02/21/2011 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

             HB 104-ALASKA PERFORMANCE SCHOLARSHIPS                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DICK  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL NO.  104,  "An Act  renaming  the Alaska  performance                                                               
scholarship  and  relating to  the  scholarship  and tax  credits                                                               
applicable to contributions to  the scholarship; establishing the                                                               
Alaska  performance scholarship  investment fund  and the  Alaska                                                               
performance  scholarship award  fund and  relating to  the funds;                                                               
making  conforming amendments;  and  providing  for an  effective                                                               
date."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
9:44:38 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
NICHOLAS  PENNINGTON,  Teacher,  Kodiak Island  School  District,                                                               
stated  support   for  HB  104,  paraphrasing   from  a  prepared                                                               
statement,   which   read   as  follows   [original   punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     I  am   the  student  body  president   of  the  Kodiak                                                                    
     Community  College.    I  will   keep  this  brief  and                                                                    
     concise.  I have a  very strong passion for success and                                                                    
     believe that  the lack  of scholarship  for needs-based                                                                    
     students needs to  be addressed and changed.   I work 3                                                                    
     jobs and I  am a full-time student.  One  of my jobs is                                                                    
     working for the Kodiak  Island Borough School District.                                                                    
     I  believe in  the  students and  have  faith in  their                                                                    
     success, however  the financial deprive of  my students                                                                    
     is  a  huge  deciding  factor  on  whether  or  not  to                                                                    
     continue  onto college  upon graduation.    It is  with                                                                    
     strong passion that  I stand here to ask  for your help                                                                    
     and support for HB 104  so that my students can achieve                                                                    
     their hopes and dreams,  without going through the same                                                                    
     financial  struggles that  I have  been going  through.                                                                    
     Your  support will  keep  retention  within Alaska  and                                                                    
     help build the infrastructure  that makes our beautiful                                                                    
     state.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:45:57 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TOM  HEWITT,  Student,  University  of  Alaska  Fairbanks  (UAF),                                                               
stated  support   for  HB  104,  paraphrasing   from  a  prepared                                                               
statement,   which   read   as  follows   [original   punctuation                                                               
provided]:                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     I'm a  journalism and computer  science student  at the                                                                    
     University of Alaska Fairbanks.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     I've been  fortunate in my  experience going  to school                                                                    
     at UAF.   My parents don't have the money  to help with                                                                    
     my  education  but  tuition when  I  started  going  to                                                                    
     school  here was  relatively affordable.   I  worked in                                                                    
     the  summer and  throughout the  school year,  and with                                                                    
     that  money  plus a  small  but  prudent investment  in                                                                    
     Apple stock about a dozen  years ago, I've been able to                                                                    
     get through  school not only  without outside  aid, but                                                                    
     also debt-free.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     Not everyone who goes to school is as lucky as I am.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     I  have  a friend  named  Nikki.   She's  smart,  she's                                                                    
     energetic,  and she's  exactly the  kind of  person who                                                                    
     represents what's best about  the University of Alaska.                                                                    
     I'm not  just saying that  because she's my friend  - a                                                                    
     lot of other  students think so too, and  that's why we                                                                    
     elected her president of the student body.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Nikki is a hard worker.   Her parents haven't been able                                                                    
     to give her much help  with school either, so she holds                                                                    
     down a  job herself.  Now  keep in mind that  this is a                                                                    
     job on top of her job  as student president, which is a                                                                    
     full time job in itself.   Nikki wasn't lucky enough to                                                                    
     have a  couple hundred  shares of  Apple stock,  so she                                                                    
     got a  job as the  morning news  anchor for a  local TV                                                                    
     (television) station.   That means she gets  up at 3:00                                                                    
     a.m. every morning  for work, and after  working a full                                                                    
     shift she  goes to  class, where she  does her  best to                                                                    
     stay awake  and learn.   After class, she does  her job                                                                    
     representing  the students  as student  body president.                                                                    
     Now there  are only so many  hours in the day,  and all                                                                    
     of her  work takes a toll.   Nikki is stretched  to her                                                                    
     limit, and while she's a  good student, as her friend I                                                                    
     can tell  you that all  the work she  has to do  to pay                                                                    
     for  school absolutely  has a  negative  effect on  her                                                                    
     ability to exercise her full potential in classes.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
     None of us  here are looking for a free  ride.  We like                                                                    
     working  hard.   But with  tuition having  doubled over                                                                    
     the  past  10  years,  sometimes  working  hard  enough                                                                    
     doesn't get us all the way there.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     So that's  why I'm  here.   I'm not here  for me.   I'm                                                                    
     here because  of Nikki,  and because  I know  that just                                                                    
     about  everyone at  the university  knows someone  like                                                                    
     her.   And  those are  the people  who need  your help.                                                                    
     Alaska  is sorely  in need  of needs-based  aid, and  I                                                                    
     would strongly urge you not  only to support HB 104 but                                                                    
     to include  language that ties need-based  into funding                                                                    
     for students, as in the senate version of this bill.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:48:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON indicated that the CS for HB 104 includes                                                                 
a needs-based financial aid component, and reviewed the award                                                                   
limits.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:48:58 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. HEWITT said any help is appreciated.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:49:47 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR DICK said that public testimony would remain open and                                                                     
announced the next meeting.