Legislature(2023 - 2024)DAVIS 106
03/17/2023 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Education Financial Deep Dive by Department of Education and 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
March 17, 2023
8:00 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jamie Allard, Co-Chair
Representative Justin Ruffridge, Co-Chair
Representative Mike Prax
Representative CJ McCormick
Representative Tom McKay
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
Representative Andi Story
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): EDUCATION FINANCIAL DEEP DIVE BY DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
SUSIE MCKENZIE, Director
Division of Innovation and Education Excellence
Department of Education and Early Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented a PowerPoint, titled "Annual
Report to the Legislature."
DEBORAH RIDDLE, Operations Manager
Division of Innovation and Education Excellence
Department of Education and Early Development
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented a PowerPoint, titled "Annual
Report to the Legislature."
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:00:37 AM
CO-CHAIR JAMIE ALLARD called the House Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Representatives Prax,
McCormick, McKay, Himschoot, Allard, and Ruffridge were present
at the call to order. Representative Story arrived as the
meeting was in progress.
^PRESENTATION(S): Education Financial Deep Dive by Department of
Education and Early Development
PRESENTATION(S): Education Financial Deep Dive by Department of
Education and Early Development
8:01:31 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation on the education finances by the Department of
Education and Early Development.
8:02:20 AM
SUSIE MCKENZIE, Director, Division of Innovation and Education
Excellence, Department of Education and Early Development
(DEED), co-presented a PowerPoint, titled "Annual Report to the
Legislature" [hard copy included in the committee packet].
8:03:39 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD interjected that this is not the report she
requested.
DEBORAH RIDDLE, Operations Manager, Division of Innovation and
Education Excellence, Department of Education and Early
Development, co-presented a PowerPoint, titled "Annual Report to
the Legislature," responded that the data requested is in DEED's
annual report to the legislature.
8:04:02 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:04 a.m. to 8:05 a.m.
8:05:04 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD questioned whether the presenters have a report
breaking down the $2.5 billion of funds going to the districts.
She stated that the committee will bring in an economist to
reevaluate the financial reports totaling this amount.
MS. RIDDLE responded that DEED could follow up with the base
student allocation (BSA). She continued that the presentation
contains the report which accounts for all the other federal
funds and state grants going to districts through DEED. In
response to whether the report shows federal revenue, she stated
that the federal grants are included. She stated she would
follow up to the committee with the full federal grant award
notification.
CO-CHAIR ALLARD reminded the presenters that the committee is
public and the "public needs to know." She reiterated that the
information specifically requested is missing.
8:06:40 AM
MS. MCKENZIE continued to the presentation, pointing out the
state's five strategic priorities, as seen on slide 3.
8:07:24 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD interjected and requested that the presenters
move to the Annual Report, [hard copy included in the committee
packet]. She requested that the committee be given information
on all the funding going to every school district across the
state.
8:07:58 AM
MS. RIDDLE directed attention to page 7 of the Annual Report and
said that beginning on this page each federal program which
provides funds to the state is listed. She added that these
funds pass through DEED to the districts. She stated that page
7 to page 14 addresses each type of federal funding and the
percentage which goes to the districts. She stated that about
95 percent of the funds go through DEED to the districts, with
the remaining 5 percent going to pay salaries and administer the
grants. She stated that on these pages each program is
reviewed, showing the designations for each amount of federal
money.
8:09:05 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:09 a.m. to 8:10 a.m.
8:10:49 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD stated that the Annual Report is required by
statute, pointing out that the presenters are currently giving
an overview of federal programs. She suggested that these
slides be moved through quickly so the committee can review the
numbers.
8:11:30 AM
MS. RIDDLE listed the requirements by statute for the Annual
Report and pointed to the presentation, moving from slide 6 to
slide 14 [which correlated with pages from the Annual Report as
listed in the right-hand corner of each slide]. She briefly
discussed the slides and the statutory requirements, as follows:
report to the public [Annual Report pages 3 to 6], school
accountability and accreditation [Annual Report pages 7 to 14],
federal programs [Annual Report pages 15 to 20], funding by
district [Annual Report pages 21 to 22], quality schools'
initiative and curriculum alignment with standards [Annual
Report pages 23 to 24], support for low performing schools
[Annual Report pages 25 to 27], school district strategies
[Annual Report pages 28 to 38], and turnover of certificated
personnel and superintendents [Annual Report pages 39 to 52].
8:16:00 AM
MS. RIDDLE, in response to a question from the committee,
explained the funding from the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
on page 15 of the Annual Report. She pointed out that on the
chart all Title I-A programs are based on civil rights
equitability; therefore, this addresses low-income students.
She stated that these funds can be used for anything other than
what districts already supply. The next column, SIG 1003(a),
shows the funds for improvement plans for qualifying schools.
In response to a follow-up question, she stated that, for
example, Title I funds can be used for paraprofessionals or
tutors for students identified as Title I students. She added
these funds could also be designated for a school wide
initiative, which would be a broader use.
MS. RIDDLE, in response to a follow-up question from the
committee, stated that Title I is based on a federal formula.
In regard to school improvement, she said this is based on how
the school is designated; for example, Title I-C is based on a
formula in relation to migrant children. She stated that Title
I-D is based on the number of students in the district who
qualify. She pointed out that Subpart 2 is a grant, which must
be applied for by the school. She continued that Title II-A is
for professional development based on the formula in relation to
the size of the school, while Title III-A is based on the number
of English learners in the district. She continued that Title
IV-A is based on the size of the school, while Title IV-B and
McKinney-Vento are both competitive grants. She moved to page
17 and stated that the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) and the Carl Perkins grants are both based on
formulas, while the Comprehensive Literacy State Development
(CLSD) is a competitive grant.
MS. RIDDLE, in response to a follow-up question, stated that
most of the money is distributed on approval from the US
Department of Education (DoED). In further explanation of
support needs, she stated that SIG 1003(a) designates school
improvement funds. She pointed out that there are around 125
schools in the state identified as needing this. She continued
that this is tied to Title I funds; once the state receives the
funds, they go through a formula and a portion goes to school
improvement. She added that this totals $3.25 billion. She
reiterated that this is federal dollars.
8:26:14 AM
MS. RIDDLE, in response to a question concerning the McKinney-
Vento funding, stated that this is money for homeless students,
and every district receives this, while the larger districts
receive extra funds. Concerning why the funding reflects zero
on the chart on page 16, she stated that every district is
required to set aside funds for homeless students, working with
a liaison, and there is a program for this. She stated she
would contact the program manager and follow up with more
information.
MS. RIDDLE, in response to a committee question concerning
migratory students, stated that these students travel outside of
their school districts to do migratory activities, such as
subsistence activities. She stated that Alaska has the sixth
largest program for this in the country, and these students can
receive extra funding. In a follow up concerning whether
federal money is applied for by DEED on behalf of the districts,
she replied that there is a consolidation application for
districts. This is to make sure there is an allowable use of
federal funds. She stated that each student has BSA, but the
funding from the title programs creates extra levels of funding
on top of BSA. She stated that the federal funding is
determined by DoED. The process is, DEED sends a report to
DoED, DoED determines the funding, and then DEED runs its
formula to determine what each district receives, which amounts
to around 95 percent of the federal money. She stated that the
money is not applied for, rather is based on the report sent to
DoED. She further discussed this process.
8:33:12 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD requested the number of federal grants which go
directly to the districts and the total amount of this. She
questioned whether these grants are tracked.
MS. RIDDLE replied that she will follow up to the committee with
these totals. She stated that DEED tracks the grants, and she
explained how this is done. She stated that to receive grant
money, a district must request it. She discussed the risk
assessments done on the school districts, with the top districts
being monitored. During the monitoring, she said that DEED will
give technical assistance, and it will follow up to the district
concerning any noncompliance.
CO-CHAIR ALLARD moved her line of questioning to state and local
revenue. She requested information, for which she expressed the
assumption that the presenters do not have the answer. She
questioned the following to be broken down by district: city and
borough appropriations, total regional education attendance area
(REAA) funds, and the amount of funds each REAA would receive.
She requested an explanation of REAA.
8:38:01 AM
MS. MCKENZIE confirmed that "REAA" stands for regional education
attendance area. She stated that it is usually a group of
districts. She confirmed that she did not have the requested
information, but she would follow up to the committee with this.
In response to a follow-up question, she explained that "in-kind
service" would be like a volunteer, adding that if a match for a
grant is required, it can be done this way. She stated that
this would not have to be done with cash, but a cash value would
need to be assigned. In response to a request for the broken-
down totals for this by district, she stated that she does not
have these numbers. In response to a question on earnings on
investments, she stated that this is not under the division;
however, she would follow up to the committee with this. She
answered that "other local revenue" is the funds which come from
the municipalities and other grants, and the information on this
is not available to the division. She continued that she would
follow up to the committee with this information, along with
information on tuition for students, tuition by district, and
state revenue. She confirmed that the information would be
broken down for the committee by district and total.
8:41:06 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD stated that for the meeting she had requested
the numbers on where the funds come from, how they are
distributed, and how they are broken down by district; however,
she has not received any of this information. She commented
that she is making this statement for the public record.
8:41:30 AM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY commented that some of this requested
information is in the committee packet.
REPRESENTATIVE ALLARD remarked that she does not recall getting
the numbers put on public record.
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT questioned Co-Chair Allard's document.
She requested a copy of the document.
CO-CHAIR ALLARD responded that the document she is working with
is a DEED document; however, it was not obtained from DEED.
8:42:30 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD, in several exchanges with Ms. Riddle, continued
her requests for information from DEED concerning school
district funding. She requested that each question be answered
with the total funding broken down by district.
MS. RIDDLE, in response to the requests for multiple sets of
data from Co-Chair Allard, responded that she would follow up
with the committee with this information.
8:45:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX questioned the document Co-Chair Allard was
referring to.
CO-CHAIR ALLARD responded that her office had put together the
questions, and once it receives the answers the document will be
passed on to the committee.
8:45:51 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:45 a.m. to 8:37 a.m.
8:47:08 AM
CO-CHAIR ALLARD expressed the understanding that the questions
she presented would be answered by the presenters during the
meeting.
8:47:47 AM
MS. RIDDLE responded that DEED would provide the answers to
these questions in a follow up to the committee.
8:49:14 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 8:49 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| (H) EDC AS14.03.120 Annual Progress Report and District Grants 03.17.23.pdf |
HEDC 3/17/2023 8:00:00 AM |
Annual Report |
| Annual Progress ThickReport 2022-2023 FINAL 2-13-23.pdf |
HEDC 3/17/2023 8:00:00 AM |
Annual Progress Thick Report |