04/18/2000 05:45 PM Senate RLS

                     HB 191-CHARTER SCHOOLS                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN KELLY informed Representative Dyson that the Anchorage                                                                 
School District has prepared an amendment to SCS CSHB 191(FIN).                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE FRED DYSON, sponsor of HB 191, said that the charter                                                             
school law in Alaska is one of the weakest in the nation.  When it                                                              
was enacted in 1995, proponents believed it would have to be                                                                    
revisited.  This bill does four relatively uncontroversial things.                                                              
It extends the contract periods; it doubles the cap and removes the                                                             
geographic requirements; it removes the sunset provision; and it                                                                
allows for a waiver by the fire marshall of public school safety                                                                
requirements.  His original intent was to also open up the                                                                      
accounting process so that charter school negotiators could see                                                                 
where the money they get or do not get comes from.  That provision                                                              
was problematic because a number of school districts said they are                                                              
unable to provide that information.  The remaining noncontroversial                                                             
parts of the bill must pass this session to enable some charter                                                                 
schools to continue.  The Department of Education and Early                                                                     
Development and the State Board of Education recommended the                                                                    
version before the committee [SCS CSHB 191(FIN)] but there is a                                                                 
strong case to remove a portion of the bill.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN asked Representative Dyson what his recommendation                                                                
is.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON responded that he would "stand pat" but he                                                                 
admitted the Anchorage School District has a good argument.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN KELLY asked if Representative Dyson would prefer to stand                                                              
pat on this bill and look at the argument at a future time.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DYSON replied, "I would, but they make a good case,                                                              
they may be right."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
Number 181                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
KATHI GILLESPIE, Co-Chair of the Legislative Subcommittee of the                                                                
Anchorage School District, expressed the school district's concerns                                                             
with SCS CSHB 191(FIN).  The school district recommends the                                                                     
deletion of Section 4(e) on page 3, lines 6-11.  Section 4(e)                                                                   
reads:                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     (e) In addition to the amount provided to an approved charter                                                              
     school in the annual program budget under (a) of this section,                                                             
     a charter school budget must include an allocation equal to                                                                
     the amount determined by dividing the amount of local revenues                                                             
     contributed under AS 14.17.410(c) by the average daily                                                                     
     membership of the district and multiplying that number by the                                                              
     average daily membership of the charter school.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
The school district's concern with Section 4(e) is that it sets a                                                               
precedent for funding charter school students in a different manner                                                             
than funding for all other school district students.  This section                                                              
basically says that charter school students will not be held                                                                    
accountable for contributing to districtwide operations and                                                                     
services.  Currently, local funding is distributed in the following                                                             
manner:  the local funding is received and the four mills is                                                                    
contributed for all students, including charter school students, in                                                             
order to access foundation formula monies.  The school district has                                                             
some discretion with the remainder of those monies to address the                                                               
needs of students in specific schools.  It is true that an equal                                                                
amount is not spent on each student in the Anchorage School                                                                     
District.  The amount spent depends on the location, whether the                                                                
student is at risk, the income level of the family and other                                                                    
factors.  It does cost the district more to educate some students                                                               
than others.  The district is concerned that this bill will set a                                                               
precedent so that some students can say they get their portion                                                                  
first and that they do not have to contribute to the discretionary                                                              
amount that is distributed according to need.  That precedent will                                                              
allow neighborhood schools to demand the same treatment.  The                                                                   
district has never funded public education this way; it has always                                                              
had the discretion to spend the money to bring all students up to                                                               
a particular standard.  The district fears that if Section 4(e) is                                                              
left in the bill, it will negate the school district's ability to                                                               
do that.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. GILLESPIE asked committee members to delete Section 4(e) and                                                                
noted the district has offered to work with Representative Dyson                                                                
over the summer on the issue of funding for charter school                                                                      
students.  She noted that the four charter schools in the Anchorage                                                             
School District are still functioning; three are thriving.  The one                                                             
school that is having significant problems is Walden, located in                                                                
the Dimond Mall.  That school's problems are rooted in the fact                                                                 
that it has not met the 200 student limit required for the                                                                      
foundation formula.  The Anchorage School District supports charter                                                             
schools and will continue to do so.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR ELLIS moved the amendment to delete Section 4 on page 3,                                                                
lines 6 through 11.  The motion failed with Senators Leman, Pearce                                                              
and Kelly voting "nay," and Senators Ellis and Miller voting "yea."                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN moved to calendar all Senate versions of HB 191 for                                                               
calendaring at the Chairman's discretion.  Without objection, the                                                               
motion carried.