Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
02/21/2018 08:30 AM House EDUCATION
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Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
HB212 | |
HB339 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
*+ | HB 212 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | HB 339 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 212-REAA & SMALL MUNI SCHOOL DISTRICT FUND 8:31:20 AM CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 212, "An Act relating to funding for school construction and major maintenance; and relating to the regional educational attendance area and small municipal school district fund." 8:32:13 AM REPRESENTATIVE NEAL FOSTER, Alaska State Legislature, speaking as prime sponsor, stated that this bill would expand the Regional Education Attendance Area and Small Municipal School District Fund to include major maintenance. Currently it only provides funds for new school construction. This bill would help reduce deterioration of schools and save the state millions of dollars for full school replacement costs since preventative maintenance would be done. He indicated that the Coalition for Education Equity is comprised of several rural school districts. The CEE has been heavily involved with the Kasayulie case. 8:33:43 AM JANE PIERSON, Staff, Representative Neal Foster, Alaska State Legislature, stated that HB 212 would expand the use of funds in the Regional Education Attendance Area (REAA) and small municipal school district fund to include major maintenance in addition to new school construction. MS. PIERSON explained that the bill had three sections, as follows: Section 1 would add a new subsection (f) to AS 14.11.013, which would add the requirement that the Department of Education create two lists to be updated annually for the capital improvement grant schedule. One list would be for projects funded for the REAA fund and the second list for all other projects. Section 2 of the bill would amend AS 14.11.030(a) to allow costs for major maintenance to be to an allowable use in the REAA fund. Section 3 of the bill would amend AS 14.11.035, Report on school construction and major maintenance funding, which would remove outdated references, clarify the timeframe on annual submission and would include major maintenance funding under HB 212 to the report. 8:34:36 AM MS. PIERSON explained that the school construction and maintenance grant programs were the only significant programs that provide funding for new construction renovation or major maintenance for schools in our communities without bonding capacity. A healthy continued grant program for construction when needed and ongoing major maintenance would provide a vetted solution for the funding of high priority major maintenance needs, including boilers, roofs, and other important systems for our schools. The program has been a major success. The REAA and small school district funds are available for funding projects and school construction grants (indis.) have greatly reduced the number of schools on the list. MS. PIERSON said that since 2014, when the legislature passed Senate Bill 64 placing a moratorium on approving projects that are funded by debt reimbursement authorized by local voters until July 1, 2020, there has been an increase in applications vying for legislative funding on the major maintenance grant funding list. Therefore HB 212 was good for rural Alaska as well as urban Alaska, she said. By adding major maintenance to the REAA and small district fund, other non-REAA projects can rise more quickly to the top of the major maintenance list. 8:36:10 AM REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked for further clarification on the priority list, specifically how the priorities would be weighed. MS. PIERSON answered that she conferred with the department who indicated that two lists would be created. One list would contain projects for REAA and small school districts and the second list would list all the rest of the projects. These projects would continue to be prioritized in the same way they currently are; however, this new list would include major maintenance and new school construction. She further explained that the same rating system currently being used will be used, including that it would maintain the same appeals process and reconsideration process currently in statute. 8:37:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE KOPP related his understanding that it sounded like that this would be done by regulation. MS. PIERSON answered yes; that the department said it can do so without any additional cost. 8:37:35 AM CHAIR DRUMMOND asked for further clarification on other things included in major maintenance. MS. PIERSON answered that major maintenance would also include bringing things into compliance with building codes and it will save the state money in the long run by keeping these schools viable and continuing to create educational opportunities in these small communities and help foster healthy rural communities in Alaska. CHAIR DRUMMOND asked whether this would be limited to the 23 districts listed in attachment 1. MS. PIERSON agreed. 8:39:01 AM SCOTT MACMANUS, Superintendent, Alaska Gateway School District (AGSD), said he appreciated the opportunity to speak in support of HB 212. He stated that he has been at the AGSD for over 20 years and he has been the superintendent for the past 20 months. The school has been using local wood sources to heat and power some of the schools. The district has done considerable work on energy efficiency, including converting the school lighting system to LEDs. He related that the AGSD has been pursuing any available federal funds that will help expand those savings to better serve students. MR. MACMANUS highlighted one issue, which has been the district's inability to gain major maintenance funding using the Capital Improvement Project (CIP) list. His district has not received CIP funding since 2009. He said the AGSD and the Coalition for Education Equity strongly support the idea of allowing flexibility to use school construction funds for major maintenance. He said he hoped that HB 212 would assist and meet the district's needs for maintenance projects. He acknowledged that these projects have been deferred. The AGSD has wanted to move its maintenance projects forward, such as a sprinkler system at the Tok school that has been out of compliance and costs $50 thousand to maintain each year. He related that classes have to move out of some classrooms due to broken or leaking pipes. Last year, this critical project moved up from number 47 to number 14 on the CIP list. Replacement of this system would cost $1.2 million dollars, which exceeded the amount the school district could afford to do on its own. He characterized this project as one glaring example, noting that all of the schools were aging. He said that the oldest school, Northway School, was 40 years old, noting the sewer system kept freezing due to floor shifts since the building sits on permafrost. He said that funds for major maintenance are being diverted from the primary mission of educating students. The district constantly must evaluate how to provide education for its students. He offered his support and the support of both organizations for the bill. 8:43:25 AM REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked how many people the district serves. MR. MACMANUS answered that the district serves 400 students over 26,000 square miles ranging from Eagle Village to Mentasta. He stated that the district has two fulltime maintenance staff. 8:43:49 AM REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON related her understanding that he has two fulltime maintenance staff. She asked whether he has considered using local village resources for some of the maintenance. MR. MACMANUS answered that whenever possible he uses local support; however, it has been difficult to find qualified people in some of the small communities that can manage the complicated facilities. Some of the work must be done by those qualified to do it but whenever possible the district uses local support. 8:44:32 AM CHAIR DRUMMOND asked whether the Alaska Gateway School District in the unorganized borough. MR. MACMANUS answered yes. CHAIR DRUMMOND answered that the community does not have any local property taxes or sales taxes. MR. MACMANUS agreed. 8:45:20 AM LISA SKILES PARADY, PhD; Executive Director, Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA); Representative, Alaska Superintendents Association (ASA), Association of Alaska School Boards (AASB), stated that the ACSA was the umbrella organization for all professional educators, including the Alaska Superintendents Association, the Alaska Association of Secondary Principals, the Alaska Association of Elementary Principals, and the Alaska School Business Officials. She stated these organizations are in support of HB 212. 8:46:16 AM DR. PARADY thanked members for the important work on many challenges facing Alaska today and especially appreciate their support of tools that support the school districts. She said that her organizations support HB 212 since it would allow access to funds to sustain major maintenance, which helps to delay replacement capital costs. This bill does so by allowing REAAs and small municipal school districts to fund major maintenance in addition to school construction under the REAA and small municipal funds. For these reasons, and in recognition of the vital importance of major maintenance to schools across the state, the organizations she represents support the bill. She focused on the REAAs across the state and in small municipal districts without the ability to access other support. She stated that the organizations strongly support HB 212 as it provides useful flexibility. She characterized it as another tool in the toolbox during a time that the state has been struggling. She thanked members for their work. 8:47:47 AM The committee took an at-ease from 4:47 p.m. to 4:49 p.m. 8:49:24 AM SARAH SLEDGE, Executive Director, Coalition of Education Equity (CEE), stated that the CEE was a statewide organization representing Alaska school districts, organizations, and individuals who are concerned about the quality and breadth of educational opportunities available to Alaska's children. Her organization was formerly known as the Citizens for the Educational Advancement of Alaska's Children (CEAAC), an organization that advocated for reform at the legislative level while pursing the Kasayulie and Moore lawsuits, which were settled in 2011 and 2012, respectively. 8:50:00 AM MS. SLEDGE asked the committee to consider the Kasayulie lawsuit, which was filed in 1997 regarding the method of funding capital projects for education. At the time the lawsuit was filed, many of the physical facilities of plaintiffs' school districts were in dire need of replacement or in need of major maintenance exhibiting widespread deterioration, physical dangers, structural deficiencies, inability to satisfy relevant code requirements and a lack of sufficient instructional space. 8:50:33 AM MS. SLEDGE stated that as REAAs, these school districts do not have the legal authority to raise capital funds through a local capital tax levy or bond issue. At the same time, most municipal school districts have bonding capacity sufficient to raise capital funds and access to state funding for capital projects through the state's debt reimbursement program. This resulted in disparities between facilities in plaintiffs' school districts and those in districts with the ability to pass local bond issues to raise the necessary capital for facilities funding, major maintenance and renovation. 8:51:12 AM MS. SLEDGE related that in 1999, the court found that the state's history and practice of funding of rural school facilities violated its obligations under the education and equal protection clauses of the Alaska Constitution and Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act. She stated that CEAAC and the State of Alaska (SOA) reached a settlement in the lawsuit in 2011. Prior to the settlement, CEAAC worked with legislators in 2010 on passage of Senate Bill 237, which directed 24 percent of funds allocated to bond debt reimbursement to REAA schools on the Department of Education and Early Development's (DEED) CIP list. This established a systematic mechanism for identifying funding amounts for rural school construction, which was expanded to include small municipal districts in 2013. She mentioned that when Senate Bill 237 was drafted there was discussion on including language in the bill that would permit the fund to be used for school construction and major maintenance projects; however, the need for school construction was great and it was given priority. 8:52:20 AM MS. SLEDGE said that while several school construction projects remain on the CIP list, many have been completed and a significant backlog of major maintenance exists in REAA and small municipal school districts. As a result, the situation of deteriorating school facilities has created unsafe or uncomfortable environments that interfere with or impede student learning or create increased costs for maintenance. She expressed the CEE's concern that continued deferment of major maintenance will necessitate a larger number of school construction projects in the future at great cost to Alaska. This bill would seek to allow the REAA and small municipal school district fund to be used for major maintenance in addition to school construction. She said, "We believe this follows the intent of the Kasayulie case, seeking to achieve parity in funding between areas with bonding capacity and those that do not." She offered the CEE's support for HB 212. 8:53:23 AM CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that HB 212 would be held over.
Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
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HB 212 - Sponsor Statement 2.16.18.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Attachment #1 Districts covered by the bill.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Attachment #2 REAA & Sm School Fund.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Attachment #3 School School Construction Grant Fund, Final List.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Attachment #4 Major Maintenance List FY19 Final.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Attachment #5 Kasayulie Order.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Attachment #6 Annual Report School Capital Project Funding Under SB237.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 SB 237 |
HB 212 Bill version D.PDF |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Fiscal Note DEED Education Support and Admin Services.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
HB 212 Support Document 2.17.18.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 212 |
AASB Support of HB 339.pdf |
HEDC 2/21/2018 8:30:00 AM |
HB 339 |