Legislature(2001 - 2002)
05/09/2002 09:37 AM Senate FIN
| Audio | Topic |
|---|
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 239(HES)
"An Act establishing a pilot program for a regional learning
center."
This was the first hearing for this bill in the Senate Finance
Committee.
REPRESENTATIVE RICHARD FOSTER, the bill's sponsor, explained that
this legislation would provide the Bering Strait School District
(BSSD) and the Nome City School District with State funds to assist
in the development of a joint regional pilot program to enhance
educational opportunities for approximately 200 junior and senior
high school students from the 15 villages that comprise the BSSD.
He communicated that currently most BSSD village school graduates
remain in that village and have limited employment opportunities.
Representative Foster explained that on an annual basis, this non-
traditional boarding school style program, which would operate in
Nome, would provide job shadowing opportunities and courses, some
with a duration of only one or two weeks, to educate BSSD youth
about such things as how to find a job or how to work in retail or
the transportation industry. He stated that once State funds are
secured for the program, federal funds would be sought to assist
the program's continuing development.
Senator Wilken commented that a similar program is scheduled for
the Fairbanks area; however, he stated, the Fairbanks North Star
Borough has committed to pay 30 percent of the construction costs
of the program's facility and would additionally provide funding
for the program through the Borough's school district budget which
is supported by local property taxes.
Senator Wilken asked whether a pro forma plan has been established
to outline the program's direction and funding requirements. He
noted that the fiscal note specifies that State support would be
required for the program's initial four years with the expectation
that the program would be self-supporting after that time period.
Senator Wilken asked how the Bering Strait School District and the
City of Nome propose to support the program.
LARRY LABOLLE, Chief of Staff to Representative Richard Foster,
noted that responses to the local support inquiry indicate that
Nome would support the program with property tax revenue and that
both the City of Nome and the BSSD have the option to use federal
funds to support the program.
Dr. LaBolle asserted that this program differs from the Fairbanks'
program in that this program would require students to be housed in
Nome in order to be provided with opportunities for such things as
driver's education, water safety programs, as well as exposure to
expansive career opportunities that are not readily available in
their villages.
Senator Wilken specified that the May 1, 2002 letter from Dr. John
A. Davis and Dr. Stan Lujon of the Bering Strait School District
[copy on file], addressed to the Senate Finance Committee Co-
Chairs, does not identify the source of the fifth year funding. He
asked whether a financial analysis has been undertaken.
Dr. LaBolle commented that no additional information has been
provided.
Senator Green commented that a fifth year analysis has not been
provided because this is a four-year pilot program. She voiced
concern regarding how the State's school foundation formula funding
might be impacted since the districts would be, in essence, sharing
students. She stated that the Nome School District would be
required to hire additional teachers in addition to housing BSSD
students. She pointed out that this scenario is not provided for in
the school foundation formula funding. She reminded the Committee
that expenses for such things as a program coordinator, food,
travel, and house parents would also be a fiscal consideration. She
remarked that even though she considers this to be a good program,
fiscal concerns must be addressed.
Senator Wilken noted that the letter from the City of Nome to
Representative Foster, [copy on file] dated April 26, 2002,
specifies that "House Bill 239 is needed to assist in sending the
State portion of school funding with the students as they attend
school in the Bering Straits School District or in the Nome Public
Schools." He reiterated Senator Green's concern regarding how the
State school foundation formula funding would provide for this
program.
Senator Wilken declared that it is "uncomfortable" to consider
committing State funds to a project that has "no plan." He stated
that the Fairbanks North Star Borough has committed local taxes to
support the program in their community; however, this bill contains
no local participation requirement. He opined that this bill
"strikes at the very heart of the problem" that exists in the
State, as exampled by the practice in Rural Education Attendance
Areas to "spend as you wish, because there is no accountability,
there is no requirement to have any local participation so whether
it is sewer and water or schools," they want to do it because there
is no local commitment involved.
Senator Wilken announced that were this project proposed in
"organized Alaska," it would be accompanied by a plan that would
provide assurances as to how the pilot program would be able to
continue after the fourth year.
Senator Wilken argued that the expectation should be that this
pilot program is a good thing and would continue to operate through
local involvement and support, and not because "the people of
Alaska are being asked to shoulder the burden." He suggested this
program be set aside until a plan is presented that provides viable
funding assurances for the program after the fourth year.
EDDY JEANS, School Finance Manager, Department of Education and
Early Development, informed the Committee that the State's school
foundation formula funding would be allocated, as routine, to a
student's home school district, which he clarified, in this case
would be the Bering Strait School District. He communicated that
the BSSD would contract with the City of Nome School District to
provide the required services. He characterized this as a
"cooperative effort between the two school districts."
Mr. Jeans voiced the understanding that, in the program's fifth
year, other grants would be sought to support the program in
addition to the use of the State's school foundation formula
funding.
Co-Chair Kelly questioned whether the pilot project school would
qualify for the State school foundation formula funding as a result
of the two school districts' contractual agreement.
Mr. Jeans clarified that the students' home school districts would
transfer portions of their foundation formula funding and other
impact aid funding to support the pilot program.
Co-Chair Kelly stated that there is no language specifying that
this funding support must occur.
Mr. Jeans agreed, but reiterated that school districts are allowed
to enter into cooperative agreements.
Co-Chair Kelly asked Senator Wilken whether Mr. Jeans' comments
provided the pertinent funding information he requested.
Senator Wilken replied that, "they did not."
Senator Green asked whether the funding agreement between the two
districts could begin with the programs' first year rather than
with the fifth year.
Mr. Jeans clarified that the State funding requested in this bill
would supply "the seed money" required to initiate the program. He
continued that this "seed money" would provide the foundation upon
which to approach the federal government for further funding
assistance to address such needs as housing facility renovation
expenses and on-going operational costs.
Senator Green explained that the State school foundation formula
allots annual funds to schools based on the number of students
enrolled in that district, and she specified that this funding and
student/teacher ratio guidelines determine staffing needs. She
voiced concern that a long-term funding plan for this program might
be difficult to develop because of the uncertainty of this annual
funding amount.
Senator Green stated; however, that if the BSSD does not allocate
their money to hire District staff; they could support this project
by providing funds to the Nome School District to hire program
teachers.
Mr. Jeans commented that it has not been established that Nome
would be required to hire additional teachers. He stated that as
part of the program, students from the BSSD would be temporarily
housed in Nome as a means to supplement the educational
opportunities provided by their own District; however, he noted, no
mechanism exists to offset the boarding home expenses because these
students are disqualified from receiving boarding home stipends
since their participation in the program would be funded through
their home district. He stated that the boarding home expenses "are
really a core issue."
Mr. Jeans opined that the interaction between Nome and remote
village students would additionally provide cultural benefits.
Senator Green understood that three or four additional staff would
be required to facilitate the program. She stated that even though
the formula funding might not provide a funding mechanism to
support the boarding home component of the program, the Bering
Strait School Board could choose to allot money from its formula
funding to support it.
Mr. Jeans reiterated that he is not aware that additional
instructional staff would be required; however, he noted that the
Department of Education and Early Development's fiscal note
specifies that the program would require three staffers: one of
whom would be the program coordinator with the other two being
housing staffers.
Senator Green expressed the understanding that the additional
staffers would be teachers.
Mr. Jeans commented that the school districts could allocate
portions of their "discretionary money" to fund housing and other
program expenses.
STAN LUJAN, Superintendent, Nome Public School District, testified
via teleconference from Nome and informed the Committee that the
BSSD has Rural Education Attendance Area (REAA) funding available
to hire vocational education staff; however, those funds are not
currently being accessed because the District does not have a
vocational technical training facility. He continued that those
funds could be accessed to fund three staffers if BSSD students
were in this program.
Senator Green asked who would supervise the staff.
Mr. Lujan stated that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) would be
developed between the two school districts to address this issue.
He stated that in order for the REAA funds to be realized, the
instructors would be required to hold either a Type A or Type C
vocational education certification.
Senator Austerman asked whether local matching funds are required
to receive State foundation formula funding.
Mr. Jeans replied that Nome residents do contribute to the
education formula funding and that the BSSD "is an REAA and make
their contribution through impact aid."
Senator Austerman asked Senator Wilken to further explain his
concern about local funding participation in the Nome program.
Senator Wilken explained that his concern is that these school
districts have a $30 million school budget and are requesting an
additional $1 million of State money to undertake this pilot
program. He stressed that no information is included in the request
regarding how the Districts would fund the program after the four-
year pilot program funding concludes. He asserted that no business
plan has been provided and that no local community financial
support has been established.
Mr. Jeans responded that Nome is a "first class city" and is a
separate school district within the Bering Straits region. He
clarified that Nome does locally contribute funds to support
education.
Senator Wilken agreed and acknowledged that Nome contributes the
maximum four-mils in support of education.
Senator Hoffman stated that other entities, such as the Kuskoquim
School District, could contribute to this program, as there is
great demand for vocational training in the region, particularly in
the health care field. He detailed some of the possible non-State
funding opportunities that could materialize. He stated that many
entities support the program and that the benefits realized from
the State investment would offset the expense.
Senator Hoffman continued that this demonstration project at the
high school level could unite the region in retaining and training
local people for jobs rather than continuing the current "revolving
door" employment situation. He stressed that the success of the
program would spawn continuing support momentum from regional
entities.
Senator Wilken voiced appreciation for Senator Hoffman's comments
that "helped define" the program goals; however, he asked why the
region's students could not attend one of the three existing rural
vocational/technical schools instead of duplicating those efforts.
He voiced concern that this program might defer funds away from the
existing programs.
Senator Hoffman responded that there might be duplications of
efforts; however, there are benefits in keeping students within
their region as it provides support groups and a familiarity with
regional needs and job opportunities. He stated that some students
would suffer "cultural shock" if they were sent to a large
community which might result in them "dropping out" of the program.
He stated that regional job needs could more easily be addressed
were the program located within the region.
Senator Olson addressed the duplication of efforts question by
commenting that were this program looked at through the eyes of one
of the rural high school students from a small remote village
rather than through the eyes of someone from outside of the region,
it would be determined that a program in their region would be an
easier transition than being sent to a larger, unfamiliar, and
distant area.
Senator Wilken questioned whether a student who attends similar
programs in Nome rather than the existing program in Kotzebue would
recognize any differences. He stated that if the Committee decides
to support a new four-year pilot program in Nome, perhaps a similar
vocational technical program slated for construction in Bethel
should instead be located in Nome since facility infrastructure
already exists.
Senator Wilken reiterated his request for a program plan to be
provided to the Committee.
Co-Chair Kelly requested Superintendent Lujan to submit a program
plan to the Committee to address concerns about the bill.
Senator Olson commented that Kawerak, a Nome non-profit social
services agency, is successful at securing federal funds for
training programs and that a local union is also a strong supporter
of training programs. He reminded the Committee that the Bethel
vocational training center is, specifically a post secondary
education facility, whereas the Nome program would be provided to
high school students.
Senator Wilken acknowledged that the Nome and Bethel facilities
would serve differing age groups; however, he asked, "what the
difference is between the proposed Nome facility and the Kotzebue
tech facility, three years from now."
Dr. LaBolle communicated that the Kotzebue vocational technical
program is a concentrated post-secondary education program through
which students learn a trade. He continued that the program being
considered in Nome would expose high school juniors and seniors to
a variety of careers that the region supports. He stated that this
process would provide students with job shadowing opportunities as
well as introducing students to the needs of the regions'
industries.
Dr. LaBolle informed the Committee that individuals from "outside"
of the region are employed in the majority of the viable jobs in
the region, and he asserted, the goal of the program would be to
have area students choose an educational path which would allow
them to assume these jobs over time.
Co-Chair Kelly asked for confirmation that the BSSD would contract
with the Nome School District and thereby provide a portion of
their student foundation formula funding to the Nome School
District to support the program.
Dr. LaBolle replied that the BSSD would continue to claim BSSD
students in the community in which they reside, and that the BSSD
would contract with the Nome School District to provide the
educational services in "short block" programs. He asserted that
this is not a boarding school scenario.
Co-Chair Kelly requested Mr. Lujan to supply the Committee with a
more detailed plan. He voiced support for the concept, but stressed
that further information is necessary to address the Committee's
program funding concerns. He stated the need for the State to
undertake steps "to transition rural Alaska out of the past and
into the future."
Senator Hoffman informed the Committee that because many rural
residents "live off the land," many professionally trained
individuals regard these Native peoples as "the experts" when
regional geophysical and wildlife information is needed. He
asserted that residents of the area are well equipped to assume
area jobs once formal training is acquired, and he shared that one
of his relatives pursued a wildlife degree and is now gainfully
employed in the region.
Senator Wilken interjected for clarification that the BSSD has a
current school budget in excess of $30 million, and that Nome,
being a first class city, provides the maximum local funding match
required to receive State school foundation formula funds.
Senator Green suggested that a study be conducted to determine
whether State funds would be required to further the development of
this type of program in the State. She additionally requested that
the two school districts investigate methods to implement this
program without requiring State support.
Mr. Lujan stated that the BSSD receives annual grants amounting to
approximately $2.5 million and that future increases of grant
receipts would alleviate some of the District's demand for State
funds.
Co-Chair Kelly asked Mr. Lujan to include this type of information
in the project plan.
Co-Chair Kelly ordered the bill HELD in Committee.
SFC 02 # 91, Side B 10:24 AM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|