects can last for
generations. The second is that when problems occur, it is
important to be solution driven. Her goal today is to share
challenges and also solutions.
9:50:18 AM
MS. RINALDI said the information on slide 44 presents a
troubling picture of the social, emotional, and mental health of
youth. The rate of child maltreatment and suicide is quite high.
Educators are gaining a deeper understanding of ACEs and its
long-term effects. When she began her career in education almost
20 years ago, the term ACEs was not widely known. Now she
frequently conducts staff trainings on ACEs. The good news is
that people with high ACEs numbers can recover and preventing
ACEs and building resilience in Alaskans who have experienced
them has the potential to pay enormous dividends.
9:50:54 AM
MS. RINALDI presented a graph on slide 46 showing more than half
of young Alaskans have experienced one or more ACEs prior to the
age of 12. This data is more than 10 years old. It would be
surprising if these numbers have decreased. A study from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated the average
childhood cost of nonfatal child maltreatment to be $48,375 per
victim. This has an impact on classrooms and teachers who
struggle with limited resources, training, and time to provide
individualized assistance to students. Buildings are grossly
understaffed for mental health supports. Many do not have
adequate counseling staff. The state must realize children are
facing crises at critical levels, and teachers are overwhelmed
and frustrated with the expectation that they provide services
that they don't have the expertise or adequate time for.
MS. RINALDI presented ACSA solutions on slide 47 for challenges
students face from ACEs. She shared a story about the efforts of
a social worker to help a student dealing with suicide ideation.
With ongoing behavioral health services, the student was able to
continue attending school. Teachers don't have time for this
type of case management, nor is it their role. By allocating
funding to support students when they are first experiencing
challenges, the state is ultimately saving money and lives.
9:56:05 AM
MS. RINALDI presented the joint position statement on social,
emotional, and mental health on slide 48:
Alaska's students endure extremely high rates of trauma and
adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), reflected in Alaska
having the highest rate of teen suicide attempts in the
nation.
ACSA urges the state to provide funding and resources so
schools can partner with local communities to implement
comprehensive, culturally responsive, school-based mental
health programs to foster the health and development of
students.
ACSA supports targeted funding to enable schools to
recruit, retain, and increase students' access to school
counselors, school social workers, school psychologists,
nurses, and mental health specialists and to provide
additional professional development for all staff to meet
the increasing and diverse needs of all students.
MS. RINALDI said that when the youngest Alaskans have access to
quality pre-K programs, there are many numerous returns. Early
intervention in instruction is one of best predictors of student
achievement:
MS. RINALDI displayed a graph on slide 50 showing how early
childhood programs pay dividends for years. She presented on
slide 51 the joint position statement on early childhood
education:
According to the 2019 Alaska Developmental Profile, nearly
70% of Alaska's students enter kindergarten lacking
foundational preparation for learning. ACSA supports the
definition of elementary education to include Pre-K, thus
ensuring equitable access to fully funded, sustainable,
birth to age five learning programs. This provides a
foundation of critical social, emotional, and cognitive
instruction to students. Research clearly demonstrates
early intervention and instruction is one of the best ways
to decrease opportunity gaps across all demographics and
create the greatest opportunity for all students to read
proficiently by third grade and minimize the dropout rate.
ACSA supports adequate early childhood education and Pre-K
funding as part of the base student allocation.
MS. RINALDI said that early childhood education and social,
emotional, and mental health supports are closely intertwined
and both critical components for student success. Students are
facing more challenges, and education and education funding
cannot remain the same. There is so much to be proud of in the
state. Many are working tirelessly for the success of the
youngest Alaskans, but the state has work to do to. Goals will
not be met by assigning blame to one stakeholder group, but by
proactively working together to address the state's challenges
by identifying resources and providing the supports so greatly
needed in schools today.
9:59:14 AM
ANDY RATLIFF, President-Elect, Alaska Association of School
Business Officials, Senior Director, Office of Management and
Budget, Anchorage School District, Anchorage, Alaska, said that
because it is hard to find governmental accountants, the Alaska
Association of School Business Officials (ALASBO) has taken a
grow-your-own approach to fill these positions. ALASBO has an
institute and mentoring program to train people. This includes
jobs in finance, payroll, budgeting, transportation, and
facilities. The finance section of the Department of Education
and Early Development (DEED) has been a great asset.
MR. RATLIFF on slide 56 presented the joint position statement
on priority funding for education.
The State of Alaska must provide timely, reliable, and
predictable revenue for schools, funding the actual cost of
education in all districts and providing full and equitable
funding for all initiatives, laws, and mandates that
require additional resources. Early notification of funding
and forward funding are crucial to sound financial
management, as well as recruitment and retention of quality
educators.
MR. RATLIFF said that in Anchorage the budget is prepared and
passed by the school board prior to March 1 in accordance with
the municipal charter. These budgets are usually prepared prior
to the legislature taking up a budget bill. Generally these
budgets have reductions because of inflationary pressures. If
any funding changes are made during the session, the district
will rework its budget. Even if the district receives additional
funding and can add back what was originally cut to balance the
budget, it is demoralizing for the affected staff and fosters
distrust among staff and community. Eliminating positions and
adding them back creates a crying wolf effect. Forward funding
would allow stability for staff and help districts recruit and
retain qualified educators.
MR. RATLIFF presented the revenue-enhanced fiscal plan
imperative joint position on slide 57. This is not to just
benefit education. It would benefit state departments and
communities that depend on state funding.
Alaska has made progress by cutting the budget and
restructuring the use of Permanent Fund earnings for
sustainable funding of both the Permanent Fund Dividend and
a portion of government services. State expenditures have
been cut by approximately 43% ($3.45 billion) excluding
dividends since FY13 when the current run of deficit
spending began.
Implementation of a long-term, multi-revenue fiscal plan
remains imperative to maximize the ability of districts to
meet student needs. Diversified revenue streams are
critical in the current fiscal climate to address the
remaining deficit and ensure the ability to fund service
increases associated with economic development, inflation,
and deferred maintenance capital requirements, while
maintaining the existing minimal reserves in the
Constitutional Budget Reserve. For the coming fiscal years,
the state legislature must consider options for new
revenue, such as new taxation (income, sales, education
head tax, etc.), changes in oil taxes, and further
restructuring of the Permanent Fund Dividend income stream.
ACSA opposes cost shifting state expenditure
responsibilities to local governments.
MR. RATLIFF reviewed how enrollment becomes the adjusted Average
Daily Membership turns into funding on slide 58.
MR. RATLIFF presented a graph on slide 59 showing how the state
spends education money. Seventy-five percent of funding goes to
instructional functions; 25 percent goes to total support
functions. This includes district administration and support,
school boards, business and HR functions, etc., the functions
that are outside of classrooms.
MR. RATLIFF presented a graph on slide 60 showing what is
included in the 75 percent of funding that goes to instructional
functions.
10:08:23 AM
MR. RATLIFF presented the joint position statement on healthcare
costs on slide 61:
Providing health insurance to our employees is essential
for retaining and recruiting high-quality staff who can
maximize student achievement. Controlling the cost of
health care for our essential workers is critical. We
encourage solutions to the long-term escalating costs of
health insurance in the state. We support exploration of
various mechanisms to decrease health care costs, including
such measures as: allowing employers to purchase health
insurance policies across state lines, controlling the cost
of medivacs, and promoting personal wellness and proactive
health care options.
MR. RATLIFF showed reasons why costs in Alaska are high on slide
62. They are among the most expensive in the nation, which is a
direct correlation between worker's compensation and healthcare
costs. The cost of liability insurance has risen. That is a
nationwide trend. It is very expensive and must be addressed.
Rural areas have high energy costs. Rural areas provide teacher
housing, and shipping and transportation are high. The Consumer
Price Index (CPI) increased by 15 percent from 2011 to 2020. He
displayed a map showing the cost differentials between Alaska
and the nation on slide 63.
10:11:40 AM
MR. RATLIFF displayed information from the Alaska Municipal
League on slide 64 showing state and local spending on education
adjusted for inflation since 2009.
MR. RATLIFF displayed the pencil chart from DEED on slide 65.
The chart shows the Base Student Allocation (BSA) since 2011;
there has been a 4.4 percent increase from 2011 to 2021. There
were years of funding provided outside of the BSA. The chart on
slide 66 shows the BSA adjusted for inflation from FY 11 to
FY21. The trend is downward. There has been a 12 percent decline
in purchasing power. The Anchorage School District staffing over
the same time period was reduced by 10 percent FTE (full-time
equivalent). It would have been more but the district used its
fund balance to keep it being a 12 percent decrease. The
district has found efficiencies in some areas, but nearly 90
percent of the budget goes to personnel.
MR. RATLIFF showed on slide 67 other funding issues are
transportation, which has not been adjusted since 2015, and bond
debt reimbursement, which is only for bonds passed prior to
2015, has shifted responsibilities to municipalities.
MR. RATLIFF concluded his portion of the presentation by showing
additional resources on slide 68 that may help legislators make
tough decisions.
10:16:24 AM
SAM JORDAN, Grants Administrator and Outreach, Alaska Staff
Development Network (ASDN), Alaska Council of School
Administrators, Mat-Su, Alaska, stated that outside of school
districts, ASDN is the largest provider of professional
development in Alaska. It is a statewide resource for K-12
professional development. ASDN provides educators multiple
pathways to refine and improve their instructional practice.
ASDN gives all educators opportunities to learn cutting edge,
innovative practices. He provided pertinent numbers about ASDN
on slide 71.
MR. JORDAN stated that ASDN has leveraged the power of
technology to reach and support educators for years, but in
March had to pivot to support educators as they moved into
remote teaching. ASDN offered 56 online workshops on new
practices and strategies. Everything was offered at no cost.
ASDN saw the creation of a supportive community of educators
focused on the demands of teaching during a pandemic. ASDN
repeated the model in the fall. It was one of the most
gratifying moments for ASDN as an organization.
10:20:07 AM
MR. JORDAN stated that ASDN hosts the Annual Effective
Instruction Conference each year; it brings the most important
voices in K-12 education to Alaska for the conference. The 2021
conference was virtual for the first time. It allowed educators
from some of the most remote schools to participate. With over
1,200 participants, it was the largest conference ever.
MR. JORDAN related that ASDN hosts the Alaska School Leadership
Institute at the end of each year. It targets supporting leaders
for small and rural schools. The institute this year will be
virtual and focus on rebounding from the pandemic.
MR. JORDAN identified ASDN as the lead professional learning
partner with multiple school districts. ASDN is the partner for
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate
Programs) grant. ASDN is in the third year of a partnership to
teach educators coding through code.org. Computer science jobs
in Alaska going to Alaskans starts with computer science
education in schools.
10:25:53 AM
MR. JORDAN stated that ASDN runs AkPLN, the Alaska Professional
Learning Network. More than 2,500 Alaskan educators have joined
the online platform. It allows people to connect around
curriculum and instruction and learn from each other
MR. JORDAN concluded his comments saying his second passion
project is ouralaskanschools.edublogs.org. It highlights amazing
things that have happened in education over the past two years.
10:26:40 AM
CHAIR HOLLAND thanked the presenters and advised that the
committee would submit questions and he would submit them to Dr.
Parady.
SENATOR MICCICHE expressed his hope to have a follow up during
which the presenters would respond to the questions the members
submit. He shared that he had at least nine questions.
10:27:33 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Holland adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
at 10:27 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| ACSA Presentation 2.26.21.pdf |
SEDC 2/26/2021 9:00:00 AM |