Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/07/2003 01:33 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 7, 2003
1:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Fred Dyson, Chair
Senator Lyda Green, Vice Chair
Senator Gary Wilken
Senator Bettye Davis
Senator Gretchen Guess
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 105
"An Act relating to eligibility requirements for medical
assistance for certain children, pregnant women, and persons in
a medical or intermediate care facility; and providing for an
effective date."
MOVED CSSB 105(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 51(HES)
"An Act requiring pharmacists to include generic drug
information on containers in which brand-name prescription drug
orders are dispensed."
MOVED CSHB 51(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 110
"An Act relating to admission to and advancement in public
schools of children under school age; and providing for an
effective date."
MOVED CSSB 110(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 104
"An Act repealing the charter school grant program; and
providing for an effective date."
MOVED CSSB 104(HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE BILL NO. 121
"An Act relating to community schools; and providing for an
effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS ACTION
SB 105 - See HESS minutes dated 3/26/03 and 4/3/03.
HB 51 - No previous action to record.
SB 110 - See HESS minutes dated 4/3/03.
SB 104 - No previous action to record.
SB 121 - No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
Ms. Marie Lavigne, Executive Director
Alaska Public Health Association
PO Box 9-1825
Anchorage AK 99509
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 105.
Representative Paul Seaton
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
POSITION STATEMENT: Sponsor of HB 51.
Mr. Fred Lau, Director
Homer Senior Citizens, Inc.
Homer AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported HB 51.
Mr. Eddy Jeans, School Finance Manager
Department of Education &
Early Development
th
801 W 10 St.
Juneau, AK 99801-1894
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 110.
Mr. John Davis, Superintendent
Bering Straits School District
Unalakleet AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 110.
Mr. Bruce Johnson
Association of Alaska School Boards
No address provided
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 110.
Mr. Rick Langfitt, Coordinator
Kodiak Island Borough Community Schools
565 Perez Way
Kodiak AK 99615
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 121.
Ms. Joyce Kitka
Volunteer with Alaska Association for Community Education
No address provided
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 121.
Mr. Larry Wiget, Executive Director
Public Affairs, Anchorage School District
4600 DeBarr Rd.
Anchorage AK 99519
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 121.
Ms. Debbie Bogart, Director
Community Education Program
Anchorage School District
4600 DeBarr Rd.
Anchorage AK 99519
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 121.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 03-17, SIDE A
SB 105-MEDICAID:CHILDREN/PREGNANT WOMEN/FACILITY
CHAIR FRED DYSON called the Senate Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. All
members were present. He announced SB 105 to be up for
consideration and that there was a proposed committee substitute
(CS).
COMMISSIONER JOEL GILBERTSON, Department of Health and Social
Services (DHSS), explained that SB 105 would lock-in FY 03
administrative standards at 200 percent of the poverty level for
Denali Kid Care clients and pregnant women under Medicaid and at
300 percent of the special income standard for the FY 03
administrative standards for seniors in long term care and
individuals receiving home or community based waiver services.
He explained:
The administration's position is that the standards
that are applied in the bill are those that are being
currently utilized by the program. Locking them in
will remove the inflation factor in the coming years.
We believe it's a responsible step to control the
growth in the knowledge that we have reached the
maximum carrying capacity for our Medicaid program
under current financial constraints.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON said that the standards are very high
and that the chairman has an amendment to lower them. However,
the governor supports the high standards.
CHAIR DYSON said he struggled because he wanted to cut to the
lowest levels. He asked why the [commissioner] didn't do that.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON replied that the application of a
uniform standard across various family sizes is necessary to
meet some of the equal protection concerns within the program
itself. Establishing a differentiating standard for individuals
who are technically under the same economic status, though it is
adjusted in terms of the income level based on number of
children, DHSS doesn't believe is a plan the federal government
will approve. They believe that there needs to be at least some
uniform standard, even if it is a locked, fixed dollar amount.
CHAIR DYSON asked if this bill is amended, would he prefer that
it be amended to a percentage level or to fixed numbers under
that percentage level.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON replied that it would be hard for him to
say at this stage whether to use a fixed dollar amount or a
percentage. Either approach would lead to a reduced eligibility
standard from that which the governor's bill dedicates
eligibility standards at.
CHAIR DYSON explained if they go to a fixed amount, the
mechanism the governor supports (letting inflation reduce the
impact in the out-years) would be accomplished. If they use a
percentage amount, it could be argued that inflation would take
it back up to the nominal value it's been at and it would need
to be revisited in two or three years.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON replied that he understood that, but the
governor's concern is the inability of some people to remain in
the program. The governor is interested in seeing standards that
resemble the 200 percent of poverty standard for FY 03 going
into the future. Looking at the chart now, he didn't think they
would be capturing the same group of individuals.
SENATOR GARY WILKEN asked if they have an idea of what every
ratchet down is worth in general fund money.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON replied that one estimate he has is a 25
percent reduction going from 200 percent to 175 percent (150% is
the lowest they can go and still be eligible for the enhanced
federal match rate under the children's health insurance program
with Denali Kid Care's Alaska component). They are expecting a
true general fund savings of roughly $2 million. Going down to
150 percent of poverty level would be going from the $3.5 to $4
million.
SENATOR WILKEN moved to adopt amendment #2 as follows: on page
4, line 7 insert $1,635; on line 8 insert $2,208; on line 9
insert $2,782; on line 11 insert $3,355; on line 13 (family of
5) insert $3,928; on line 14 insert $4,501; on line 15 insert
$5,074; on line 17 insert $5,647; and on line 19 insert $5,647,
plus an additional $574.
SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS objected.
SENATOR WILKEN explained that he didn't have a frame of
reference other than dollars per hour. So, this was very much a
judgment call. His numbers do not use a permanent fund dividend
component. They need to get the numbers "nailed down" as a
matter of finance. At 200 percent, they picked up people who are
making $9 per hour and yet in the family of four category, a
person could have a job at $19 per hour and a family of eight
category could mean a person could making $32 per hour. At the
other end of the spectrum, at 150 percent, you're at $7 per
hour, $14 per hour or $24 per hour. He just took the middle
number to get a sense of where they are. Now, a family of one
can make $8 per hour and that seemed appropriate to him. A
family of four would make a little over $17 per hour.
SENATOR GUESS explained that she objected because they are
talking about pregnant women and kids and, therefore, need to
get into some economic analysis of the true impact when those
groups aren't covered.
We know the amount of pressure there is on our
emergency rooms, especially with kids. And I know from
the research I did and I think all the committee knows
that when pregnant women don't have access to health
care, they have more low birth weight babies who cost
society more and that abortion rates go up. I'm not
going to be a part of any bill, whether it's the
governor's bill or any other bill personally...if it
pulls pregnant women off.
She said she pays all the bills and budgets for her family and
tried to make a budget to actually be able to afford health care
and said:
Although $17 or $32 might sound like a lot, Gary, I
would actually challenge the committee and Senate to
see now after taxes on rent, utilities, insurance and
try to find the room where you can have $600 to $700
so you can afford insurance and that's what we're
talking about in the trade offs with families.
CHAIR DYSON asked for a roll call vote.
SENATORS GREEN, WILKEN, and DYSON voted yea; SENATORS GUESS and
DAVIS voted nay; and amendment 2 was adopted.
SENATOR WILKEN moved to pass CSSB 105(HES) and attached fiscal
note with individual recommendations out of committee.
SENATOR BETTYE DAVIS objected.
CHAIR DYSON asked if anyone else wanted to testify.
MS. MARIE LAVIGNE, Executive Director, Alaska Public Health
Association, said she represented over 200 health care
professionals across Alaska who are deeply committed to
developing sound public health policies to improve the health of
all Alaskans including access to health care. She urged them to
continue eligibility for the Denali Kid Care program at the
fullest level possible and stated that SB 105 reduces
eligibility. This makes a negative impact on the health of
pregnant women and children and others.
Public health research on the health impacts of the
uninsured is noteworthy. Uninsured children who need
medical [indisc.] care, are four times more likely to
go without the care they need than insured children of
the same health needs. As Senator Guess mentioned,
when they do get care, they are sicker and are more
likely to be seen in the emergency room. Uninsured
children are four and a half times more likely to do
without needed prescriptions and eye glasses; five
times more likely to not receive dental care.
Uninsured children are one and a half times more
likely to arrive to kindergarten without their
vaccinations; they are eight times more likely not to
have had a well child visit [recommended periodic
check up by a physician] before they arrive at school.
Uninsured pregnant women are less likely to receive
prenatal care, placing them at risk to deliver early,
low birth weight babies and the greatest risk for
fetal maternal deaths.
In the governor's transmittal letter, he states,
'while the cost savings associated with this bill are
modest in the short term, this measure will
significantly reduce future year costs.' From the
public health perspective, any short term savings if
not compared to the greater loss in terms of the
health and well being of pregnant women and children
and others impacted under this bill - we urge you to
consider this issue from a different perspective. SB
105 is seeking to lower the enrollment of medical
assistance programs by reducing eligibility. Yet the
most effective approach the Legislature could take is
to assist employers and working families to get
affordable health insurance...
While there are many factors that contribute to one in
five Alaskan's lack of health insurance coverage, one
of the greatest barriers remains access to affordable
health insurance. A study by the Anchorage Access to
Health Care coalition released this fall indicated
that 16,000 adults in Anchorage are uninsured; 71% of
those are working adults. The majority are in
businesses with less than 10 employees. We need the
Legislature to take steps to join with businesses in
addressing the issue of affordable health care
insurance. In the meantime, we urge you to keep the
eligibility for this program at the full 200% of its
federal poverty level to maximize the health of
pregnant women and children who are covered. Thank
you.
CHAIR DYSON asked for a roll call vote.
SENATORS WILKEN, GREEN, AND DYSON voted yea; SENATORS DAVIS AND
GUESS voted no; and CSSB 105(HES) passed out of committee.
HB 51-LABELING OF PRESCRIBED DRUGS
CHAIR FRED DYSON announced HB 51 to be up for discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE PAUL SEATON, sponsor, explained that HB 51
requires prescriptions to be labeled with the generic name as
well as any brand name on the drug label. The purpose is the
health and safety of Alaskans. Ways of treating illnesses have
changed drastically, especially chronic illnesses. Many more
pills are available and typically a person takes all of their
bottles and sets each prescription out for the week. If a person
orders a prescription and gets it with a brand name on it, it
will only have that name on it. If they get a refill, they might
get only the generic name. So, a person goes to fill his pill
containers and doesn't know precisely what the prescriptions are
and ends up double dosing.
This has been a very significant problem for senior citizens,
especially. He said the University of Chicago and the FDA have
done studies and found that 15 percent of all the drug problems
are caused by drug overdoses, because of people not being able
to distinguish the names. This is one of the 15 items that the
FDA has recommended to change. AARP, the Alaska Association of
Health Underwriters, the Alaskan State Medical Association,
Aetna Insurance, and a number of senior citizens homes and
support this. No one opposes it.
CHAIR DYSON said he assumed that the pharmaceutical industry had
been informed and that they support it.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON replied that is correct.
MR. FRED LAU, Director, Homer Senior Citizens, Inc., said it is
an organization that runs programs for seniors 55 and older for
nutrition, transportation, adult day care, assisted living,
respite and independent living. He affirmed that a large number
of these individuals are taking from 5 to 15 medications. They
support this bill for the reasons Representative Seaton
explained.
SENATOR GUESS moved HB 51 and the attached zero fiscal note out
of committee with individual recommendations. There were no
objections and it was so ordered.
SB 110-UNDER SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS
CHAIR FRED DYSON announced SB 110 to be up for consideration.
MR. EDDY JEANS, School Finance Manager, Department of Education
and Early Development, explained this legislation would clarify
in statute the ability of school districts to early-enroll
children who are under school age, if they are ready for the
academics that are being provided to them. The reason the
department asked for this legislation is that it has come to
their attention that a number of school districts in the state
are basically blanketly enrolling all four-year olds in what
they call a two-year kindergarten program. The department does
not believe that was the intent of this legislation and that it
was intended strictly to allow the exceptional child to get in
early. The bill says the state's intent is to provide 13 years
of funding for K-12, not 14 years of funding.
SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS asked if this prohibits a school district
from having a two-year kindergarten if they want to use other
sources of funding.
MR. JEANS replied that it would not. It just says they would not
be able to claim those kids for state foundation funding.
SENATOR BETTYE DAVIS asked how much this would save and how many
school districts were doing it. She asked if the children who
are identified as needing the two years would be able to
continue.
MR. JEANS replied the department believes this section of
statute was intended for the exceptional child coming into
kindergarten at four-years old and advance to first grade at
five years old as opposed to coming into kindergarten at five
like most do. Some schools have instituted a two-year
kindergarten program, but he would argue that it's preschool.
SENATOR DAVIS repeated how many exceptional students are there.
"Do you know the number?"
MR. JEANS replied that their fiscal note identifies all four-
year olds that were claimed under the foundation formula this
year. There is a savings of $3.9 million. "We believe some of
these children are eligible to be early-enrolled, but the exact
number I could not tell you. We believe it's a very small
number."
He noted that right now over 600 four-year olds have been
enrolled in school statewide.
SENATOR DAVIS asked if he had asked the districts to identify
those children.
MR. JEANS replied that the districts do evaluations, but the
standards have been set low enough to allow any four year old to
enter into kindergarten. He explained that the age date in
statute is August 15, so if a child turns 5 on August 17, he can
be evaluated to determine if he is ready to enter kindergarten.
We're trying to address an issue that's come to our
attention since we started collecting student level
data and we can identify that in some school
districts, the population of four year olds is almost
identical to the population of five year olds, which
leads us to believe they are enrolling them all.
SENATOR WILKEN asked when this first surfaced as a foundation
formula issue.
MR. JEANS replied they had been collecting student level data
for four years. He heard rumors of it prior to collecting the
data, but he couldn't verify it. He now has birth dates.
SENATOR WILKEN noted a spreadsheet in their packets that show
five school districts account for about $2.5 million of the $3.5
million in funding.
CHAIR DYSON said it was recommended that lines 11-13 be deleted.
MR. JEANS replied that is correct. It was a clerical error and
the House had already deleted it from their bill. He explained
that the last sentence says a child under school age may be
admitted to first grade or higher, if they meet the minimum
standards. This would prevent that exceptional child from being
able to enter kindergarten. He added that this is not strictly a
foundation program issue. "If we provide foundation funding for
four-year olds, then we have to allow those kids to be counted
for space. So, it also affects our facility site at the shop."
SENATOR GUESS said she hoped that an under-age school child was
defined somewhere. Are they just talking about kindergarten to
first grade? She wanted to make sure there were no unintended
consequences at any other grade levels.
MR. JEANS replied that was right. It is not their intent to
prevent children who need to be held back from being held back.
The funding is based on 13 years of schooling.
MR. JOHN DAVIS, Superintendent of the Bering Straits School
District, opposed SB 110. He said it represents an effort to
control state spending, but he is concerned that it would only
save money in the short term. This service is being provided to
children who are among the most vulnerable and educationally
needy. However, the reduction in funding for this program would
not create the $3.5 million represented. He contended that the
bill would cost the district and state additional funds in
remedial services and other special services to help those
students who will need any help they can get in the future, but
that in his district that would not be a large number. The
Bering Straits School District has participated in this program
for the last 13 years and he contends this is not a new issue to
the department.
SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS said that they had heard that this program
is intended for only 13 years, but students who do not qualify
for a diploma through a high school qualifying exam will be
eligible for yet another year of school and possibly two. He
would like to continue this program to see that students have
this effort early and the expectation of passing the exam will
be more likely.
CHAIR DYSON asked how many students he has enrolled in this
category.
SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS replied that he has 100 children per class
in his school district and this category has 90 students.
District wide there is a student count of 1,800.
MR. BRUCE JOHNSON, Association of Alaska School Boards, drew
their attention to the governor's investment plan as he outlined
his budget. One of the categories under the mission for the
Department of Education and Early Development states high
quality early care and education programs that improve the well
being of young children. Their contention is that the statute as
it currently exists allows for that early intervention into the
lives of four-year olds who often reside in poor, remote, rural
areas of our state. The notion is that the state begins to serve
those kids as a preventative action. A study conducted by the
Economic Policy Institute talks about equity at the starting
gate regarding social background and differences in achievement
as children begin school. This study validates that children
enter school with wide achievement disparities and that children
in the highest socio-economic groups scored 60 percent higher in
mathematics and reading as compared to children in the lowest
categories. These findings have helped support what many
educators have known for years - the achievement gap begins long
before children enter school.
CHAIR DYSON stated that he personally didn't see any correlation
between economic standards and school success. He thought the
social and cultural values of a family make the biggest
difference.
SENATOR WILKEN asked if they didn't do anything about SB 110,
would the Fairbanks North Star Borough be able to count all
four-year olds as kindergarteners.
MR. JEANS replied that is what could happen this issue is before
the Legislature now to get some clarity on application of the
statute.
SENATOR WILKEN said this looks truly like a policy call that is
driven by the finances.
CHAIR DYSON asked Mr. Jeans if he need legislation to be able to
regulate the qualification standards.
MR. JEANS answered that local school districts set the standards
by department regulation. A number of different instruments can
be used to assess whether or not a child is ready for
kindergarten or first grade and the department did not feel it
could say which particular assessment everyone should use. He
felt that regulation basically had no effect. He said this
legislation would go a long way to cure the problem.
SENATOR GREEN moved on page 1, to delete language on line 12
beginning with "a child" through line 13. There were no
objections and it was so ordered.
SENATOR DAVIS said she needed some clarification. She said
people in those five school districts whom she has talked with
say those children need more time. They are not coming in
because they're exceptional, but because they will need more
than kindergarten in order to move into the first grade and they
want to start with them as early as they can. That service
should be provided to those that need it, like with the
Headstart program.
SENATOR GREEN said it would be interesting to compare the two
programs in Finance.
SENATOR DAVIS said that Headstart was not necessarily in the
five districts that are using this program.
TAPE 03-17, SIDE B
SENATOR DAVIS said that some of districts might have Headstart,
but that some kids from every district need more than 13 years
to get through school. Some kids are kept in kindergarten and
some are held back in first grade. She said this bill hurts the
kids who need it the most.
MR. JEANS agreed with many of the things she said, but they are
talking about a policy call of whether or not the State of
Alaska wants to provide preschool funding through the foundation
program. Many districts would enroll four year olds if they
thought they were going to get state funding for them. Many of
the districts on the list generate impact aid funding. If they
operate a preschool program, they will continue to generate
impact aid funding, which the state will not count in the
foundation program. The districts would be able to retain 100
percent of that funding and continue to support their program.
It's a fairness question. If some can do it, all have to be able
to do it.
SENATOR WILKEN moved to pass CSSB 110 (HES) from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. There were
no objections and it was so ordered.
SB 104-REPEAL CHARTER SCHOOL GRANTS
CHAIR FRED DYSON announced SB 104 to be up for consideration. In
preparing this legislation for charter schools, he asked if
federal money was going to be there for sure and when did it
start. The answer he got was almost certainly, but they wouldn't
know until mid-summer. He wondered if they should delay passing
this bill until they are sure of funding and the answer he got
back today was that the governor would prefer that it pass with
contingency language. He prepared draft contingency language
saying this bill only goes into effect if the federal government
agreement happens.
MR. EDDY JEANS explained that this legislation would repeal the
state grants for start-up funds for charter schools. It was his
understanding that one of the reasons the state started down
that road was because there was minimal federal support for
starting charter schools. He has a chart that shows the state
was granting charter schools $140,000 to $180,000 in federal
funds. The Legislature passed the state program that consisted
of $500 per student in addition to the federal grants. The
highest total for the two grants combined for any of the state's
original charters was $478,000 - a family partnership school
charter out of Anchorage.
He said the department had a dialogue with the federal
government and had talked with the director of charter schools
and floated a proposal that gave charter schools $150,000 per
year for the first four years with a $45,000 grant in the fifth
year for a total of $495,000. That would easily exceed the
combined grant of federal and state that school districts
received previously. However, there is no signed grant
agreement, yet, and the application is due April 28. They should
know by mid to late June whether or not those funds are coming.
The charter school coordinator received an e-mail from the
director, Dean Kern, saying he liked the proposal, but they
still have to go through the grant application process.
SENATOR WILKEN moved to adopt conceptual amendment number 1.
SENATOR GUESS objected for discussion purposes. She asked if the
Legislature would evaluate the federal funds it would receive
each year or just the first year.
MR. JEANS replied that he understands that this amendment would
delay the repeal of the state charter school grant until the
department knows whether or not they have secured the federal
funding this summer. The effective date of the bill as it is
currently written is July 1, 2004. They currently have a
$158,000 request in this year's budget, which will make all
charter schools whole under this state program. He thought that
Senator Dyson's concern was if they don't get the funding, then
the repeal date becomes July 1, 2004 and it just falls off the
books. If they secure the federal funds this year, he
understands that the state grant would come off the books in
July 1, 2004.
CHAIR DYSON said the fundamental question that Senator Guess was
asking is what happens if the federal funds go away in the
future.
MR. JEANS replied that at that point the Legislature would have
to determine whether they wanted to initiate a state grant
program again.
CHAIR DYSON asked what was the length of the federal commitment.
MR. JEANS replied five years and they will be requesting $10
million in federal start up grants.
SENATOR GUESS commented that he had clarified her question and
then asked another about whether he had thought about putting a
sunset of five years on the repeal. She was concerned about what
would happen if the federal funds and the start up funds for
charter schools both go away.
MR. JEANS replied that he did not have any discussions with the
administration about a sunset date.
CHAIR DYSON added that Senators Guess and Davis had discussions
with him about a possible task force to take a much broader look
at the whole charter school business. He thought this would be
one of the things they would look at, but he, personally, would
not recommend a sunset right now.
SENATOR WILKEN moved to report CSSB 104(HES) from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. There were
no objections and it was so ordered.
SB 121-COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
CHAIR DYSON announced SB 121 to be up for consideration.
MR. EDDY JEANS, School Finance Manager, Department of Education
and Early Development (DEED) spoke to SB 121 and explained that
it would repeal the current statutes dealing with the community
schools program. This program has been in place since 1975 and
was adopted to encourage and assist local school districts in
the establishment of community schools. The intent of the
Legislature was to provide a program of community school grants
to be established to provide assistance to local communities in
the initial development, implementation and operation of
community school programs.
He explained in the early years this program was funded at its
statutory authorization. For the last couple of years it has
been funded at about $500,000. The department still thinks that
community schools are a viable activity after the school day is
over, but they believe the programs are already established and
self sufficient without the state's support. He was able to
identify about $1.4 million of total community school
expenditures of which the state is providing about a half
million (less than 7 percent of the total funding being spent on
community schools).
The application process is set out in statute, which still
refers to the initial development of a community schools
program. The administration and department believe that this
statute has fulfilled its intended purpose.
SENATOR WILKEN asked him to go over the Fairbanks figures.
MR. JEANS responded that Fairbanks recorded $180,000 in
community school expenditures in FY02. The state grant was
$50,000; the state's support was almost 28 percent of the total
expenses. He said the fiscal note only shows the money that they
get through the grant program.
Page 2 of the fiscal note shows the community schools allocation
based on FY04 projections. The statute says that districts are
entitled to one half of one percent of the foundation aid state
support that was provided or $10,000; whichever is less. He said
the total entitlement under this program would be almost $3.3
million. The Legislature had recommended funding at $.5 million,
which would represent about 15 percent of the total entitlement
under FY04 projections.
CHAIR DYSON asked why the Legislature recommended $500,000.
MR. JEANS replied that he misspoke and that was based on what
was in the budget last year.
SENATOR GARY WILKEN said if this legislation were to pass,
Fairbanks would lose $48,688.
MR. JEANS said that is correct.
MR. RICK LANGFITT, Community Schools Coordinator for the Kodiak
Island Borough School District, said while the level of state
funding may be minimal, that small amount shows base support for
the value of community schools programs. The Kodiak school
district is facing a $2 million budget shortfall for the next
fiscal year and the community schools program is one among many
valuable programs the district is considering for elimination.
State support for it would make it harder to justify eliminating
it and the district would lose grant funds if it does not
provide a program.
CHAIR DYSON asked him what if the state said if the local people
don't care enough about it to fund it, we're getting the wrong
signal.
MR. LANGFITT replied that the level of funding Kodiak gets from
the community schools grant is $10,700 and the rest of the money
to support the program, which totals $70,000, comes from local
communities. He maintained:
While we're looking to cut things, with that
additional state cut, it just makes it that much
harder to justify trying to come up with another
$10,000 to support a program when we already have a $2
million shortfall for next year.
MS. JOYCE KITKA, volunteer with the Alaska Association for
Community Education (AACE), referred to information she provided
the committee that shows what her organization helped make
happen in communities. Existing buildings in 53 out of 53 school
districts are being used on nights and weekends as opposed to
being closed at the end of the school day or year. Over 20,000
programs and activities were offered and over 342,000 activity
hours were logged, over 464,000 youth were served, over 390,000
adults were served, over 20,000 different volunteers logged in
almost 212,000 hours. She continued:
...the National Association for Partners in Education
state that an average volunteer is worth $15.62 per
hour, if you take that and multiply that by the
212,000 hours, we brought in over $3 million in
services from our volunteers. We think that's an
excellent track record and we would challenge you to
find any other program in this state that serves as
many people on as few state dollars as we get.
MS. KITKA responded to the question of why the program should be
state driven for local people by saying she thought it was a
partnership and a good faith effort on both parts. She noted:
On Saturday in House Finance, it was referred to as
being the spark plug. The $500,000 was the spark plug
that keeps these programs going...We do open gyms. We
will not deny that. When I open a gym and I have 150
kids who are hanging out there on a Saturday night, I
know it's meeting a need.
MS. KITKA concluded by saying:
The Department of Education's mission statement
addresses life-long learning and yet they and the
governor are wishing to eliminate the funding for the
one vehicle that helps promote this.
She said the Legislature could choose to not fund the program
right now as it realizes money is tight, but it can do that and
still keep the statute intact.
MR. LARRY WIGET, Executive Director, Public Affairs, Anchorage
School District, said the district does not support eliminating
the community schools program from the statute or eliminating
the funding. He maintained:
According to AS 14.36.010(a), the purpose of the
community schools is an expression of the philosophy
that the school is a fine educational institution of
the community. It's most effective when it involves
the people of that community in a program designed to
fulfill their educational needs.
He thought the law should be changed, but rather than
eliminating community schools from statute, the intent of the
law should be changed to include ongoing operation of community
school programs.
MS. DEBBIE BOGART, Director, Community Education Program,
Anchorage School District, said if passed, SB 121 would
devastate community education. This program is a valuable
component that contributes to the academic success of our
students. It provides continuing education for adults and
preschool education for young learners. The community school
programs keep the community involved in our schools. It brings
people without children into the schools so they know more about
them. Last year 33,000 youth and 28,000 adults were involved in
their programs.
CHAIR DYSON asked why the department has chosen to eliminate the
statute as well as the funding.
MR. JEANS replied that basically DEED was looking to eliminate
the funding, but the intent of the program was to provide seed
money to get the programs up and running, "and they are up and
running."
CHAIR DYSON asked why they couldn't leave in language for the
start up of new programs and eliminate the continuous funding
language.
MR. JEANS replied that all 53 school districts participate in
this program and the start up has occurred. If the Legislature
wants to provide on-going operational money, at a minimum the
statute needs to be amended to reflect that.
SENATOR WILKEN asked if school districts track the net
expenditure of community schools in the chart of accounts.
MR. JEANS replied probably not.
CHAIR DYSON called a brief at-ease and came back on the record
to state the agenda for the next meeting. He announced that SB
145 was being held in committee.
CHAIR DYSON adjourned the meeting at 2:28 p.m.
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