Legislature(2015 - 2016)BUTROVICH 205
03/31/2015 03:30 PM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB79 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 79 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 80 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 89 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 31, 2015
3:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Mike Dunleavy, Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins, Vice Chair
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Berta Gardner
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Gary Stevens
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 79
"An Act relating to reemployment of persons who retire under the
defined benefit plan of the teachers' retirement system."
- HEARD & HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 80
"An Act relating to the duties of the Department of Education
and Early Development; relating to educational standards and
assessments; relating to an educational standards and
assessments review committee; and providing for an effective
date."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
SENATE BILL NO. 89
"An Act relating to a parent's right to direct the education of
a child; and relating to questionnaires administered in
schools."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 79
SHORT TITLE: REEMPLOYMENT OF RETIRED TEACHERS & ADMIN
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) DUNLEAVY
03/18/15 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/18/15 (S) EDC, CRA
03/26/15 (S) EDC AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
03/26/15 (S) Heard & Held
03/26/15 (S) MINUTE(EDC)
03/31/15 (S) EDC AT 3:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
SHEILA PETERSON, Staff
Senator Dunleavy
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented SB 79 on behalf of the sponsor.
LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Education
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions related to SB 79.
MARY MCMAHON, President
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 79.
LINCOLN SAITO, Chief Operating Officer
North Slope Borough School District
Barrow, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 79.
DR. DEANA PARAMO, Superintendent
Mat-Su Borough School District
Palmer, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 79.
PETER HOEPHER, Member
Cordova School Board of Education
Cordova, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 79.
JIM HOLIEN, Superintendent
Klawock Schools
Klawock, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 79.
LISA PARADY, Executive Director
Alaska Council of School Administrators and
Alaska Superintendents Association
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 79.
DR. PJ FORD-SLACK
Interim Superintendent
Hoonah City Schools
Hoonah, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 79.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:31:26 PM
CHAIR MIKE DUNLEAVY called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Giessel, Huggins, Gardner and Chair
Dunleavy.
SB 79-REEMPLOYMENT OF RETIRED TEACHERS & ADMIN
3:31:50 PM
CHAIR DUNLEAVY announced the consideration of SB 79.
SENATOR HUGGINS moved to adopt the CS for SB 79, labeled 29-
LS0444\E, as the working document.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY objected for discussion purposes.
SHEILA PETERSON, Staff, Senator Dunleavy, Alaska State
Legislature, presented SB 79 on behalf of the sponsor. She
thanked the Division of Retirement and Benefits (DRB) for
working with the sponsor on the bill. She said a change
suggested by the Division has been incorporated into the bill
and is found on page 1, lines 7 and 8 in version E. It clarifies
that a member who retired under a defined benefits program or
under the defined contribution program is eligible to be rehired
under this provision. In lines 10-13 it changes the separation
between the retirement and the reemployment to one year, if you
are less than 62 years old, and three months, if you are over
62. This follows the guidelines of the IRS and is recommended by
the Division.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY removed his objection. There being no further
objection, version E was adopted.
SENATOR GARDNER asked to have Section 3 clarified. She inquired
if there is there any additional fiscal impact to the state or
the school district in hiring a retired teacher or
administrator.
MS. PETERSON explained that the Division is finalizing the
fiscal note and she doesn't have an exact answer to that
question now. The intent is to have the school district be able
to contract with a retired teacher or administrator at a lower
cost than if it were with an active employee.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY pointed out that the purpose of the bill is to
add a tool for school districts to enlarge their pool of
perspective educators with those who have had a lot of Alaskan
experience.
3:37:28 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS voiced concern about teachers who retired under
a retirement incentive. He also did not want to prevent new
teachers from being hired because experienced retirees were
being hired first.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY said a new teacher could bring a particular skill
at a particular time and a retiree could offer other skills at a
lower cost. The idea for the bill came from the Mentor Project -
for veteran teachers to help new teachers overcome inexperience
and become effective teachers.
SENATOR HUGGINS said it is a good idea, but the devil is in the
details. He shared a story about superintendents and the need
for more good ideas. He said he is skeptical of education
statistics.
3:44:34 PM
SENATOR GARDNER was considering unintended consequences of the
bill. She wondered if it would unintentionally squeeze the job
market for new teachers.
SENATOR GARDNER opined that the idea could be a boon for a small
community, but not for a bigger one.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY commented that education has a lot of rules, but
he likes to seek the possibilities. He expected feedback from
various groups.
3:47:19 PM
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if there are new teachers being educated
in our system that can't get jobs in Alaska.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY replied that some teachers apply for jobs, but
sometimes hiring profiles don't fit.
SENATOR GIESSEL was contemplating the concept that old teachers
were bumping out new ones.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY opined that that would not happen. The veterans
would be hired when a new teacher wouldn't fit the job
description; it would be a recruiting tool.
3:51:11 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS said education is an interesting culture. In
Mat-Su some teachers start out substituting or go to a less
desirable school in order to get hired. He suggested training
non-traditional professionals to be teachers.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY said more experienced people will know if they
want to go to a rural community. He mentioned a grant program
that trained people with Bachelor degrees to become teachers.
3:54:22 PM
LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Education,
answered questions related to SB 79. He said the grant program
was an alternate route teaching program called AKT-2.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked how many went through the program.
MR. MORSE thought there were 30 to 40 who did.
3:55:10 PM
MARY MCMAHON, President, Alaska Association of Secondary School
Principals, testified in support of SB 79. She said the bill
increases the pool of candidates to get the best teachers
possible. She did not see any concerns about rehiring retirees.
3:57:28 PM
LINCOLN SAITO, Chief Operating Officer, North Slope Borough
School District, testified in support of SB 79. He maintained
that the bill will not bump new teachers out of the system. He
stressed that the focus should be on the children - they deserve
the best education possible. He said the district is still
trying to get the best teachers for their kids while conserving
funds. He concluded that they do not have the selection of
teachers they used to have.
4:00:52 PM
DR. DEANA PARAMO, Superintendent, Mat-Su Borough School
District, testified in support of SB 79. She said their district
has been taking advantages of hiring retirees for part time and
temporary jobs. They provide expertise and needed support during
busy periods. This bill would allow for the unrestricted
reemployment of retirees. Most attractive is the potential
savings for school districts in terms of not having to provide
insurance and retirement benefits. Mat-Su embraces created
solutions and is encouraged by the benefits found in SB 79.
4:04:52 PM
PETER HOEPHER, Member, Cordova School Board of Education,
testified in support of SB 79. He related how their
superintendent left in July when no one was available and Rich
Carlson brought calm to the district. He gave an example of when
a teacher was hired that didn't work out. He noted that the pool
of applicants has dwindled over the years. He saw advantages in
SB 79 and agreed that experience helps.
4:08:52 PM
JIM HOLIEN, Superintendent, Klawock Schools, testified in
support of SB 79. He said the idea for the bill came from a
joint statement from the Alaska Superintendent Association and
the Alaska Association of School Boards. He said he sees the
bill as a valuable tool for hard-to-fill positions in
administration and in small schools.
He noted that about 300 jobs remain unfilled after the job fair
in Alaska recently. There remains a need for more teachers,
especially during times of difficult finances. He did not see
that the bill would result in replacing new teachers in jobs.
4:11:34 PM
LISA SKILES-PARADY, Executive Director, Alaska Council of School
Administrators (ACSA) and Alaska Superintendents Association
(ASA), testified in support of SB 79. She provided two handouts,
one of which is a joint position statement by ACSA and ASA
stating support for SB 79. She addressed the issue of teacher
and administrator shortages in Alaska.
She said the second handout deals with the high numbers of
superintendent turnover in Alaska. She shared data on the
percentages of teacher and administrator turnovers. She also
discussed declining education graduate numbers and the number of
jobs remaining open. The number of special education teachers
has also declined.
4:17:20 PM
She pointed out that just over 60 percent of 2014 University of
Alaska teacher graduates were working in Alaska schools in the
fall of 2014. The Department of Labor found that 90 percent of
teacher graduates work in Alaska in the year that they graduate.
She said there are many efforts to increase teacher and
administrator candidates and support working teachers.
She concluded that retired teachers and administrators are
already in Alaska communities and are familiar with Alaska. She
spoke in strong support of SB 79.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked if 300 teaching positions are still
unfilled.
MS. SKILES-PARADY understood that there were 467 jobs currently
posted for contracts going forward.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY asked for the number of current jobs open.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked about a time when special education
teachers were removing that endorsement from their credentials.
MS. PARADY discussed the AKT-2 program where teachers who took
an alternative method to certification were hired and they were
outstanding. It was an expensive program, but hugely successful.
4:22:36 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if substitute teachers get preference
points during hiring.
MS. PARADY answered if you are a good substitute and have
experience in the district, you would receive favorable
consideration for a full-time position.
4:24:01 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked for the name of a master teacher.
MS. PARADY said they were called "highly qualified."
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if those teachers get any bonus points
when transferring to another district.
MS. PARADY replied that the highly qualified label remains with
the teacher.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked how long probation is for tenure as it
relates to in-district transfers.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY said that's a contract negotiation item.
MS. PARADY replied it differs by district.
SENATOR HUGGINS commented on whether those items had an effect
on teacher hire.
4:26:26 PM
DR. PJ FORD-SLACK, Interim Superintendent, Hoonah City Schools,
testified in support of SB 79. Said she just returned from the
job fair in Anchorage where her district was desperately seeking
teachers, including two special education teachers. She noted
the shortage of qualified teachers.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY commented that politicians sometimes add on to
what teachers are supposed to do, but do not give them the tools
they need. He said he is very interested in receiving
suggestions from educators and parents about what can be done
differently to make education a more inviting profession with
good student outcomes.
4:31:53 PM
SENATOR HUGGINS said he is looking for the speed bumps in the
good ideas.
CHAIR DUNLEAVY held SB 79 in committee.
4:33:25 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Dunleavy adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
at 4:33 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CS for SB 79 Legislation.pdf |
SEDC 3/31/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 79 |
| CS for SB 79 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SEDC 3/31/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 79 |
| CS for SB 79 Changes.pdf |
SEDC 3/31/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 79 |
| SB 79 Support Email.pdf |
SEDC 3/31/2015 3:30:00 PM |
SB 79 |