Legislature(2007 - 2008)BUTROVICH 205
02/09/2007 08:00 AM Senate SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| SB1 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| * | SB 1 | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
February 9, 2007
8:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins, Vice-Chair
Senator Donny Olson
Senator Gary Wilken
Senator Bettye Davis
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 1
"An Act relating to the base student allocation used in the
formula for state funding of public education; and providing for
an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 1
SHORT TITLE: INCREASE AMT OF BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) WILKEN
WITNESS REGISTER
John Alcantra, Government Relations Director
National Education Association of Alaska
4100 Spenard Road
Anchorage, AK 99517
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 1
Stephanie Allison, Member
Great Alaska Schools
9414 Long Run Drive
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 1
Michael Sigler, coordinator
Great Alaska Schools
1505 Crest Court
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 1
Mike Fisher, Chief Financial Officer
Fairbanks North Star School District
PO Box 71267
Fairbanks, Alaska 99707
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 1
Sue Hull, School Board member
Fairbanks North Star School District
PO Box 71267
Fairbanks, Alaska 99707
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 1
Eddy Jeans, Director of School Finance
Department of Education &
Early Development
th
801 W 10 St.
Juneau, AK 99801-1894
POSITION STATEMENT: Available for questions on SB 1
Carl Rose, Executive Director
Association of Alaska School Boards
316 W 11th St.
Juneau, AK 99801
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 1
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Senate Special Committee on
Education meeting to order at 8:01:48 AM. Present at the call to
order were Senators Davis, Olson, Wilken, Huggins, and Chair
Stevens.
SB 1-INCREASE AMT OF BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION
CHAIR STEVENS announced SB 1 to be up for consideration.
8:02:17 AM
SENATOR WILKEN, sponsor of SB 1, explained that it pertains to
increasing the base student allocation used in the funding
formula to $5,810.
He said that since 1998 the K-12 public school funding formula
has distributed education dollars based on a per-student
allocation. The increase in this allocation will mitigate rising
costs and help direct more education dollars into classrooms.
The bill does not address all rising costs in the public school
system, as required retirement contributions alone will cost
over $200 million statewide in the next fiscal year. It does
cover the estimated inflation rate provided by the Department of
Labor in 2006, and includes additional funds to aid schools in
reducing class size.
8:05:41 AM
SENATOR WILKEN referenced a chart provided to the committee to
explain changes in student funding from past fiscal years, and
to show that the current bill's increase in funding would be in
line with past increases. He said that the governor had issued a
request for SB 1 to be moved through the legislature quickly,
and he echoed her sentiment.
8:08:25 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked what the additional, unspecified funds in
the increase would be used for.
SENATOR WILKEN replied that the amount would offset increased
energy costs and the currently high pupil-to-teacher ratio, and
help reduce the need for local taxes paid by individual
districts. He added that 2007 was the renewal year for the No
Child Left Behind (NCLB) act, which may burden the legislature
with additional tasks.
8:11:16 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked for the target date for early funding.
SENATOR WILKEN replied that the target was March 15th, 60 days
into the session.
8:12:10 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if increasing natural gas costs would be
included in the funding increase.
SENATOR WILKEN replied that that cost would be included in the
portion of the increase meant for inflation.
8:12:55 AM
SENATOR OLSON asked why Senator Wilken didn't propose a higher
increase in funding than 4 percent.
SENATOR WILKEN replied that the numbers were based on general
inflation rates.
SENATOR OLSON asked if the governor was in favor of the bill.
SENATOR WILKEN replied that the bill was a starting point for
negotiations, and the governor's budget was still a work in
progress.
8:15:56 AM
SENATOR WILKEN explained that the student population has
decreased by 3,000 since 1999, but increased funding is still
insufficient.
8:18:19 AM
JOHN ALCANTRA, Director of Governor Relations for the National
Education Association of Alaska (NEAA), said that the NEAA's
request for the base student allocation was $5,953, $143 more
than SB 1 proposes. Every $5 increment in the allocation equals
around $1 million statewide. The NEAA is working towards funding
adequacy within seven fiscal years, but much of public school
funding goes to the retirement system and inflation costs, and
not to classrooms or teachers' salaries. Public school funding
is currently $400 million short of what the NEAA considers an
adequate K-12 budget.
8:23:08 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked what the NEAA's efforts to work with the
administration over the funding matter had been.
MR. ALCANTRA said that the NEAA would work with the
administration to explain that inflationary costs would diminish
funding for school services, and that the Public Employee and
Teacher Retirement Systems take up millions of dollars in
funding.
8:25:34 AM
STEPHANIE ALLISON, member of Great Alaska Schools (GAS), said
that the Budget Advisory Group of Juneau had been asked to cut
three million dollars from the yearly budget, and that if SB 1
passed there would be no need to make such cuts.
8:27:48 AM
MICHAEL SIGLER, member of GAS, explained that the GAS coalition
of parents and community members supported the increase in the
allocation. Past increases in school funding have gone mainly to
covering retirement costs and inflation but haven't sufficiently
met education quality needs. The coalition wishes to see a
fiscal plan including inflation-proofing and updated geographic
cost differentials.
8:29:58 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked what efforts GAS was making beyond
improving funding.
MR. SIGLER replied that most people involved in the coalition
are active in schools as volunteers or work in community-based
activities such as coaching.
SENATOR HUGGINS said that the Juneau school district is one-
third the size of the Mat-Su district, yet has the same number
of special needs students. He asked if that created any special
challenges for parents or teachers.
MR. SIGLER replied that such students typically require more
adult supervision than other schoolchildren, and in a fixed
budget fulfilling their needs can take money away from
mainstream education and create larger classrooms sizes for non-
special needs children.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if Mr. Sigler was satisfied with the
efforts towards educating special needs children.
MR. SIGLER replied that aides are underpaid, the turnover rate
is high, and needs are not fully met, which means less available
funding for mainstream students.
8:33:14 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS mentioned that the dropout rate in the Mat-Su is
44 percent, and asked for Mr. Sigler's thoughts on the rates in
Juneau.
MR. SIGLER said that the Juneau rate is around 33 to 35 percent,
and that insufficient parenting and a poor academic model were
two causes of dropping out. More attention should be paid to
post-high school vocational education.
8:34:46 AM
MIKE FISHER, CFO for the Fairbanks North Star School District,
said that while retirement funding is important it is taking
money away from the classrooms, which are in serious need of
basic supplies. School districts are having to cut program
funding to allow for retirement funding increases.
SUE HULL, Fairbanks North Star School District board member,
said that school districts need funding to make investments in
technology and technical career preparation.
8:38:19 AM
EDDY JEANS, Director of School Finance for the Alaska Department
of Education and Early Development (DEED), explained the two
fiscal notes prepared by the department for SB 1: $88,928,200
for the increase in the base student allocation, and $825,000
for the Alaska Military Youth Academy. He said that increasing
the statewide allocation will increase local government's
ability to give money to education. Districts are allowed to
contribute 23 percent of their basic need in addition to the
required local contribution, so if the base allocation is
increased by $100 million the increased range of local
contribution would be around $20 million.
8:41:19 AM
SENATOR WILKEN said that the 2008 funding formula required
$16.18 million in local contribution to qualify for state aid,
and that the $20 million figure was additional optional funding
on a local level. This year organized Alaska will be
contributing $205.2 million before receiving state aid.
8:42:39 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS asked if any boroughs besides the Mat-Su had an
organized tax cap.
MR. JEANS replied that Anchorage did as well, but he was unsure
of any others.
8:43:26 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked for Mr. Jeans' comments on the declining
student population.
MR. JEANS replied that the DEED doesn't provide long-term
student projections, but that the state population is an aging
one.
8:45:01 AM
SENATOR OLSON asked Mr. Jeans if the drop in student population
was in rural or urban areas.
MR. JEANS replied that it was a combination of both.
8:46:03 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked how rising funding correlated with high
student dropout rates.
MR. JEANS replied that rising funding is due to increases in
fixed costs beyond the scope of the DEED such as fuel and
insurance prices. These costs can mean reduced services, which
may contribute to reduced student achievement.
8:47:49 AM
CARL ROSE, Executive Director of the Association of Alaska
School Boards, said that the NCLB act has caused funds to be
taken from regular classroom instruction to provide special
needs services. The curriculum is being narrowed and has become
inadequate, and digital resource funding is needed. Classroom
funding has become secondary to retirement funding.
8:51:23 AM
SENATOR WILKEN said that last year $5 million was added to the
capitol budget to start a digital learning program for sixth-
graders across the state, and that he hoped similar funds would
be included in the current year's budget.
8:53:01 AM
SENATOR THOMAS asked Mr. Jeans for his opinion on the narrowing
classroom curriculum.
MR. ROSE replied that digital learning is important for career
development, and classrooms are equipped for vocational-
technical training but the programs are not funded. Course
relevance has much to do with students deciding to stay in
school.
8:56:00 AM
SENATOR OLSON asked what digital learning programs will do to
affect the dropout rate.
MR. ROSE replied that such pilot programs show how children
respond to technology, and are shown to be effective learning
tools.
8:59:43 AM
MARY FRANCES, Executive Director for the Alaska Council of
School Administrators, said that administrators across the state
were in the beginning stages of budget preparation and would
have a better idea in a few weeks of what the increase would
mean for school districts, but in general they were very
supportive of SB 1.
CHAIR STEVENS thanked the participants for their testimony and
held SB 1 in committee.
Seeing no further business, CHAIR STEVENS adjourned the
committee meeting at 9:00:22 AM.
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