05/05/2025 08:00 AM House EDUCATION

         HB 212-LOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:07:58 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY announced  that the final order  of business would                                                               
be  HOUSE   BILL  NO.  212,   "An  Act  relating  to   the  local                                                               
contribution  made by  a  city or  borough  school district;  and                                                               
providing for an effective date."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
[Co-Chair Story handed the gavel to Co-Chair Himschoot].                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:09:16 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ANDI STORY,  Alaska State  Legislature, as  prime                                                               
sponsor, presented  HB 212 to the  committee.  She read  from the                                                               
sponsor statement for HB 212  [included in the committee packet],                                                               
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Upon  the draft  recommendation  of  the Department  of                                                                    
     Education  and  Early  Development (DEED),  the  Alaska                                                                    
     State  Board of  Education and  Early Development  will                                                                    
     consider a regulation change to  4 AAC 09.990(b), which                                                                    
     will  amend the  definition  of  local contribution  in                                                                    
     AS14.17.990.     Currently      under     Sec.14.17.990                                                                    
     Definitions,  (6)  states,  "local  contribution  means                                                                    
     appropriations and  the value  of inkind  services made                                                                    
     by  a  district."  If  passed by  the  State  Board  of                                                                    
     Education,  the draft  proposal will  have far-reaching                                                                    
     implications for school  districts by limiting services                                                                    
     and opportunities for our youth.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     The  language presented  to the  Alaska State  Board of                                                                    
     Education  and  Early  Development  seeks  to  prohibit                                                                    
     municipalities   from   making  additional,   voluntary                                                                    
     contributions  to   their  school  district   for  non-                                                                    
     instructional  purposes   and/or  to   designated  non-                                                                    
     operating   funds.   Districts   have   long   received                                                                    
     additional  funding outside  of the  foundation formula                                                                    
     limit  through  the  local discretionary  maximum  also                                                                    
     known as "the cap"  for non-instructional expenses such                                                                    
     as  student  transportation   before  and  after-school                                                                    
     programs, early  childhood and pre-k  education, career                                                                    
     and technical education,  nutritional services, student                                                                    
     activities, and  more. Additional revenues  provided to                                                                    
     local school  districts to support  programs, services,                                                                    
     projects,  and  events  deemed critical  by  the  local                                                                    
     communities is a long-held practice.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     At  a  time when  state-wide  revenues  continue to  be                                                                    
     stretched, many of our  municipalities around the state                                                                    
     have  stepped   up  to  support   their  community-wide                                                                    
     schools  beyond  their required  contribution  mandated                                                                    
     under  the  foundation  formula. One  of  the  concerns                                                                    
     facing  this  bill is  the  lack  of ability  to  raise                                                                    
     revenue in our school districts  that are most rural. I                                                                    
     support  equitable funding  for  all  children, and  we                                                                    
     must find  ways to  ensure equity. However,  this draft                                                                    
     regulation  will   not  do  that.   It  is   much  more                                                                    
     complicated.  Some  Rural   Education  Attendance  Area                                                                    
     schools (REAA)  receive revenue which puts  them in the                                                                    
     top 95th  percentile. Prohibiting  a revenue  source is                                                                    
     not  the  solution  to achieving  equity  for  Alaska's                                                                    
     children and communities.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     A school district's operating  budget funds the day-to-                                                                    
     day  instructional operations,  legal obligations,  and                                                                    
     administrative  duties of  providing public  education.                                                                    
     However,  a  school  district  is  much  more  than  an                                                                    
     instructional institution.  It is the cornerstone  of a                                                                    
     community. This  bill is  about allowing  local control                                                                    
     in a  municipality to fund  programs and  services that                                                                    
     improve and preserve  quality of life as  needed. It is                                                                    
     of utmost importance that  we prioritize protecting any                                                                    
     loss  of  services  to   children  and  their  families                                                                    
     particularly  in   this  time  of   budget  shortfalls.                                                                    
     Without this  bill, the funding crisis  for some Alaska                                                                    
     school districts  stand to worsen  as we head  into the                                                                    
     next few  years, and  so I urge  your support  of House                                                                    
     Bill 212.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
9:13:35 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TAMMY SMITH, Staff, Representative Andi Story, Alaska State                                                                     
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Andi Story, prime                                                                      
sponsor, presented HB 212 to the committee.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Section 1.                                                                                                                 
     Amends 14.17  by adding a  new section  Sec. 14.17.530:                                                                    
     Determination of  local contribution made by  a city or                                                                    
     borough school district. A  local school district shall                                                                    
     define the  terms "student  transportation," "nutrition                                                                    
     services,"    "food    services,"   "preschool,    pre-                                                                    
     kindergarten,  or   other  early   education  program,"                                                                    
     "career   and   technical  education",   "before-school                                                                    
     program,"   "after-school    program,"   and   "student                                                                    
     activity" when  determining the calculation of  a local                                                                    
     contribution.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     Section 2.                                                                                                                 
     Amends  Sec.   2.  AS   14.17.990(6)  to   read  "local                                                                    
     contribution"  means appropriations  and  the value  of                                                                    
     in-kind services  made by a  district does  not include                                                                    
     appropriations or  the value  of in-kind  services made                                                                    
     by  a district  for  student transportation,  nutrition                                                                    
     services,    food   services,    a   preschool,    pre-                                                                    
     kindergarten, or other  early education program, career                                                                    
      and technical education, a before-school program, an                                                                      
     after-school program, or a student activity.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     Section 3.                                                                                                                 
     Amends AS 01.10.070(c) to provide for this Act to take                                                                     
     effect immediately.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:16:18 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
FRANK  HAUSER,  Superintendent,   Juneau  School  District,  gave                                                               
invited  testimony  on  HB  212.    He  began  his  testimony  by                                                               
explaining how  the proposed legislation  would change  how local                                                               
communities within a  school district would be able  to fund non-                                                               
instructional items, such  as extracurricular sports, activities,                                                               
community  schools,  after  school programs,  student  nutrition,                                                               
student  transportation,  and  early   education  programs.    He                                                               
highlighted  the  positive  impacts   of  allowing  local  school                                                               
communities within  school districts  to allocate funds  at their                                                               
own discretion and emphasized the  possible negative impacts upon                                                               
a  school  district  were  its local  community  not  allowed  to                                                               
allocate  it  funds.   He  described  how a  proposed  regulatory                                                               
change  by the  DEED  would  threaten the  very  way that  school                                                               
districts are  currently allowed  to budget by  eliminating local                                                               
governments' authority  to make decisions with  local dollars and                                                               
non-instructional  priorities.     He  said  that   the  proposed                                                               
regulatory changes  by the  DEED would  not succeed  in providing                                                               
the equitable outcome that they  aim to achieve and explained how                                                               
HB  212 would  provide  a "targeted  approach"  to maintain  both                                                               
federal funding exceptions and a free and fair public education.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
9:27:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KATIE  PARROT, Senior  Director, Office  of Management  & Budget,                                                               
Anchorage  School District,  gave  invited testimony  on HB  212.                                                               
She explained  how school districts  around Alaska  are utilizing                                                               
local funds for their schools to offset the impacts of a flat-                                                                  
funded Base  Student Allocation (BSA)  and an increasing  cost of                                                               
operation for  school districts  in Alaska.   She  emphasized how                                                               
the proposed  legislation would  balance school  district funding                                                               
needs  by retaining  the ability  for local  communities to  fund                                                               
their  local  school districts  at  their  own discretion.    She                                                               
explained how  the proposed regulatory  change by the  DEED would                                                               
result in a more unfair  funding environment for Alaska's schools                                                               
and  describe the  positive impacts  of local  funding on  school                                                               
districts around the state.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:36:41 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE    SCHWANKE    asked    why    the    supplemental                                                               
transportation funding  for the  Anchorage School  District (ASD)                                                               
is set to increase in the next fiscal year.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. PARROT answered that enrollment  decline is often to blame in                                                               
the increase of a transportation  route's cost. She said that the                                                               
passing of 2024  Ballot Measure 1 also has an  impact on the cost                                                               
of labor.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
9:39:34 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   EISCHEID  asked   if   1600   kids  would   lose                                                               
transportation services if HB 212 were not to become law.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MS.  PARROT  explained  that  the  1600  figure  she  shared  was                                                               
comprised of a multitude of different sectors of education.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:42:16 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JOSH  COUGHRAN,  Superintendent,  Skagway School  District,  gave                                                               
invited  testimony on  HB  212.   He  explained  how the  Skagway                                                               
School  District  (SSD)  utilizes  local funding  to  make  up  a                                                               
funding disparity  from the  state and  fund programs  that might                                                               
not otherwise be  able to exist were local funds   not available.                                                               
He  explained how  the limiting  of special  revenue funds  would                                                               
negatively  impact  schools  all  over Alaska  and  detailed  the                                                               
various  school services  that special  revenue  funds uphold  in                                                               
Skagway.   He  urged the  committee to  help protect  the special                                                               
revenue  funding   avenue  that   currently  exists   for  school                                                               
districts in Alaska.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
9:47:34 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT opened public testimony on HB 212.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:48:03 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
NILS  ANDREASSEN,  Executive  Directo, Alaska  Municipal  League,                                                               
testified in support  of HB 212. He emphasized  the importance of                                                               
local  governments being  able to  provide their  own revenue  to                                                               
their own  school districts and said  that HB 212 would  create a                                                               
clear  distinction between  the state's  obligation to  provide a                                                               
free and fair  public education and a local  government's need to                                                               
tailor state funding.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:50:32 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MIKE  COONS, representing  self,  testified in  opposition to  HB
.   He  said  that  the proposed  legislation  would push  for                                                               
"equity, which  is part in  parcel of  D-E-I.".  He  continued to                                                               
ask how the ASD would "it do  this once the $17 million is pulled                                                               
by the  U.S. Department  of Education for  their pushing  of DEI,                                                               
CRT, and  LGBCDQ.  Why  can't the ASD  use the $80  million slush                                                               
fund  that they  have, BSA  needs to  be going  to classroom  and                                                               
teachers, not  any and  all other things  that are  not classroom                                                               
and  teachers.   So long  as this  legislature continues  with no                                                               
real accountability,  I call on the  governor to veto HB  57, and                                                               
if this passes, veto this as well."                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
9:52:22 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR HIMSCHOOT, after ascertaining that  there was no one who                                                               
wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 212.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:52:32 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR STORY made clear that  HB 212 would concern only funding                                                               
that would be  raised by local governments and had  nothing to do                                                               
with the BSA.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
[HB 212 was held over].                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
9:53:50 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no  further business before the  committee, the House                                                               
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:53 a.m.