Legislature(2021 - 2022)ADAMS 519
04/06/2022 01:00 PM House FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB272 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 272 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 273 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 170 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE
April 6, 2022
1:34 p.m.
1:34:00 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Merrick called the House Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:34 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Neal Foster, Co-Chair
Representative Kelly Merrick, Co-Chair
Representative Dan Ortiz, Vice-Chair
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Bryce Edgmon
Representative DeLena Johnson
Representative Andy Josephson
Representative Bart LeBon
Representative Sara Rasmussen
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Adam Wool
MEMBERS ABSENT
None
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Heidi Teshner, Director, Finance and Support Services,
Department of Education and Early Development
SUMMARY
HB 170 ENERGY INDEPENDENCE PROGRAM & FUND: AIDEA
HB 170 was SCHEDULED but not HEARD.
HB 272 INCREASE BASE STUDENT ALLOCATION
HB 272 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
HB 273 INCREASE BASE STUDENT ALLOC. INFLATION
HB 273 was SCHEDULED but not HEARD.
Co-Chair Merrick reviewed the meeting agenda.
HOUSE BILL NO. 272
"An Act relating to education; increasing the base
student allocation; and providing for an effective
date."
1:34:32 PM
Co-Chair Merrick indicated that the committee last heard HB
272 on April 1, 2022 and would consider amendments.
1:35:03 PM
Representative Johnson MOVED to ADOPT Amendment 1, 32-
LS1365\I.2 (Marx, 3/31/22) (copy on file):
Page 1, line 1, following "education;":
Insert "relating to funding for correspondence
programs;"
Page 1, following line 3:
Insert a new bill section to read:
"* Section 1. AS 14.17.430 is amended to read:
Sec. 14.17.430. State funding for correspondence
study. Except as provided in AS 14.17.400(b), funding
for the state centralized correspondence study program
or a district correspondence program, including a
district that offers a statewide correspondence study
program, includes an allocation from the public
education fund in an amount calculated by using
[MULTIPLYING] the ADM of the correspondence program
reported under AS 14.17.500(a) and 14.17.600(a) [BY 90
PERCENT]."
Page 1, line 4:
Delete "Section 1"
Insert "Sec. 2"
Renumber the following bill sections accordingly.
Page 1, line 10:
Delete "Section 1 of this Act takes"
Insert "Sections 1 and 2 of this Act take"
Page 1, line 11:
Delete "Section 2"
Insert "Section 3"
Vice-Chair Ortiz OBJECTED for discussion.
Representative Johnson explained the amendment that she
believed would level the playing field for correspondence
students. Currently, statute limited correspondence
students to 90 percent of the funding of brick and mortar
students. The education formula funded schools on a per
student basis calculated on the Average Daily Membership
(ADM) for each school as of the last Friday of October over
a 20-day count period. She ascertained that due to the
pandemic more students in traditional schools were taking
some classes from home and some correspondence students
were attending some classes in traditional schools. She
thought the line between both methods of attending school
was blurring. She opined that funding correspondence
students at the same level as traditional students was
fair and timely. She spoke about the value of remote
learning in the school system and hoped that all students
would be counted in the same way.
1:37:52 PM
Co-Chair Foster believed the amendment would include the
IDEA correspondence program. Representative Johnson
answered in the affirmative and added that it applied to
all correspondence programs in the state. Co-Chair Foster
noted that IDEA was headquartered in Galena. He supported
the amendment.
Representative Josephson requested to read a statement from
his district on the amendment from the Office of Management
and Budget of the Anchorage School District. He read the
following:
By including correspondence students at the beginning
of the foundation formula the amendment would create
and inherent inequity in funding between brick and
mortar schools and correspondence schools based on the
costs associated with the instructional delivery
model. The cost associated with providing education at
a comprehensive high school that provided gyms and
fields for sports auditoriums, for music and theatres,
shops for Career Technical Education (CTE) Courses,
and kitchens with cafeteria spaces to feed students
were not comparable to a correspondence school that
could operate in limited space and scale up or down
the number of students without a need to adjust
building sizes. Additionally, there was considerably
more staffing in both direct instruction and ancillary
supports necessary to provide face to face services
than through a correspondence model. Yet the amendment
would provide the same funding to each.
Representative Josephson emphasized that for the reasons
stated he opposed the amendment.
1:39:47 PM
Representative Wool opposed the amendment. He did not want
an expedited discussion merely due to the short meeting
time. He believed that the topic was too important. He
agreed with Representative Josephsons concerns. He
countered that the mass migration of traditional students
to correspondence due to the COVID 19 pandemic had
decreased the amount of money school districts receive and
brick and mortar schools were more costly to operate. He
stressed that the student-to-teacher ratio was disparate
between the two types of schools, and correspondence
schools did not have to maintain facilities. He noted that
the formula funding was complicated; it began with the Base
Student Allocation (BSA) and had multipliers for various
things. The correspondence schools were not funded at 100
percent for many reasons that was established and set in
the formula. He wanted an evaluation of correspondence
programs before the formula was changed.
1:42:00 PM
Vice-Chair Ortiz opposed the amendment and agreed with the
previously stated opposition. He shared his personal
experience with the topic as his wife was a home school
coordinator for a school district. He indicated that he was
very familiar that the school districts received 90 percent
of the formula funding and maintained that it was for good
reason. The costs were significantly different for brick-
and-mortar schools. He indicated that his wife would be
opposed to the amendment because she also had worked as a
classroom teacher.
1:43:21 PM
Representative Carpenter thought the correspondence program
had the highest demand increase in the last number of
years. He wanted to understand why more parents were
choosing correspondence. He believed that the amendment
recognized that the largest growth in the school system was
not fully funded and was demanded by parents and thought
that it was a wise step to take. He did not understand
what the dollars associated with the change would be and
shared some concern over the cost issue.
1:44:57
Co-Chair Foster asked for verification that the amendment
would not take away money from brick and mortar schools and
increased the size of the overall pie; correspondence
programs would merely receive increased funding.
HEIDI TESHNER, DIRECTOR, FINANCE AND SUPPORT SERVICES,
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT (via
teleconference), answered in the affirmative and confirmed
that the amendment would increase the pie and bump up
correspondence to 100 percent ADM. Co-Chair Foster noted
that the amendment would not harm brick and mortar schools.
He furthered that correspondence funding was used for
things like providing students music lessons and was much
more than just lessons taught at home.
1:46:52 PM
Representative Edgmon agreed with the comment that it was a
very impactful amendment that could have far reaching
ramifications. He asked if the increase in the BSA
amounting to $57 million that was currently a budgetary
item would be stretched further and compete with
traditional school funding at a 100 percent threshold. He
wondered whether his assessment was correct. Ms. Teshner
replied that the $57 million on-time funding would be
adjusted based on the ADM and the correspondence increase
to 100 percent would be part of that. Representative Edgmon
commented that the prohibition against state dollars spent
on private schools was clearly delineated in the
constitution. He asked if some of the schools were private
schools and whether there was any risk with correspondence
funding.
Ms. Teshner responded that 29 school districts were
projecting correspondence ADM, and all were public schools.
1:49:09 PM
Representative Edgmon deduced that the amendment was
purporting to change a formula that had been in law since
1998. The amendment gave correspondence schools that
provided much less than brick and mortar schools the same
funding. Ms. Teshner answered that the current
correspondence formula had been put in place in 1999 and
increased to 90 percent from 80 percent. She clarified that
the amendment changed the correspondence formula from 90
percent to 100 percent but did not offer formula factor
adjustments like the special needs adjustments, etc.
1:50:52 PM
Representative Edgmon thought it was necessary to have the
formula provided to members to further understand the
effects of the amendment.
Co-Chair Merrick noted that the discussion merited further
conversation.
HB 272 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
Co-Chair Merrick reviewed the schedule for the following
day.
ADJOURNMENT
1:51:44 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 1:51 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB272 Amendment Packet HFIN.pdf |
HFIN 4/6/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 272 |
| HB 170 Presentation AIDEA - AK EIF - April 6 2022_final.pdf |
HFIN 4/6/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 170 |
| HB 272 Public Testimony Rec'd by 040622.pdf |
HFIN 4/6/2022 1:00:00 PM |
HB 272 |