02/06/2008 08:00 AM Senate SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB241 | |
| SB219 | |
| SCR16 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SCR 16 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 219 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| = | SB 241 | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
February 6, 2008
8:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins, Vice Chair
Senator Bettye Davis
Senator Donald Olson
Senator Gary Wilken
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 241
"An Act relating to a report to the legislature on teacher
preparation, retention, and recruitment by the Board of Regents
of the University of Alaska."
MOVED CSSB 241 (SED) OUT OF COMMITTEE
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 16
Establishing and relating to the Education Funding District Cost
Factor Commission.
HEARD AND HELD
SENATE BILL NO. 219
"An Act establishing the Governor's Select Panel on School
District Cost Factors; repealing current cost factors; relating
to child care grants; and providing for an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 241
SHORT TITLE: UNIV. REPORT: TEACHER TRAINING/RETENTION
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) STEVENS BY REQUEST OF JT LEG EDUCATION
FUNDING TASK FORCE
01/18/08 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/08 (S) SED, HES
02/01/08 (S) SED AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
02/01/08 (S) Heard & Held
02/01/08 (S) MINUTE(SED)
BILL: SCR 16
SHORT TITLE: EDUCATION FUNDING/COST FACTOR COMMISSION
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) STEVENS BY REQUEST OF JT LEG EDUCATION
FUNDING TASK FORCE
01/18/08 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/18/08 (S) SED
02/01/08 (S) SED AT 8:00 AM BUTROVICH 205
02/01/08 (S) <Bill Hearing Postponed to 2/6/08>
BILL: SB 219
SHORT TITLE: GOV PANEL ON SCHOOL DISTRICT COST FACTORS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) WILKEN
01/16/08 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 01/11/08
01/16/08 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/16/08 (S) SED, FIN
WITNESS REGISTER
TIM LAMKIN,
Staff to Senator Stevens
Alaska State Capitol
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented overview of SB 241 and SCR 16.
PAT JACOBSON, Regent
University of Alaska
Kodiak, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Supported SB 241.
EDDY JEANS, Director
School Finance
Alaska Department of Education
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on SB 219 and SCR 16.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Senate Special Committee on
Education meeting to order at 8:01:14 AM. Present at the call to
order were Senators Gary Wilken, Bettye Davis, Charlie Huggins,
Donald Olson, and Gary Stevens.
SB 241-UNIV. REPORT: TEACHER TRAINING/RETENTION
CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced consideration of SB 241.
8:01:49 AM
SENATOR DONALD OLSON moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for SB 241, labeled 25-LS1346\E, Mischel, as the
working document. There being no objection, the motion carried.
TIM LAMKIN, staff to Senator Stevens, sponsor of SB 241,
presented the changes to SB 241. He said that Section 1
specifies the Regents shall present to the committee with
jurisdiction over education. Language was also changed to
th
[require that the annual report] be presented by the 30
legislative day, which would also accommodate the regents'
schedule. In Section 2, page 2, lines 2-12 would make the
reports biannual beginning in 2012. The effective date is in
Section 5.
8:04:16 AM
SENATOR WILKEN said the changes are good and he is very
supportive of the legislation, but highlighted page 1, line 7,
"Regents shall prepare and present," and said the request to the
drafter was to have the Regents "present in person." The drafter
explained that is not something they put into legislation,
although that is the intent. He said with Senator Olson's
permission, he would like to make it clear on the record that it
is indeed the intent of the bill to have them present [the
report] in person.
CHAIR STEVENS underlined that is what the drafter indicated.
MR. LAMKIN clarified that it was written this way because the
language reads "the Board of Regents shall prepare and present"
and members of the administration are not regents.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if the drafters are comfortable that this
means it will be an eye-to-eye meeting with the Regents.
MR. LAMKIN said that is correct and added that they had a
Regent, Pat Jacobson, in the audience who would be happy to
answer questions.
8:06:07 AM
PAT JACOBSON, Regent, University of Alaska, Kodiak, AK, said she
is a retired teacher and is now on the school board and the
Board of Regents. She said she can speak for the Regents and the
University in saying that they support this concept and are glad
the legislators do too. She was looking forward to the
opportunity they would have in the future to meet face-to-face.
CHAIR STEVENS said he is happy to see Kodiak represented on the
Board of Regents in the person of herself and others.
8:08:06 AM
SENATOR DAVIS joined the meeting.
SENATOR WILKEN said he thinks there is a real disconnect between
the legislature and the regents. The regents are responsible for
running a billion-dollar corporation and the legislature, acting
as the bank, has a lot to do with that corporation. He said he
thinks it takes more than an afternoon once a year and that they
need to improve communication between the University and the
legislature.
MS JACOBSON said she appreciates Senator Wilken's comments.
8:10:57 AM
SENATOR OLSON moved to report CSSB 241, referred to as Version
\E, from committee with individual recommendations and
accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection the motion
carried.
SB 219-GOV PANEL ON SCHOOL DISTRICT COST FACTORS
8:11:38 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced consideration of SB 219. This was the
first hearing of the bill.
8:12:13 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS joined the meeting.
SENATOR WILKEN presented an overview of SB 219. He listed what
was in the packet in addition to the sponsor statement: a bullet
sheet giving the highlights of the legislation; a time line,
some fiscal notes; an ISIS (Institute of Social and Economic
Research) study cover sheet dated 2005; the American Institutes
for Research (AIR) report dated 2003; the McDowell study dated
1998; and a historical review that looked back to 1983 and the
difficulties in establishing district cost factors (DCF).
SENATOR WILKEN read the following sponsor statement:
Senate Bill 219 offers a unique opportunity for the
Legislature to step back from the current debate over
the accuracy of the proposed geographic cost indices
used in the education funding formula and encourages
the legislative body to consider a new approach to
this difficult, recurring policy issue.
Senate Bill 219 establishes a Select Panel on District
Cost Factors within the Office of the Governor for the
purpose of developing an updatable and durable model
to measure actual relative cost differences in
providing public education. Placement of this
important panel under the purview of the governor
affords an open, statewide perspective and fosters
cooperation between all school districts.
How to accurately measure the relative cost variances
between Alaska's 53 school districts has been a
constant source of aggravation, discourse, and
contention within the legislature and the education
community for the past 24 years. The Legislature has
attempted many times to develop an updatable model to
measure the differences in cost between school
districts, but unfortunately an acceptable plan has
been elusive.
The Select Panel will take a fresh look at how to
measure these differences with the goal of providing
the State of Alaska with a fair, objective, accurate,
and durable district cost model that educators and the
public can support. The panel's finished work product
will remove a perennial source of frustration for
many.
It is time to try the approach outlined in Senate Bill
219. Please join me in support of this legislation.
SENATOR WILKEN said that what this does is put together a group
of eight voting members. In 1983, the issue of DCF came up and
the state was under pressure from the federal government to come
up with an education formula. The legislature drafted one then
and again in 1998, 2002, and 2005 and there is still acrimony
about DCFs. He's not sure why they can do it now when they
haven't been able to come up with an agreeable formula in the
past. In 1994, then candidate-for-Governor Tony Knowles put out
a questionnaire in which 80 percent of Alaskans responded that
they had no faith in the school foundation formula. Education
funding had gone up 54 percent and many asked where the money
went. He said that part of the problem was that the DCF had been
jimmied in 1985 and the acrimony has continued into the present.
He said there are ways to take multiple inputs and update them
with a reliable model but the committee needs to be free of
politics and include technical people, one from the Anchorage
School Board, two legislators, and three people with base in
mathematical models and statistics. According to the time line,
in May 2008 the committee would be organized and they would have
16 months to get two competing solicitations and then come
forward in September 2010 with a suggested model in time for the
Governor's budget. Current DCFs would fall away in 2011 and the
legislature would be under the mandate to come up with new DCFs.
8:21:24 AM
SENATOR WILKEN said he's very concerned that what the
legislature is trying to do has already been tried and that it
is setting itself up for failure. He proposed doing something
new with the hope that in ten years all that would need to be
done every year is provide new data. He reminded the committee
that it is not measuring actual costs but the relative
differences between actual costs.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Senator Wilken to look at the second fiscal
note regarding the child care program.
SENATOR WILKEN said it has to do with the termination of the
DCFs on the first day of the session. He said that today child
care grants are adjusted by the DCF and if changes aren't made
by 2011, the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
doesn't have any way to allocate the child care grants. This
provides the authority to DHSS to make the adjustments until the
legislature is able to do it. It doesn't kick in until 2011 and
only if the legislature fails to come up with the DCF.
8:25:16 AM
EDDY JEANS, Director, School Finance, Alaska Department of
Education, Juneau, AK, said he understands Senator Wilken's
concerns; but the Joint Education Funding Task Force suggested
that a new joint task force be established specifically to
address area cost factors. He said that is the next piece of
legislation before the committee and the administration will be
supporting that piece of legislation as recommended by the
Education Funding Task Force.
SENATOR OLSON said that since the cost differential is so fluid
he is not convinced there ever will be a final answer; and he
thought they should "bite the bullet, accept what we've got and
continue on."
MR. JEANS said it is just as Senator Wilken describes it: when
the studies are done, every one goes down the list to see how
their districts are impacted. He was surprised there was not
more support for the ISER study because the amount for every
single school district in the state went up. He understands
concerns about the actual data that went into the study and said
that debate will never go away. He remembered hearing years ago
that it was the best data they had available at the time; that
is what it is today; and when they get a new report in 5 years,
that will be the best data at the time.
SENATOR OLSON asked why they should even have this bill before
them.
MR. JEANS said it's because there are concerns with some of the
factors that were considered in the ISER report and that they
need to be addressed. He said they hope to improve on the cost
factors as time moves on, because they do need to be adjusted
periodically; but he doesn't expect 100 percent agreement on
what the components are and how much weight to give each of
those components.
SENATOR OLSON asked if the concerns Mr. Jeans has raised are
addressed in the bill.
MR. JEANS replied that they are not; what this bill does is
establish a commission in the governor's office. It is very
specific on who the people appointed would represent. It creates
a specific timeline in which the commission has to report. If
the commission does not make recommendations, it actually
repeals the cost differentials in statute, which would be
painful for all school districts in the state.
CHAIR STEVENS pointed out that Mr. Jeans has made a 25-year
career of understanding these matters and expressed appreciation
for his efforts.
8:30:14 AM CHAIR STEVENS said SB 19 would be held over.
SCR 16-EDUCATION FUNDING/COST FACTOR COMMISSION
CHAIR STEVENS announced consideration of SCR 16.
TIM LAMKIN, staff, Senator Stevens, presented SCR 16
Establishing and relating to the Education Funding District Cost
Factor Commission. He said this bill is a direct result of the
task force that met over the summer.
SENATOR HUGGINS moved to adopt the proposed committee substitute
(CS) to SCR 16, labeled 25-LS1347/C, Mischel, as the working
document of the committee. There being no objection, the motion
carried.
MR. LAMKIN explained the changes in this committee substitute.
He said one recommendation from the task force stated the
commission should have adequate financial resources to engage
professionals experienced with numbers. On Page 2, lines 14-16
would establish a relationship with the legislative council to
contract out services. According to the drafters, Legislative
Council is the only committee that has the authority to enter
into contracts of that nature and to do that with this
commission would require a bill in statute.
CHAIR STEVENS clarified that without this resolve establishing a
relationship with Legislative Council, they would have to have a
bill instead of the resolution before them.
8:33:00 AM
SENATOR WILKEN said it's important to understand that they are
not trying to measure the actual costs but the changes in
relative costs. He reminded them that wages and benefits account
for about 80 percent of the budget, so it is the other 20
percent they are really measuring. To illustrate, he said if
insurance in Fort Yukon is 30 percent higher than in Fairbanks;
as time goes by, Fairbanks may go up in insurance but so will
Fort Yukon, so what they're trying to measure is not that dollar
amount but the relationship between them. That is a quantifiable
and measurable difference. On page 1, line 10 he asked that they
strike "1998" and say "prior to 1983." On page 11, insert after
the word "conducted," "1983-1985, 1998, 2002 and 2004." He
commented that on page 2, lines 3-6, there's a recipe for
failure. Those 4 lines should give them pause; because if they
do this, they'll be doing just what they've done in the past.
8:36:48 AM
SENATOR WILKEN proposed the chair ask Mr. Jeans to be more
definitive on lines 14-15 when it says "shall submit a report of
its findings and proposed legislative changes;" it would be
helpful if the deliverables were a little more precise. He
suggested bulleting 3 or 4 items that this legislature wants to
see 3 or 4 years from now.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Senator Wilken what specifics he was talking
about.
SENATOR WILKEN listed examples such as whether they want just a
table of district cost factors or a model that is updatable and
durable and what format it should be in; something to give
guidance to this commission on what they're supposed to deliver
back to the legislature.
8:39:06 AM
MR. JEANS said the issue raised by Senator Wilken is addressed
on page 1, line 15 through page 2, line 2, where it directs the
commission to create a durable and updatable model to accurately
reflect the costs. He said that the education funding task force
that met this past summer was the first of its kind and was able
to bring in experts from different areas enabling the committee
to deliberate various components of the funding formula. He said
that to have a similar task force specifically focused on cost
differentials could have an equally positive outcome. He said
expected participants would include the Department of Education,
Alaska school business officials and administrators, and school
boards. He said the administration supports the resolution.
CHAIR STEVENS asked if the commission would be recurring or
would it disappear like the Education Funding Task Force.
MR. JEANS said the resolution calls for the commission to
terminate December 31, 2010. The intention is to develop a model
that is updatable that would be adopted in statute. He said he
could envision statutory requirements that would be added to the
model.
8:42:12 AM
CHAIR STEVENS asked the committee members to let him know their
thoughts on the measure and when to move it forward.
There being no further business before the meeting Chair Stevens
adjourned the meeting at 8:42:37.
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