Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205
03/30/2017 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB78 | |
| SB96 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 78 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 96 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 96-EDUCATION: SCHOOLS/TEACHERS/FUNDING
8:43:05 AM
CHAIR HUGHES announced the consideration of SB 96. She said
there would be invited testimony.
TIM PARKER, President, NEA Alaska, testified on SB 96. He
related that the educators he represents have a goal to maximize
student learning and they appreciate the goal of the bill - to
find efficiencies while still delivering a high quality of
education. He emphasized the need for a long-term fiscal
solution, which is their number one priority.
He addressed SB 96 beginning with the virtual education piece.
Educators like digital learning when done right because it
increases student learning. Synchronous digital learning is one
of the best methods of delivery. The main concern is whether
there is good or bad implementation and this bill has the intent
to provide good implementation.
He turned to Section 1 and the fact that virtual education does
not replace good teachers. He said NEA supports that.
He said DEED is moving forward with the Alaska Education
Challenge and the section on modernization fits well into that
plan.
8:48:01 AM
MR. PARKER had questions regarding the bill. He inquired what
kind of resources DEED will need to accomplish what is in the
bill regarding virtual education, such as districts having
enough broadband. NEA would like to know which districts have
enough broadband to accomplish the goals in the bill. He
suggested including educators in the conversation when
developing content, as that would result in student learning.
He wondered if usage fees will cover the costs districts might
incur from expanding virtual education.
He stressed the importance of high standards as they relate to
the Praxis test. He said the bill suggests tying the test to
other states standards; however, standards that are right for
Alaska should be considered. The Praxis is a legitimate way of
demonstrating content knowledge.
8:50:41 AM
MR. PARKER said NEA struggles with the idea of insurance
pooling, as mentioned in Sections 7 and 8, because in the past
it has not resulted in savings. They do not want to see the
quality of health care diminish. There is a problem in Section
8; the issue of outsourcing education services to the private
sector. He said student health and safety would be at risk. He
maintained that people who work in schools should be employees
of the district.
He said he shares concerns of unintended consequences in
Sections 10 and 11.
8:52:20 AM
He concluded that NEA's number one concern is student learning.
8:52:28 AM
SENATOR BEGICH referred to Section 8, which he worked on. He
asked for clarification of Mr. Parker's concern about
outsourcing of education on page 4, lines 23-29.
MR. PARKER explained that it is the mention of the word
"businesses" to be outsourced. He said currently that is funded
at $100,000 and the bill would raise it to $200,000 to outsource
economical, administration or educational services. The turnover
issue is a concern, as is the quality of the employee.
He pointed out that the first person to see a student is the bus
driver. Next is a custodian or food service person. Finally, a
teacher sees the student. All employees should be employees of
the district and have high standards.
8:54:49 AM
CHAIR HUGHES thanked Mr. Parker.
8:55:00 AM
JEREMY HOLAN, Business Representative, Teamsters Local 959,
Teamster Director, Student Transportation, testified about
concerns in SB 96. He began with Section 6(b)(2) and said only
requiring one state bus inspection a year is inadequate because
it will increase the risk to students, bus drivers, and the
public, and will potentially increase the amount of late buses
due to break downs. Two inspections a year are currently the
only checks on maintenance to ensure safety. He referred to a
chart provided by Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities (DOTPF) that shows the percentage of buses passing
inspections from the year 2004 to present.
8:57:47 AM
MR. HOLAN turned to his second concern Section 23 on page 14.
Removing the two times the minimum wage for school bus drivers
could increase the driver shortage in Alaska. He provided data
on the bus driver wage as it relates to the number of drivers.
He shared information on the reasons for driver shortages; low
wages, long hours, split shifts, and lack of opportunity to hold
a second job.
He said drivers can carry up to 84 very precious cargo and must
pass a background check, pass a CDL permit, a road test, and
work a very flexible schedule. There are many stresses place on
bus drivers.
9:00:06 AM
He summarized his concerns about only one state school bus
inspection a year. He requested that they not remove the double
minimum wage for drivers and that they spend more time on the
bill before moving it forward.
9:00:39 AM
CHAIR HUGHES thanked Mr. Holan.
9:00:54 AM
NORM WOOTEN, Executive Director, Association of Alaska School
Boards, testified in opposition to SB 96. He noted districts did
a good job of addressing elements of SB 96 at the previous
meeting. He began with Section 4:
Section 4 - This session expands the content areas that students
may challenge out of physical education, art and music. We
support this as seat time is never an appropriate gauge, but
rather mastery of content. I might suggest that you add CTE
courses as well to the list of content areas to give students
more options.
9:02:55 AM
Section 5 - I suspect you are looking for accountability from
school districts. However, this seems redundant as districts
already report this data in other places. Additionally, this is
yet one more requirement for one more report. Although it might
seem to be a small requirement districts are already struggling
to comply with state and federal reporting requirements.
9:03:29 AM
Section 6 - We appreciate the easing of requirements in any way
possible and one school bus inspection per year seems
reasonable.
9:03:47 AM
Section 7 - We support the idea of districts being free to share
space in school facilities. However, it should always be
voluntary and allow districts to make the choice for what is
appropriate in their community. Sharing space with businesses
might take a little more thought but as long as it was a local
decision it could be good option.
9:04:21 AM
Section 8 - The opportunity to obtain a one-time grant would
allow districts to make necessary modifications in their
facilities to create separations necessary for student safety.
9:05:08 AM
Section 9 - Among the items in this section it refers to
districts join the state of Alaska health plans. The number one
cost driver in districts is health insurance. Anything that
would contain or lower these costs would be would be of help.
There is are many questions to be answered on how this could
occur with those health benefits currently being contained in
collective bargaining agreements. The first step is changing
statute to allow it to happen. All the ensuing details would
then need to be ironed out.
9:06:19 AM
Section 10 - This section is the most troubling in this bill.
This in effect opens up the foundation formula by adding a
building capacity element to the formula. Student populations
fluctuate from year to year. This provision will be devastating
to many districts in Alaska. Changes to the foundation formula
deserve to be carefully considered and vetted for any unintended
consequences.
9:07:43 AM
Section 15 & Section 23 - the provisions concerning the PTPC are
in alignment with the Legislative Audit recommendations and we
are in support of those.
9:08:08 AM
Article 15 - AASB supports the use of and expansion of distance
delivery of course material. Many districts are providing or
purchasing these services for delivery in both inter and intra
district. Costs for courses should always be driven by the
market. Membership in the consortium should be voluntary
allowing districts to determine the benefit for their students.
This is not the solution to virtual education but it is a first
step. We need to continue to pursue greater access to broadband
for all districts. He referred to Dr. Bob Wicker's work in this
area.
9:10:19 AM
SENATOR BEGICH referred to the suggestion by NEA to eliminate
the word "business" in Section 8.
MR. WOOTEN said they have no opposition to the word "business."
He had not considered that outsourcing would be a problem.
SENATOR BEGICH said he had not considered it either. He
requested an opinion from Mr. Wooten at a later date.
9:11:30 AM
DR. LISA SKILES PARADY, Executive Director, Alaska Council of
School Administrators (ACSA), testified on SB 96. She praised
school districts for their testimony on the bill at the last
meeting. She voiced appreciation for the important work the
committee has done on the bill, which includes useful concepts
in Sections 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12. She suggested expanding the
provision to allow credits from outside of school hours to also
include career and technical education.
She said ACSA supports Section 7, the idea of schools sharing
facilities, however, it should not be required, only
recommended. They also support the cooperative grant programs
and the adjustment to the Professional Teaching Practices
Commission (PTPC).
9:14:57 AM
DR. PARADY addressed Section 9 and noted their support to
address rising health care costs which are significant cost
drivers. However, with over 15 bargaining agreements, this will
be problematic, and a timeframe will need to be considered. She
agreed that the first step is to change the statute and then to
provide time to allow details to be addressed. Measures to lower
costs to districts need to be considered and she appreciated the
committee's efforts.
She suggested working on SB 96 through the interim with DEED and
the State Board of Education.
9:16:38 AM
DR. PARADY turned to sections of concern. She said ACSA agrees
with AASB that Section 5 adds a requirement back to the annual
report school districts have to make to the department to
include categories of administrative employees and the ratio of
each category to the number of students in the district. This is
a return to a recently repealed bureaucratic reporting
requirement. The information is already reported and available
on DEED's website. It is an unfunded mandate without basis. She
pointed out that administration cost is a legitimate cost of
operating a large system.
9:17:39 AM
DR. PARADY addressed the fiscal notes on pages 11-13 regarding
the delay, but full impact of the bill. Overall, cuts to school
districts are about $21 million in FY18, $36.8 million in FY19,
and $52.7 million by FY20. This is a sustained loss of over $68
million to school districts in FY21 and every year after. The
losses appear to occur in only 20 of the 54 districts; there are
clear winners and losers. For example, Anchorage will lose
roughly $1.7 million in FY18, $6.6 million in FY19, $11.6
million in FY20, and $16.5 in FY21. Sitka will lose $220,000 in
FY18, $990,000 in FY19, $1.7 million in FY20, and $2.5 million
in FY21. These cuts would come about if the district does not
consolidate schools operating below 80 percent capacity and
located within 25 miles by road to another school.
9:19:16 AM
DR. PARADY said she has asked the department about how they are
looking at the 25 mile provision, but has not received a list of
what that would look like. She cautioned that there are many
missing details in the bill. It is a substantial change to the
well-established school finance methodology and does not have
input from stakeholders. The provision will have profound
impacts to school districts.
9:20:05 AM
DR. PARADY stated that Section 11 intends to drive districts to
use schools to greater capacity, a worthy goal, but it falls
short. She used the North Slope Borough District as an example
of a district where some schools use modules interconnected by
hallways and the square footage for occupancy is distorted by
the hallways. The reduction in funding would begin on July 1,
2017, which does not provide enough time for schools to address
school closures. The "one size fits all" approach does not work
for Alaska schools.
She had questions about the proposed occupancy rate in the bill.
She listed examples of questions she had about space and use.
She maintained that decisions about space are best left to local
boards and administrators. She suggested taking more time and
working together on this issue.
9:22:16 AM
DR. PARADY turned to Section 12 - the virtual education
consortium. She thanked the committee for promoting distance
education. She appreciated that experts were invited to talk
about this issue. There are many things happening already in
Alaska with virtual education. She agreed that virtual education
needs to be expanded and supported. However, the bill would
require districts to pay to join the consortium and potentially,
make changes to classroom schedules and district calendars, and
provide professional development for all teachers. She suggested
that the committee take more time to work out the details and
work together with the Alaska Education Challenge on increasing
broadband and expanding virtual education.
9:24:01 AM
She concluded by thanking the committee for its work. She said
she will provide additional written testimony.
CHAIR HUGHES thanked Dr. Parady.
9:24:29 AM
SENATOR BEGICH asked if there is a concern about removing the
word "business" in Section 8.
DR. PARADY wanted to send a written response to that question,
but did not think it would be a problem.
9:25:32 AM
CHAIR HUGHES thanked everyone for their testimony, and held SB
96 in committee.
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