02/22/2008 01:35 PM House FINANCE

 HOUSE BILL NO. 273                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
     An  Act relating to school funding, the  base student                                                                      
     allocation, district cost factors, and the adjustments                                                                     
     for  intensive services and average  daily membership                                                                      
     calculations; and providing for an effective date.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
 1:42:03 PM                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
 Representative Mike  Hawker noted  his  appreciation  for                                                                      
 rescheduling HB  272,  which  had previously  passed  out                                                                      
 committee and scheduled for House floor action.  There had                                                                     
 been an issue raised by the Mat-Su school district, which                                                                      
 needed to be further addressed before being brought forward                                                                    
 for a vote; hence, HB 272 was returned to the House Finance                                                                    
 Committee.  The issue is in regard to pupil transportation                                                                     
 calibration, which information was not available during the                                                                    
 previous hearing in the House Finance Committee (HFC).                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
 Representative Hawker advised that the  numbers had  been                                                                      
 calculated by  Eddy  Jeans,  Director, Education  Support                                                                      
 Services, Department of Education and  Early Development.                                                                      
 The Mat-Su school district challenged the calculation and                                                                      
 then following the discussions, the Department of Education                                                                    
 and Early Development resolved the issue.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
 Vice-Chair Stoltze appreciated time  spent resolving  the                                                                      
 issue.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
 EDDY JEANS,  DIRECTOR OF  SCHOOL  FINANCE, DEPARTMENT  OF                                                                      
 EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT, stated that the Education                                                                     
 Funding  Task  Force  requested  recalibration of   pupil                                                                      
 transportation grants.  He pointed out  that it had  been                                                                      
 calibrated on   actual  audited data   from  FY07,  which                                                                      
 represents the first year of the new contracts for the Rail                                                                    
 Belt area.   All the contracts contain  a Cost of  Living                                                                      
 Adjustment (COLA), the only yearly adjustment except  the                                                                      
 addition of new  bus routes.   He referenced the  audited                                                                      
 financial statement, Pupils  Transportation on  Page  57,                                                                      
 taking total expenditures in the  amount of $9.9  million                                                                      
 dollars, dividing that by the number of students for FY07                                                                      
 and arriving at the amount.  The amount was adjusted by the                                                                    
 Anchorage Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3.2 percent twice                                                                      
for  FY08 and  FY09. Those are  the rates  established in                                                                       
Statute for  FY09.  Mr.  Jeans pointed out that  the same                                                                       
process was used for all fifty-three school districts and                                                                       
are the numbers contained in the bill's body.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Representative Gara asked if those were the formulas used                                                                       
to compensate  school districts for actual  transportation                                                                      
costs. Mr. Jeans recalculated the dollar amounts based in                                                                       
the  FY07 audited  financial statements and  adjusted for                                                                       
inflation.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:51:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Hawker  referred to  a  replacement fiscal                                                                       
note, not a  new one, attached to the bill, conforming to                                                                       
the legislative budgeting approach.  The previous note only                                                                     
reflected incremental costs for  the year, but  needed to                                                                       
indicate the consequences of forward funding.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Vice-Chair Stoltze MOVED to report CS HB 273 (FIN) out of                                                                       
Committee with the individual recommendations and with the                                                                      
accompanying fiscal notes.  There  being NO OBJECTION, it                                                                       
was so ordered.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
CS HB 273  (FIN) was reported out of Committee with a "do                                                                       
pass" recommendation and  with a new  fiscal note  by the                                                                       
Department of Education and  Early Development and fiscal                                                                       
notes #1  & #2  by the Department of  Education and Early                                                                       
Development.