02/06/2008 08:00 AM Senate SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

        SCR 16-EDUCATION FUNDING/COST FACTOR COMMISSION                                                                     
                                                                                                                              
CHAIR STEVENS announced consideration of SCR 16.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
TIM   LAMKIN,   staff,   Senator  Stevens,   presented   SCR   16                                                               
Establishing and relating to the  Education Funding District Cost                                                               
Factor Commission.  He said this bill  is a direct result  of the                                                               
task force that met over the summer.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR HUGGINS moved to adopt  the proposed committee substitute                                                               
(CS)  to SCR  16, labeled  25-LS1347/C, Mischel,  as the  working                                                               
document of the committee.   There being no objection, the motion                                                               
carried.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. LAMKIN  explained the changes  in this  committee substitute.                                                               
He  said  one  recommendation  from the  task  force  stated  the                                                               
commission  should have  adequate financial  resources to  engage                                                               
professionals experienced  with numbers.  On Page 2,  lines 14-16                                                               
would establish  a relationship with  the legislative  council to                                                               
contract  out services.  According to  the drafters,  Legislative                                                               
Council is  the only  committee that has  the authority  to enter                                                               
into  contracts  of  that  nature   and  to  do  that  with  this                                                               
commission would require a bill in statute.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STEVENS clarified that without  this resolve establishing a                                                               
relationship with Legislative Council, they  would have to have a                                                               
bill instead of the resolution before them.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
8:33:00 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WILKEN  said it's important  to understand that  they are                                                               
not  trying  to measure  the  actual  costs  but the  changes  in                                                               
relative costs. He reminded them  that wages and benefits account                                                               
for  about 80  percent  of the  budget,  so it  is  the other  20                                                               
percent  they are  really measuring.  To illustrate,  he said  if                                                               
insurance in Fort  Yukon is 30 percent higher  than in Fairbanks;                                                               
as time  goes by, Fairbanks  may go up  in insurance but  so will                                                               
Fort Yukon, so what they're trying  to measure is not that dollar                                                               
amount but the relationship between  them. That is a quantifiable                                                               
and measurable difference. On page 1,  line 10 he asked that they                                                               
strike "1998" and  say "prior to 1983." On page  11, insert after                                                               
the  word  "conducted,"  "1983-1985,  1998, 2002  and  2004."  He                                                               
commented  that  on page  2,  lines  3-6,  there's a  recipe  for                                                               
failure. Those  4 lines should  give them pause; because  if they                                                               
do this, they'll be doing just what they've done in the past.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
8:36:48 AM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  WILKEN proposed  the  chair  ask Mr.  Jeans  to be  more                                                               
definitive on lines 14-15 when it  says "shall submit a report of                                                               
its  findings  and proposed  legislative  changes;"  it would  be                                                               
helpful  if  the deliverables  were  a  little more  precise.  He                                                               
suggested bulleting 3  or 4 items that this  legislature wants to                                                               
see 3 or 4 years from now.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR STEVENS asked Senator Wilken  what specifics he was talking                                                               
about.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WILKEN listed  examples such as whether they  want just a                                                               
table of district  cost factors or a model that  is updatable and                                                               
durable  and what  format  it  should be  in;  something to  give                                                               
guidance to this  commission on what they're  supposed to deliver                                                               
back to the legislature.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
8:39:06 AM                                                                                                                    
MR. JEANS  said the issue  raised by Senator Wilken  is addressed                                                               
on page 1, line  15 through page 2, line 2,  where it directs the                                                               
commission to create a durable  and updatable model to accurately                                                               
reflect the costs. He said  that the education funding task force                                                               
that met this past summer was the  first of its kind and was able                                                               
to bring in  experts from different areas  enabling the committee                                                               
to deliberate various components of  the funding formula. He said                                                               
that to  have a similar  task force specifically focused  on cost                                                               
differentials  could have  an equally  positive outcome.  He said                                                               
expected participants would include  the Department of Education,                                                               
Alaska school  business officials and administrators,  and school                                                               
boards. He said the administration supports the resolution.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  STEVENS asked  if  the commission  would  be recurring  or                                                               
would it disappear like the Education Funding Task Force.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  JEANS  said  the  resolution calls  for  the  commission  to                                                               
terminate December 31, 2010. The  intention is to develop a model                                                               
that is  updatable that would be  adopted in statute. He  said he                                                               
could envision statutory requirements that  would be added to the                                                               
model.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
8:42:12 AM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR STEVENS asked  the committee members to let  him know their                                                               
thoughts on the measure and when to move it forward.