Legislature(2005 - 2006)
04/21/2005 04:40 PM House HES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Board of Education and Early Development | |
| Professional Teaching Practices Commission | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 21, 2005
4:40 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Peggy Wilson, Chair
Representative Vic Kohring
Representative Sharon Cissna
Representative Berta Gardner
Representative Lesil McGuire
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Paul Seaton, Vice Chair
Representative Tom Anderson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Board of Education and Early Development
Esther Cox - Anchorage
Shirley Holloway - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Professional Teaching Practices Commission
Bonnie C. Gaborik - North Pole
CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
HOUSE BILL NO. 193
"An Act relating to the licensing, regulation, enforcement, and
appeal rights of ambulatory surgical centers, assisted living
homes, child care facilities, child placement agencies, foster
homes, free-standing birth centers, home health agencies,
hospices or agencies providing hospice services, hospitals,
intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded,
maternity homes, nursing facilities, residential child care
facilities, residential psychiatric treatment centers, and rural
health clinics; relating to criminal history requirements, and a
registry, regarding certain licenses, certifications, approvals,
and authorizations by the Department of Health and Social
Services; making conforming amendments; and providing for an
effective date."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 204
"An Act relating to the prescription and use of pharmaceutical
agents, including controlled substances, by optometrists."
- SCHEDULED BUT NOT HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
ESTHER COX, Appointee
to the Board of Education and Early Development
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Board of
Education and Early Development.
SHIRLEY HOLLOWAY, Appointee
to the Board of Education and Early Development
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Board of
Education and Early Development.
BONNIE GABORIK, Appointee
to the Professional Teaching Practices Commission
North Pole, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Professional
Teaching Practices Commission.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR PEGGY WILSON called the House Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 4:40:44 PM.
Representatives Kohring, Gardner, and Cissna were present at the
call to order. Representative McGuire arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
^Board of Education and Early Development
4:40:59 PM
CHAIR WILSON announced the first order of business, the
confirmation hearings for appointees to the Board of Education
and Early Development Professional Teaching Practices
Commission.
4:42:47 PM
ESTHER COX, Appointee to the Board of Education and Early
Development, said that she feels that the board has a great
thing going right now. Each board member has experience that
meshes together into a board that is able to debate and discuss
issues and do good things for the children in Alaska. She said
she has only served a couple of years on the board and would
like to serve a full term. In response to a question from Chair
Wilson, she said it's true that it takes a couple of years to
"get up to par" in the position. She noted that one of the
first jobs this particular board had was to hire a commissioner,
and she said she thinks the board did a super job in that
regard. In further response to Chair Wilson, she said the board
has not taken any stand on "the area cost differential,"
although she said the board has held some discussion on the
subject.
4:44:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING stated his belief that one of the best
things that can be done to improve education statewide is to
encourage alternative methods, such as home schooling, private
education, correspondence school, and charter schools. He
inquired as to Ms. Cox's views are on that subject.
MS. COX said that she comes from a district that has really
tried to capitalize on alternative education, and she believes
in offering families and children options regarding educational
options. She stated, "The same shoe doesn't fit everybody."
She said she was involved in public education for 33 years and
was happy to know that there were alternatives available.
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING asked Ms. Cox her opinion of the "voucher
system."
MS. COX said she knows that by and large, educators are not in
favor of the voucher system, and she stated she is not certain
"that's the way to go." Notwithstanding that, she said she
would certainly give that option due consideration.
4:45:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA said that she is well aware of the school
system's focus on preparing students for exit exams and on No
Child Left Behind criteria; however, she said she has been
working on the development of curricula which incorporates
career ladders and stresses workforce development. She
mentioned that the health field is currently the leading
employer in the state and will continue to be a strong force in
the future. She stated a desire to see all children in school
graduate to jobs that they love. She asked Ms. Cox for her
views on the idea [of promoting career development courses].
MS. COX reminded the committee that she is the former principal
of the King Career Center in Anchorage. She stated her belief
that children ought to be able to graduate with some kind of
skill. She said working with one's hands is often looked down
upon, yet the bottom line is that no matter what a student goes
into, he/she will have to have some skill development.
4:48:19 PM
CHAIR WILSON asked Ms. Cox if she thinks that the schools across
Alaska are equally funded and that the students in them have
equal opportunity.
MS. COX responded that that's a loaded question and questioned
how she would answer it. She stated that there is a cost
differential; it costs more money to educate children in rural
Alaska. She said that has to be a consideration. What that
cost differential should be, she said she could not say.
CHAIR WILSON clarified that she was not asking Ms. Cox to state
a specific number. She indicated that there is "an unfairness
in some areas." She offered an example.
MS. COX said being on the board has been a good experience for
her, because it has given her a perspective as to the needs in
the state.
CHAIR WILSON remarked that there are schools in her district
that have not been able to buy a new textbook in 15 years.
4:51:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING moved to advance the name of Esther Cox
to the joint session of the House and Senate. There being no
objection, the nomination of Esther Cox for reappointment to the
Board of Education and Early Development was advanced.
4:52:03 PM
SHIRLEY HOLLOWAY, Appointee to the Board of Education and Early
Development, said she thinks she shares similarities with the
people on the committee regarding the desire to serve the state
and make a difference. She indicated that she has been involved
with [the education of children] for 42 years. She said she
brings a lot of experience to the board, due to both her
successes and failures. She said Alaska has been good to her
and serving on the board is a way to give back and continue to
"help and support something that I think is vital to our country
and our state - and that's public education."
4:53:41 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA repeated her previously asked question
regarding workforce development.
MS. HOLLOWAY opined that there is nothing more important than
developing pathways and career ladders for students. Students
need a set of skills to help decide where they want to go with
their lives. She stated that it is bothersome to her that there
is a misconception that No Child Left Behind doesn't fit into
this idea. She said the intent of No Child Left Behind is to
ensure that children learn to read, write, and compute, which
she pointed out is basic to a career ladder. She stated that
some of the best basic skills teachers are vocational education
teachers because they understand how to teach those skills in a
relevant way. She indicated that when she worked on the North
Slope, she helped develop a Center for Occupational Training and
discovered that reading math skills could be increased through
small engine repair just as well as could be done in a
classroom.
4:55:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KOHRING expressed his respect for Ms. Holloway
and her wealth of experience.
4:56:40 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCGUIRE moved to advance the name of Shirley
Holloway to the joint session of the House and Senate. There
being no objection, the nomination of Shirley Holloway to the
Board of Education and Early Development was advanced.
4:57:29 PM
CHAIR WILSON passed the gavel to Representative McGuire.
The committee took an at-ease from 4:57:40 to 4:58:31.
^Professional Teaching Practices Commission
4:59:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCGUIRE announced the next order of business, the
confirmation hearing for the appointee to the Professional
Teaching Practices Commission.
BONNIE GABORIK, Appointee to the Professional Teaching Practices
Commission, emphasized how important it is for the teaching
profession to police its own ranks, both for the protection of
the students and parents and for the teachers. She stated that
if nothing else, teaching is about ethics. She mentioned being
fascinated by a presentation by Bonnie Barber (ph) in Fairbanks
and feeling that she wanted to continue being involved with
education beyond the classroom. She said she has a reputation
as an educator, as being fair across the board, as being able to
make tough decisions when necessary, and able to [maintain
confidentiality]. She said she thinks she would do a good job
on the commission.
5:01:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCGUIRE thanked Ms. Gaborik and explained that
the committee would wait until it had a quorum to make the
motion to advance the appointment.
The committee took an at-ease from 5:01:31 to 5:02:02.
5:02:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE MCGUIRE moved to advance the name of Bonnie C.
Gaborik to the joint session of the House and Senate. There
being no objection, the nomination of Bonnie C. Gaborik to the
Professional Teaching Practices Commission was advanced.
ADJOURNMENT
The House Health, Education and Social Services Standing
Committee meeting was recessed at 5:03:05 PM to a call of the
chair. [The meeting reconvened April 22, 2005.]
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