Legislature(2019 - 2020)CAPITOL 106
04/10/2019 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s):|| Alaska Board of Education & Early Development | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
April 10, 2019
8:01 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Harriet Drummond, Co-Chair
Representative Andi Story, Co-Chair
Representative Grier Hopkins
Representative Chris Tuck
Representative Tiffany Zulkosky
Representative Josh Revak
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative DeLena Johnson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
Sally Stockhausen - Ketchikan, Alaska
Bob Griffin - Anchorage, Alaska
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
SALLY STOCKHAUSEN, Appointee
Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Board
of Education & Early Development.
BOB GRIFFIN, Appointee
Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Board of
Education & Early Development.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:01:46 AM
CO-CHAIR HARRIET DRUMMOND called the House Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:01 a.m. Representatives Story,
Revak, Hopkins, and Drummond were present at the call to order.
Representatives Tuck and Zulkosky arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
^Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
8:02:28 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the only order of business
would be the confirmation hearing for the governor's
appointee(s) to the Alaska Board of Education & Early
Development.
8:03:52 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:04 a.m. to 8:05 a.m. to
address technical difficulties.
8:05:07 AM
SALLY STOCKHAUSEN, Appointee, Alaska Board of Education & Early
Development, provided her background information. She is a
special education teacher at Ketchikan High School. She began
her teaching career in 1998, in Texas, and moved with her
husband to Glen Allen, Alaska, in 2002, which is when she got
her start as a paraeducator. She said being an advocate for
students in special education is her passion. She earned a
master's in special education at University of Alaska -
Anchorage (UAA). She has taught in Ketchikan since 2008. She
emphasized her interest in teaching students who struggle how to
advocate for themselves and creating a safe learning environment
for them.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN said the board is strong and committed to
investing in the future of Alaska. She stated her support of
the mission statement that every student receive an excellent
education every day. She expressed support of the Alaska
Education Challenge to increase student success, cultivate
student wellbeing, and support responsible and reflective
learning. She expressed excitement regarding the trauma
informed school movement that she said is transforming schools.
She said the movement addresses the issues that classroom
teachers have been struggling with in helping students. She
said she is optimistic in the benefits that can result from
addressing the traumas that many students or their families are
facing.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN listed that which she brings to the board:
years of teaching at the elementary and secondary level;
experience teaching in inner-city and rural schools; years
teaching general education, English as a second language (ESL),
and special education; and service on "many teams and
committees." She expressed excitement in the opportunity to
bring her perspectives to the board, as well as the opportunity
to gain new perspective by serving on the board. She said times
are challenging.
8:08:28 AM
MS. STOCKHAUSEN imparted that her goal for the board is to help
districts implement the Alaska Education Challenge by finding
creative ways "to increase students' success, cultivate safety,
and support learners." She called educators resourceful people,
and she said she is excited to be helping to find ways to make
the education system sustainable in a changing economy. She
emphasized the importance of addressing trauma so that students
are able to learn. She stated, "Often out of times of adversity
comes times of great growth." She said she sees struggles
related to test scores, budget issues, and accreditations as
opportunities for growth. She emphasized the importance of
skills classes to give students, who may struggle in school,
confidence. She said she is excited about the goal of improving
partnerships with families, communities, and tribes, which is a
priority at the state level.
8:10:34 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY asked Ms. Stockhausen what she believes are the
tools to help students reach third-grade literacy standards.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN answered that the earliest intervention is the
best. In the past, screening was not done until third grade,
and it is known now that if a child is not reading by third
grade, he/she is never going to "catch up."
8:11:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked how Ms. Stockhausen was selected for a
position on the board.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN offered her understanding that those doing the
selecting were looking for someone in Southeast Alaska. She
expressed interest, applied, and "went through the process." In
response to a follow-up question, she said the role of a board
member is to support the goals set forth in the Alaska Education
Challenge, set policies to that end, and support districts that
are implementing [the policies and practices necessary to reach]
those goals. To a question regarding Mt. Edgecombe, she offered
her understanding that the board has a liaison that goes to Mt.
Edgecombe's meetings. She recapped her passion related to
supporting children, and she talked about taking a more active
role in standards, assessments, and policies, along with the
staff of the Department of Education & Early Development (DEED).
She recollected some committee names related to standards and
assessments and policy.
8:14:44 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY asked Ms. Stockhausen if she supports Governor
Mike Dunleavy's proposal to reduce school funding by 25 percent.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN said the budget worries her; however, she is
also concerned about the financial future of Alaska. She said
she does not envy the job of the legislature and the governor to
figure out how to create a budget that works now and for future
generations. She stated, "I thank you for your service in
carrying this burden for us, so we as a board can focus on
students in Alaska."
CO-CHAIR STORY said she views the board's role as being an
advocate for public education, and she expressed her hope that
the board would "adequately look at situations and make
advisements based on what they see as the need." She said she
knows resourcing is "not everything to make positive changes,"
but it does matter; therefore, she expressed her hope that Ms.
Stockhausen would "adequately advise for public education."
8:16:16 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND noted that Ms. Stockhausen had "worked through
multisensory instruction" in Copper Center, and she asked if
that included the identification of children with dyslexia.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN responded that there was multisensory training,
but "what we had was the Linda McBell [program]." She explained
it as "a huge assessment package" that breaks reading down into
little parts. She said, "While we didn't and couldn't, exactly,
diagnose people with dyslexia, we could easily find out where
the weaknesses were." She explained that the Linda Bell program
helped in finding students with "dyslexia-like tendencies."
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked Ms. Stockhausen if, as a special
education teacher, she is aware of a letter from the U.S.
Department of Education stating that dyslexia is an identifiable
reading disability, which should be identified in students by
schools.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN answered yes.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND, assuming the necessary training did not
occur, asked whether Ms. Stockhausen is able to recognize
dyslexia in students now and subsequently able to do something
for those high school students she teaches.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN answered yes. She said the Ketchikan School
District does not use the Linda McBell program, but her training
has helped her to identify those children who have dyslexia and
are not already coping with it, by giving them a reading
assessment. She said she has paraprofessionals on her staff who
have taught reading at the elementary level; therefore, as a
team they work together "to meet those needs."
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND noted that Ms. Stockhausen had said she had
worked in an inner-city school district.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN confirmed she had worked for four years in a
school district in Fort Worth, Texas.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked Ms. Stockhausen if she supported the
section of the Constitution of the State of Alaska that promises
appropriate public education to every student in the state.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN said she swore on the constitution and it is her
duty as a board member to uphold the constitution; however, in
terms of amendments to the constitution, she said, "It's my duty
to also be open to the discussion from all angles, to help make
a decision of what is best for students." She added, "But if
the constitution prohibits that, then it's my job to support
that."
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked whether the Ketchikan School District
had done an assessment on the impact of the governor's proposed
budget cuts.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN answered yes. She said it is terrifying how
many teachers could be lost and how that could affect class
sizes; however, she said she is split on the issue, because
there needs to be change made for a sustainable future. She
said, "It's time to go back to the table and say, 'Okay, what
can we do to make this work?'"
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked how Ms. Stockhausen would vote on the
governor's budget as a board member.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN answered as follows:
I'm going to yield to our statement that we released,
that we're supportive of you guys, and we're
supportive of the governor, as you work together to
create a budget that will carry us into the future.
And regardless of how much that budget increases or
decreases, we're going to remain steadfast to the
Alaska Education Challenge.
8:23:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK posited, "That's kind of a non-opinion
statement."
MS. STOCKHAUSEN responded, "Uh-huh."
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK offered his understanding that Co-Chair
Drummond had asked specifically how Ms. Stockhausen would vote
on "this past budget."
MS. STOCKHAUSEN acknowledged that she had, but said that at this
point the board is not going to vote on that. She concluded,
"And so, I'm going to yield to that."
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK cited AS 14.07.150, which read as follows:
Sec. 14.07.150. Budget and fiscal authority.
The commissioner has responsibility and authority for
the preparation and execution of a budget and for the
other fiscal affairs of the department, subject to the
approval of the board.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK asked again if Ms. Stockhausen would approve
of the budget.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN apologized for not answering the question
directly, but explained that she felt she needed to "stay
united" with the statement released by the board. She
reiterated her concerns both with the budget and with the future
of Alaska, and she concluded, "I don't know where that answer
lies."
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK pointed out that Ms. Stockhausen has a role
and responsibility [as a member of the board], and avoiding it,
even united with others, "isn't what's written in statute." He
encouraged Ms. Stockhausen to read the applicable statutes in
order to understand her role on the board.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN thanked Representative Tuck.
8:25:23 AM
REPRESENTATIVE REVAK expressed his appreciation for Ms.
Stockhausen's resume, the work she has done, and her avoidance
of being political. He said he thinks it is important not to
get into partisan politics.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN thanked Representative Revak.
8:25:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK responding that following law isn't playing
into politics but is "the duty and responsibility of a board
member." He asked Ms. Stockhausen to share which budgets she
has had the experience in overseeing.
MS. STOCKHAUSEN answered that she serves on the Ketchikan
Theatre Ballet Board, and as such has addressed expense issues.
Further, she serves on the board at her church, which includes
budget discussion.
8:26:43 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND said she would like to ask Ms. Stockhausen
about preschool, but time had run out. She expressed
appreciation for Ms. Stockhausen's service to Alaska.
8:27:03 AM
BOB GRIFFIN, Appointee, Alaska Board of Education & Early
Development, after sharing some information about his wife and
children, provided his background information. He said his
family has lived in Alaska since 1899, when his great-
grandparents came to Skagway to build the White Pass & Yukon
Route Railway. At age four, he was one of the first students
enrolled in Head Start. He shared that he has been a
professional pilot for over 40 years.
MR. GRIFFIN listed the experience he brings to the board: six
years on the Budget Advisor Commission for the Anchorage School
District; the last eight years on the Capital Improvement
Advisory Committee; and ten years as senior education research
fellow for the Alaska Policy Forum, which included travel
through the U.S. to attend education conferences to seek
opportunities to improve student outcomes. He said he has "a
wonky sense of curiosity"; he involves himself in the never-
ending search for information. He said he hopes to contribute
his knowledge working collaboratively with other board members
and stakeholders "to fully implement the Alaska Education
Challenge to increase students' success, to ... cultivate [the]
safety and wellbeing of our students, and [to] support
responsible and reflective learning."
MR. GRIFFIN said his personal goals are in line with the Alaska
Education Challenge. One is to address "the crisis of early
childhood literacy in Alaska." He mentioned a handout [provided
to the committee], which outlines the history of test scores for
fourth-grade reading; Alaska is shown in the trends. He said he
is an advocate of the Florida model, which focuses on improving
student outcomes with science-based rating. He said he
appreciates the taskforce chaired by Representative Drummond,
and he acknowledged the many volunteers who participated in that
effort. He opined that early screening of children must be one
of the highest priorities. He said the state has had "great
pockets of success," as well as "great pockets of disappointing
results."
MR. GRIFFIN expressed his excitement to be serving on a board
comprising people with a wide variety of skill sets. He said he
has gotten to know the members pretty well "over the 32 hours
and 1,800 pages of materials" covered in the first two meetings.
He relayed that he is currently serving on Regulatory Review
Subcommittee, and he expressed pride in being the only non-
Inupiaq speaker serving on the Tribal Compact Subcommittee that
was recently formed. He said he is excited to be present to
tackle challenges. He stated, "Despite our challenges, I'm
always comforted by the knowledge that our kids are just as
bright as kids anywhere; our teachers are just as dedicated; and
our parents love their kids just as much as parents anywhere
else." He opined that strong policy prescriptions will enable
children to achieve at "the level that they naturally would."
8:34:51 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS asked if Mr. Griffin has any experience
in the education system within schools.
MR. GRIFFIN answered that he has been involved in his children's
schools, and he said he had been a flight instructor. He opined
that one of "the beauties" of the Alaska Board of Education &
Early Development is the wide variety of skill sets brought by
its members, and many of those skills complement one another.
To a follow-up question, he said he has no inside school
experience other than his six years serving as member and chair
of the budget advisory commission for the Anchorage School
District, during which time he visited about half the campuses
in the district.
8:36:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK noted that his own experience on a like
committee gave him insight into how the school system works. He
revisited the previous discussion concerning the board's role
regarding budget and the statement read by Ms. Stockhausen, and
he asked, "Are you standing beside that statement, as well?"
MR. GRIFFIN answered, "Absolutely." He said he thinks it is
important that the board maintain solidarity on this issue and
do the best job it can with the resources allocated. He talked
about the substantive discussions by the board toward improving
the outcome for students.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK said part of the budgeting process includes
recommendations by commissioners of departments for the governor
and the legislature to consider. The final say involves "the
governor's veto pen." He said [the legislature] relies heavily
on the recommendations of the board and DEED regarding the
budget. He said he knows the governor wants to take the control
away from the board, and he said he does not like to see new
board members let that happen. He mentioned a legal opinion by
the Department of Law, which left out AS 37.07.110, which read:
Sec. 37.07.110. Interpretation of chapter.
This chapter shall be construed as supplemental to all
other state laws not in conflict with it. If a
section or part of a section of this chapter is in
conflict with federal requirements for a program for
which federal grant-in-aid funds are available, the
section or part, to the extent of the conflict, is
inoperative.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK said the first line in that statute
addresses the Executive Budgeting Act. He said, "The statute
that is more prescriptive is the one that prevails." He opined
that there is "very prescriptive language" related to the role
and responsibilities of the board. He indicated that "shall be
construed as supplemental" means that the language is not in
conflict with other statute. He said he feels this
administration is "trying to cripple education in putting board
members in there that are willing to go along with that." He
said he hopes Mr. Griffin will stand up for his role and
responsibility as a board member.
MR. GRIFFIN responded that because board members live across the
state and do not have the time and resources to prepare the
budget, he sees the board's role more as on the execution of the
budget - to take the allocated resources and execute the vision
and produce best educational outcomes. He said "we" are in the
horrible position of having to reduce good programs to preserve
the core program for long-range stability.
REPRESENTATIVE TUCK emphasized the importance of hearing from
the board as to what resources would be needed to follow the
aforementioned Florida model for literacy. He opined that "the
solidarity stand" [of board members] does not support the idea
that there is passion for education. He said that if the board
cannot convince the governor of what needs to happen, then it
may need to convince the legislature. He acknowledged that
serving at the whim of the governor can result in "walking a
fine line"; however, he expressed hope that [Mr. Griffin] would
"find boldness" to support his vision for the board.
8:44:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS asked whether Mr. Griffin is currently a
member of the Alaska Policy Forum.
MR. GRIFFIN answered yes. He answered a series of follow-up
questions. He confirmed his work is strictly volunteer. He
confirmed that he was one of the people who wrote the report
regarding literacy and "must read by [age] nine." He said he
thinks the policy prescriptions being requested in the "read by
nine" document closely mirror the laws passed in 2002 in
Florida. He said it is difficult to "divvy out if those were
the only things that ... created better student outcomes." He
mentioned the chart he had previously provided to show that one
good outcome in Florida was in relation to reading levels of
low-income students, which rose from "twenty-eighth to first" in
a short time. He confirmed that Florida has a similar system to
that of Alaska. Regarding how a cost differential might compare
between the two states, he said it is more expensive to do
things in Alaska. He said K-12 spending in Alaska and average
student daily attendance has grown faster than in Florida over
the last 18-year period [since] the policies in Florida were
instituted. He said Alaska does not spend too much, but Florida
has found a way to reallocate resources on a tight budget. He
said Florida has a constitutional amendment limiting class
sizes; however, he noted that Florida currently has about 19
students per educator, whereas Alaska averages 13 students per
educator. Florida's pre-K program came about in 2005, and
"voluntary pre-K has probably helped them maintain their number
one status; it wasn't actually part of the number one status."
8:51:49 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY said cost comparisons are often made
between Alaska and other states, but she pointed out that the
cost of living in Florida is dramatically different from that in
rural Alaska. She offered examples of the high cost of living
in rural Alaska. She asked Mr. Griffin if he recognizes that
there is a stark difference in providing education throughout
rural Alaska compared to Florida.
MR. GRIFFIN answered, "Absolutely." He said as chair of the
Budget Advisory Commission, he is familiar with the cost drivers
of K-12 education, many of which are related to outside
classroom costs, such as healthcare. He said this begs the
question as to how some states have been able reign in cost
drivers when some of them have grown out of control for Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY asked whether Mr. Griffith, as a board
member, would "uphold the solvency of delivering education
throughout Alaska equitably through full and adequate funding of
the (indisc.) student allocation" and by increasing
opportunities for funding to ensure the provision of "adequate
state match for early learning programs."
MR. GRIFFIN answered yes. He said the state board will take the
resources available to produce the best student outcomes, while
living "within the reality of the situation that we're in."
REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY echoed Representative Tuck's statement
that the board is in the position of developing a position that
is then forwarded to the governor and legislature for
consideration; therefore, she implored Mr. Griffith that the
board take a position advocating education with adequate
funding.
8:57:11 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY said her experience shows larger class sizes than
what Mr. Griffith stated as the number 13. She encouraged him
to visit schools, because she said the board is responsible for
knowing the students it serves and classroom situations, and for
being the voice for students.
8:58:17 AM
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND noted that among the solutions Mr. Griffith
proposed in a report are home reading programs. To that end,
she asked what he thought about the governor's proposal to
completely eliminate the Parents As Teachers program and Best
Beginnings, the latter of which provides books to thousands of
children in Alaska.
MR. GRIFFIN reiterated that the state is in the horrible
situation of having to reduce programs to preserve core
programs.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND emphasized the programs are being eliminated,
not reduced.
MR. GRIFFITH reiterated his statement about having to eliminate
programs in order to preserve core programs.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND said Florida has voluntary universal
preschool. She said Governor Dunleavy is proposing to eliminate
any preschool programs, as well as the Head Start program's
basic grant, which she said generates another $50 million in
federal revenue. She asked Mr. Griffith if he approves of the
elimination of preschool when it contributes to improved reading
scores.
MR. GRIFFIN said he personally gained value from the Head Start
program as a child. He suggested there are possibly more
innovative solutions available to produce similar outcomes if
Alaska is in the situation where it cannot afford preschools.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND questioned how the expense of the innovative
solutions would be covered. She then asked Mr. Griffith whether
he supports Governor Dunleavy's "sweep of the higher education
investment fund that currently generates about $20 million in
interest revenues at over 6 percent a year [and] provides
scholarships and grants to hundreds of Alaskan students." She
explained that the fund would be swept into the general fund
where the scholarship applicants would have to compete with
every other request of the general fund, and it would generate
less than one percent in interest, and once it is spent, it
would be gone.
MR. GRIFFIN responded that that issue is not in his wheelhouse;
therefore, he could not make an educated comment.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND said she would then ask a series of questions
to which she asked Mr. Griffith to provide a yes or no answer.
She asked whether it is true that Mr. Griffith would not run for
public office again because he refused to take the candidate
training class from the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC).
MR. GRIFFIN answered no.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND remarked that she has a file from APOC in
which indicates Mr. Griffith had said he would not take [the
training]. She then asked Mr. Griffith whether it is true that
APOC found that Mr. Griffith accepted cash contributions for his
campaign for school board in excess of the allowed amount.
MR. GRIFFIN answered, "That's true."
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND asked Mr. Griffith if it is true that APOC
found that he accepted anonymous contributions to his campaign
for school board.
MR. GRIFFIN answered, "That's true." He began to offer an
explanation.
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND interjected her next question, asking whether
it is true that APOC could not determine how Mr. Griffith spent
excess campaign funds after the campaign but did determine that
most were taken from the account through automatic teller
machine (ATM) withdrawals in another state.
MR. GRIFFIN answered, "That is true."
CO-CHAIR DRUMMOND told Mr. Griffith, "In that case, if you can't
manage your personal campaign finances running for public
office, I can't support you in an appointed position -
especially when you're overseeing ... upwards of a billion-
dollar budget in the state Department of Education & Early
Development." She thanked Mr. Griffith for his public service
and his coming forward today.
9:03:32 AM
CO-CHAIR STORY stated that the House Education Standing
Committee had reviewed the qualifications of the governor's
appointees to the Alaska Board of Education & Early Development
and recommends that the names of Sally Stockhausen and Bob
Griffin be forward for consideration by a joint session of the
legislature. She said this does not reflect intent by any of
the members to vote for or against these individuals during any
further sessions for the purposes of confirmation. [The
confirmations were considered advanced.]
9:04:11 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 9:04 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 4.10.19 DEED Board Confirmation Committee Packet.pdf |
HEDC 4/10/2019 8:00:00 AM |