Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/07/2003 01:03 PM Senate HES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 104-REPEAL CHARTER SCHOOL GRANTS
CHAIR FRED DYSON announced SB 104 to be up for consideration. He
told members in preparing this legislation for charter schools,
he asked if federal funding was assured and when it would start.
The answer he got was almost certainly, but [DEED] wouldn't know
until mid-summer. He wondered if the Legislature should delay
passing this bill until it is sure of funding and the answer he
got back today was that the governor would prefer that it pass
with contingency language. He prepared draft contingency
language saying this bill only goes into effect if the federal
government agreement happens.
MR. EDDY JEANS, Department of Education and Early Development
(DEED), explained that this legislation would repeal the state
grants for start-up funds for charter schools. It was his
understanding that one of the reasons the state started down
that road was because of minimal federal support to start
charter schools. He has a chart that shows the state was
granting charter schools $140,000 to $180,000 in federal funds.
The Legislature passed the state program that consisted of $500
per student in addition to the federal grants. The highest total
for the two grants combined for any of the state's original
charter schools was $478,000 - a family partnership school in
Anchorage.
He said the department had a dialogue with the federal
government and talked with the director of charter schools and
floated a proposal that gave charter schools $150,000 per year
for the first four years with a $45,000 grant in the fifth year
for a total of $495,000. That would easily exceed the combined
federal and state grant that school districts received
previously. However, there is no signed grant agreement yet, and
the application is due April 28. DEED should know by mid-to-late
June whether or not those funds are coming. The charter school
coordinator received an e-mail from the director, Dean Kern, who
said he liked the proposal, but DEED still has to go through the
grant application process.
SENATOR WILKEN moved to adopt conceptual amendment number 1.
SENATOR GUESS objected for discussion purposes. She asked if the
Legislature would evaluate the federal funds it would receive
each year or just the first year.
MR. JEANS replied that he understands that this amendment would
delay the repeal of the state charter school grant until the
department knows whether or not it has secured federal funding
this summer. The effective date of the bill as it is currently
written is July 1, 2004. DEED currently has a $158,000 request
in this year's budget, which will make all charter schools whole
under this state program. He thought that Senator Dyson's
concern was if the state doesn't get the funding, then the
repeal date would become July 1, 2004 and it would just fall off
the books. If the state secures the federal funds this year, he
understands that the state grant would come off the books in
July 1, 2004.
CHAIR DYSON said the fundamental question that Senator Guess was
asking is what happens if the federal funds go away in the
future.
MR. JEANS replied that at that point the Legislature would have
to determine whether it wanted to initiate a state grant program
again.
CHAIR DYSON asked what the length of the federal commitment is.
MR. JEANS replied five years and DEED will be requesting $10
million in federal start up grants.
SENATOR GUESS commented that he had answered her question and
then asked whether he had thought about putting a sunset of five
years on the repeal. She was concerned about what would happen
if the federal funds and the start up funds for charter schools
both go away.
MR. JEANS replied that he did not have any discussions with the
administration about a sunset date.
CHAIR DYSON added that Senators Guess and Davis had discussions
with him about a possible task force to take a much broader look
at the whole charter school business. He thought this would be
one of the things they would look at, but he, personally, would
not recommend a sunset right now.
SENATOR WILKEN moved to report CSSB 104(HES) from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal notes. There were
no objections and it was so ordered.
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