Legislature(2023 - 2024)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
01/27/2023 03:30 PM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation Northwest Arctic Borough School District | |
| Presentation Kenai Peninsula Borough School District | |
| Presentation Alaska Per Pupil K-12 Spending Analysis | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
January 27, 2023
3:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Löki Tobin, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Senator Jesse Bjorkman
Senator Jesse Kiehl
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
- HEARD
PRESENTATION ALASKA PER PUPIL K-12 SPENDING ANALYSIS
- HEARD
PRESENTATION NORTHWEST ARCTIC BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
TERRI WALKER, Superintendent
Northwest Arctic Borough School District (NWABSD)
Kotzebue, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified by invitation on increasing
Alaska's Base Student Allocation.
CLAYTON HOLLAND, Superintendent
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD)
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a presentation on the Kenai
Peninsula Borough School District.
DAYNA DEFEO, Director
Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR)
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented Alaska Per Pupil K-12 Spending
Analysis.
MATTHEW BERMAN, Professor
Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER)
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented Alaska Per Pupil K-12 Spending
Analysis.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:31:09 PM
CHAIR LÖKI TOBIN called the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting to order at 3:31 p.m. Present at the call to order were
Senators Bjorkman, Kiehl, Stevens, and Chair Tobin.
^PRESENTATION NORTHWEST ARCTIC BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
PRESENTATION
NORTHWEST ARCTIC BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
3:32:53 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of a presentation on the
Northwest Arctic Borough School District. She requested that Ms.
Walker address local control in schools during her testimony.
3:33:35 PM
TERRI WALKER, Superintendent, Northwest Arctic Borough School
District (NWABSD), Kotzebue, Alaska, stated she graduated from
NWABSD. She firmly believes in and supports providing the best
education to students. NWABSD needs a 17.4 percent ($10 million)
increase to the current base student allocation (BSA) to cover
its fundamental needs. NWABSD was making cuts to its programs
before the pandemic. It stopped offering programs, including
PreK and Career and Technology Education. Cuts to counseling
positions make it difficult for students to receive services.
Partners have provided support. The Northwest Arctic Native
Association (NANA) funded the PreK program for FY 23. The
district was awarded a $4.9 million grant over five years to
support counseling programs. Every year NWABSD applies for the
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) grant and has been
able to build housing units in some of its communities. She
opined that partnerships and grants are not sustainable sources
of funds.
MS WALKER said the district pays an additional $1.2 million
above what the USDA reimburses for the school food program.
Funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
Funds (ESSER) will cover this difference through FY 24. NWABSD
is a Title I district. One hundred percent of its students are
on free meals. The increased cost of living has left families to
depend on school meals. Fuel in Kotzebue was about $5 dollars
per gallon. It is now nearly $8 per gallon. The cost is $14 per
gallon for areas needing fuel transported by airplane. Ms.
Walker said that last year the district started the school year
with ten certified teacher vacancies, and this year it started
with 40. She provided an anecdotal story of a student's
perspective on teacher turnover. The high turnover impacts
student learning and the ability to build positive teacher-
student relationships. She opined that returning to a defined
benefit plan, Social Security options, improved housing,
mentoring, and wage increases would help improve teacher
retention.
MS. WALKER stated that underfunding of major maintenance
continues. The district's school facilities are deteriorating,
creating unsafe environments that impede student learning.
Continued deferment of major maintenance will increase the
number of school construction projects. She provided examples of
major maintenance projects that will lead to entire school
reconstruction projects if not addressed. NWABSD's budget is too
lean to cover repairs. The district has applied for special
funding and is on the waitlist. She concluded that Alaskans need
to give students the best education possible. She expressed
appreciation for the legislature making education a priority.
MS. WALKER asked Senator Tobin to expound on her question
regarding local control.
3:42:27 PM
CHAIR TOBIN asked why it is important to have local school
boards and communities influence curriculum development rather
than a one size fits all approach to education.
3:43:23 PM
MS. WALKER replied that the NWABSD is working on a place-based
science curriculum incorporating Native languages, cultures, and
traditions. The first section of the curriculum is physical and
earth science. Students need to relate to the curriculum.
Curriculums developed by organizations outside the community are
often unrelatable to rural school students. Place-based learning
allows students to follow state and federal education standards
through experiences relevant to Alaska's students.
3:45:28 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked whether any of the district's young people
are interested in becoming teachers. A solution to keeping
teachers in an area is to hire locals. He is interested in
solutions like Future Teachers of America and Educators Rising.
He asked what the district is doing to help promote local
hiring.
3:46:22 PM
MS. WALKER replied that administrators have been discussing the
support needed for local citizens to become teachers. She asks
administrators to support local staff in taking coursework to
become teachers. Three local students are currently working
towards certification.
3:48:12 PM
SENATOR STEVENS stated he supports grow-your-own programs since
teachers from the community are more likely to remain.
3:48:31 PM
SENATOR KIEHL joined the meeting.
^PRESENTATION KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
PRESENTATION
KENAI PENINSULA BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
3:48:54 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of a presentation on the
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.
3:49:12 PM
CLAYTON HOLLAND, Superintendent, Kenai Peninsula Borough School
District (KPBSD), Soldotna, Alaska, stated his presentation
would bring in the human element of what happens to a district
when it is underfunded.
3:50:23 PM
MR. HOLLAND moved to slide 2 and said the Kenai Peninsula
Borough School District (KPBSD) is about the size of West
Virginia. It has 42 schools across the district. Four of the
schools are reached only by plane.
3:50:53 PM
MR. HOLLAND turned to slide 3 and recognized the differences
between KPBSD schools but stated that the aspirations of
students and parents are the same. Everyone wants students to be
safe and successful in life.
3:52:07 PM
MR. HOLLAND moved to slide 4 and said the mission of KPBSD is
supporting students in life success. Its vision is that every
KPBSD student will be a lifelong learner who will graduate with
the knowledge, skills, integrity, perseverance, and community
connectedness needed to pursue their passions and desired post-
secondary opportunities. He stated his belief that schools
across the state share this vision. KPBSD's core values are
community, academic excellence, perseverance, and integrity. The
priorities associated with the strategic plan are student
success, school climate and safety, family and community
engagement, workforce development, and organizational and
resource management.
3:53:39 PM
MR. HOLLAND advanced to slide 6 and said KPBSD's legislative
priorities for the presentation focus on:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Provide fair, predictable, and proactive funding.
? Focus on recruitment and retention of high-quality
educators by investing in defined benefits.
? Create innovative pathways to growing our own
teachers and staff.
? Adjust the Base Student Allocation (BSA) and develop
mechanisms to compensate for inflation.
? Provide transportation funding based on actual
expenditures.
? Explore affordable health care for employees.
3:54:01 PM
MR. HOLLAND moved to slide 7 and stated that Kenai is known for
its athletic and academic achievements. Spencer Co is one of 100
students nationally with a perfect score on the Computer Science
AP exam. Public discourse asserts that schools are failing
students. However, KPBSD has students attending military
academies, top universities, and trade schools because their
education has given them the opportunity. School activities
involve students in community service. He opined that the
negative narrative towards student learning needs to end.
3:56:19 PM
MR. HOLLAND turned to slide 10 and said KPBSD's Native education
has expanded. Parent engagement has increased immensely. Schools
engage with all nine tribes in the Kenai Peninsula. Students
have participated in Native Youth Olympics, drum making, and
other Native events.
3:57:00 PM
MR. HOLLAND said the district has fully embraced the Reads Act.
Two cohorts are going through literacy training as part of the
Reads Act. He noted that the Reads Act provided a $30 increase
to the BSA, which is not enough if Alaska is to achieve the same
results as Mississippi. Teachers will be trained with funds from
the Reads Act and then move elsewhere without change to teacher
retention.
3:57:54 PM
MR. HOLLAND said Career and Technical Education (CTE) is another
part of the foundational and academic excellence taking place at
KPBSD. Kenai focuses on creating broader pathway systems for
students to enter the workforce. Students are engaging by
bringing academic subjects into real-world applications.
Resources such as welding, construction, and agriculture are
needed to create workforce opportunities for students. KPBSD
works to bring community and partnerships into its schools.
Kenai schools have a violin program, basketball teams deliver
food to families with their coach, and students learn to hunt
with their teacher. Teachers and coaches provide these learning
opportunities to students who otherwise might not have the
opportunity. Longevity and trust are required to carry out these
types of activities. High turnover and teacher retirement affect
these opportunities. The state is filling positions with
teachers having J-1 US visas. Kenai is hiring retired teachers.
A lot must be done to make living and working in Alaska
attractive. He opined that schools and the economy go hand in
hand. People must see Alaska as a desirable place to live.
4:02:59 PM
MR. HOLLAND turned to slide 16, a pie chart of school district
expenditures. He said that reports have disingenuously portrayed
administrative costs as consuming school budgets by failing to
mention operating costs. About 75 percent of a school's budget
is for instruction. The remaining 25 percent is split with 15
percent for operations and maintenance and 10 percent for
various administrative costs.
4:03:53 PM
MR. HOLLAND moved to slides 17 - 18 and noted that the actual
amount Alaska spends on its schools is less than the national
average.
4:04:22 PM
MR. HOLLAND advanced to slide 19 and stated that flat funding of
the Base Student Allocation (BSA) and increased health care,
transportation, inflation, and energy costs had placed school
districts in their current scenarios. The cost of healthcare in
Alaska is five times the national average, and inflation
adjustments for transportation have not happened since 2015.
Despite route consolidation efforts, KPBSD had to transfer $500
thousand from its [indiscernible] marginal fund to cover
transportation costs.
4:05:27 PM
MR. HOLLAND said that with full funding by the Kenai Peninsula
Borough, school funding for KPBSD will have an almost $11
million gap between revenue and expenditures. He provided the
following reasons for the drop in state funding even though
there will be an increase to the BSA:
[Original punctuation provided.]
FY24 - $30 dollar increase to the BSA provided about
$500K in revenue.
In FY23, the hold harmless provision in the foundation
formula provided approximately $900K in funding. The
final year of the hold harmless provision was FY23.
The Full and True value of taxable real and personal
property within Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB)
increased by approximately $800M. As a result, the
amount of Regular State Aid is reduced, and increases
the amount that KPB could provide.
MR. HOLLAND said there would be a $13 million gap and a needed
BSA increase of $765 if the Kenai Borough does not fully fund
the school district. If the borough fully supports the school
district, there will be a $10 million gap, and the BSA would
need to be increased by $630. He pointed out that these are base
amounts. Schools have been making cuts for years. Alaska needs
to make drastic changes to retain staff and improve student
learning.
4:08:37 PM
CHAIR TOBIN thanked Mr. Holland for his presentation and the
reminder that Alaskans should champion success in education.
4:09:26 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked that Mr. Holland convey the state of
teacher turnover in Kenai.
4:09:49 PM
MR. HOLLAND stated that young teachers are attracted to Alaska
but leave when they realize there is no retirement system. Many
teachers leave by their fifth year when the state matches their
retirement. There is a national shortage of teachers. Kenai has
been using federal funding to establish grow-your-own teacher
programs. However, successful program continuation will require
dedicated funding.
4:11:25 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked how many teaching positions would have to
be eliminated to close a budget deficit of $10.8 million.
4:11:54 PM
MR. HOLLAND replied that in FY 24, KPBSD would face cutting 49
certified staff members. KPBSD is down to offering only basics,
including virtual education. It is easier for larger schools to
absorb the loss of one or two teachers than smaller schools.
4:12:45 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked if the loss of 49 teaching positions
would be equivalent to half of the $10.8 million dollar deficit.
MR. HOLLAND answered that is correct. KPBSD faced losing 70
positions until it received federal Elementary and Secondary
School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. Federal support has
ended. Therefore, KPBSD will have to cut another 45 jobs without
an increase to the BSA.
4:13:48 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked Mr. Holland how school districts use one-
time funding the legislature provides differently than money
included inside the BSA.
4:14:24 PM
MR. HOLLAND answered that a school district usually receives
one-time funding at the end of the year. The BSA is predictable
funding that allows for preplanning. A school district must
balance its budget by April. Therefore, a school district hopes
to receive enough funding to rehire the teachers it laid off. It
is common for teachers to accept positions in other locations
when laid off, especially since there is a nationwide teacher
shortage. The uncertainty caused by unpredictable funding
creates a negative feeling within communities. ESSER funding
allowed KPBSD to hold onto teachers for two years, but the funds
are now gone.
4:15:49 PM
CHAIR TOBIN said the Anchorage school district is experiencing
significant staffing shortages. She asked that Mr. Holland
explain what happens to schools when administrative support
positions are unfilled.
4:16:19 PM
MR. HOLLAND replied that KPBSD experiences the same shortages as
other school districts. Unfilled positions further stretch
teachers and staff, causing additional stress in the building.
Facilities are not cared for as they once were.
4:17:39 PM
CHAIR TOBIN thanked Mr. Holland for his presentation.
^PRESENTATION ALASKA PER PUPIL K-12 SPENDING ANALYSIS
PRESENTATION
ALASKA PER PUPIL K-12 SPENDING ANALYSIS
4:18:00 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of a presentation on
Alaska Per Pupil K-12 Spending by the Institute of Social and
Economic Research (ISER).
4:18:27 PM
DAYNA DEFEO, Director, Center for Alaska Education Policy
Research (CAEPR), University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage,
Alaska, introduced herself.
4:18:41 PM
MATTHEW BERMAN, Professor, Institute of Social and Economic
Research (ISER), University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage,
Alaska, introduced himself.
MS. DEFEO stated that the Institute of Social and Economic
Research (ISER) aims to do work that helps Alaskans understand
social and economic issues and systems. The work is to inform
and support public and private decision-making throughout the
state.
4:19:10 PM
MS. DEFEO moved to slide 2 and said she was asked to discuss the
cost of education in Alaska in response to a story that Alaska
has the highest per-pupil spending in the nation. She asserted
that when placed in context, the statement was not valid. She
said her presentation would address the following five
questions:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Where does Alaska's public education funding come from?
How much does Alaska pay?
How does Alaska's spending compare to the US average?
What drives Alaska's costs?
Where are areas of opportunity?
4:19:55 PM
MS. DEFEO said the data on slide 3 was from 2016. Alaska's
expenditure on education was about 25.8 percent of the state's
general expenditure. This is proportionally similar to the
national average of 24.9 percent. Sixty-four percent of per-
pupil spending in Alaska comes from state general funds.
Alaska's proportion of state funding is the fifth highest in the
nation. However, the proportion that comes from local funding is
the fifth lowest. Alaska law only allows the collection of local
taxes in organized boroughs. Nineteen of Alaska's 54 school
districts are regional education attendance areas (REAAs), not
organized boroughs. Alaska has the sixth highest federal funding
in the nation at 14 percent.
4:21:45 PM
SENATOR KIEHL said Alaska's funding formula deducts federal
impact aid that would flow to districts and counts it against
state formula funding as though it were a local contribution. He
asked how ISER treated it.
4:22:08 PM
Mr. BERMAN replied that the state and net share had been
deducted. Alaska has a higher-than-average share of federal
funding because it has many federal lands and military
installations. Ninety percent of that funding counts against the
state entitlement and the required local effort. So that is
deducted. The state's share, which Ms. Defeo mentioned, is the
net after the deductions.
4:22:51 PM
SENATOR KIEHL asked if ISER placed it under federal or local
contribution.
MR. BERMAN answered that the deduction is taken from the state
share. It means that the state funding is less because of the
contribution of federal funding, which diminishes the share of
the state-funded total. Hence, the state funding sixty-four
percent is the net funding by the state after federal and local
deductions are made from the foundation formula.
4:23:42 PM
MS. DEFEO advanced to slides 4-5 and stated that ISER used data
from 2017 to do the 2019 analysis and answered the question,
"How much does Alaska pay?" Analysis of spending in 2022 is
available using 2019 data. However, this data does not indicate
normal fiscal operations due to COVID. In 2017 Alaska's pupil
spending was 46 percent higher than the national average, making
Alaska the sixth highest in the nation. In 2019 Alaska was 39
percent higher than the national average. This change was due to
an increase in education spending by other states. The raw
dollar amounts for per pupil K12 spending in 2019 were $13,187
nationally and $18,394 in Alaska.
4:25:44 PM
MS. DEFEO stated that when individuals compare per-pupil
spending, they should consider the following factors. First,
Alaska has a high cost of spending in rural areas that skews the
state average. Second, living costs are higher than the US
average, even in urban Alaska. ISER made these adjustments for
an apple-to-apple comparison. After making cost adjustments,
ISER found Alaska's average per pupil spending in 2017 and 2019
to be 22 and 16 percent higher when adjusting to Anchorage's
living costs. When adjusted to the nation's average living cost,
Alaska's per-pupil spending for 2017 and 2019 was -2 and -7
percent of the national average.
4:28:13 PM
MS. DEFEO moved to slide 8 and described how Alaska per pupil
spending was adjusted to reflect the cost of living for
Anchorage and nationally. She stated that the map on slide 9
shows the cost differentials for various communities in Alaska.
Most of the school districts in Alaska have a cost differential
greater than 1.5 times that of Anchorage.
4:31:02 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked if half of Alaska's students reside in the
Anchorage area.
4:31:21 PM
MR. BERMAN replied that the foundation formula's cost factor
adjusts to Anchorage. So, Anchorage is the base used to adjust
costs to the national average rather than the average for the
state. Most students are in the Anchorage area, so the
adjustment is 20 percent and not 40 - 50 percent. The
differentials of Juneau, Fairbanks, Kenai, and Mat-Su are
similar to Anchorage. Smaller communities have much higher costs
but comprise less than half of the student population, hence the
20 percent reduction was compared to the state average and not
40 percent.
4:32:43 PM
MS. DEFEO noted that the adjustments accounted for schools'
average daily membership rates.
MR. BERMAN said ISER made the adjustments using the formula the
way it exists in statute.
4:33:15 PM
MS. DEFEO moved to slide 11 and said that private school tuition
in Anchorage is similar to the state's per-pupil spending.
Private schools receive donations that help reduce tuition, and
they do not have the same cost responsibilities as public
schools, such as transportation and intensive special education.
Therefore, it is interesting that private school costs are
comparable to public school costs. She added that median infant
daycare costs in Anchorage are similar to per pupil public
education.
4:34:23 PM
MS. DEFEO turned to slide 12 and stated that regardless of
whether the cost of education is adjusted, Alaska still spends a
lot on education. ISER considered costs and determined the
following were not factors:
[Original punctuation provided.]
High per-pupil teacher salaries
? On average, Alaska teacher salaries about 15% below
where they should be
? "Right" salary varies by community & working
conditions there braceright
Extra contributions to retirement systems
However, evidence supports that the following do drive costs:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Small schools
Healthcare
Energy
Geographic costs
? Housing
4:36:06 PM
MS. DEFEO said that Alaska has more than 90 small schools with
an enrollment of 50 students or less. Alaska has a legal and
ethical responsibility to educate all its students, as evidenced
by the Hootch, Kasayulie v. State, and Moore v. State lawsuits.
Small schools are more costly to operate for reasons such as not
benefiting from economies of scale and smaller class sizes.
Smaller schools experience a higher turnover of teachers and
principals.
4:36:55 PM
MS. DEFEO advanced to slide 14 and said that as part of ISER's
study they looked at healthcare costs from 2017 and noted the
following:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Alaska has highest healthcare costs in US
• Not unique to education
• Negatively affects private & public sector
Health care costs are part of overall compensation
• Starting with fixed budget, growth rate in healthcare costs
puts downward pressure on wage
?Makes competing for teachers more difficult
• In 2017, benefits costs
? 4th highest in nation
? 11% above average after all adjustments
MS. DEFEO said adjusted per pupil spending was 2 percent below
the national average. However, when looking at the adjusted cost
of benefits in 2017, the cost was 11 percent above the national
average. Alaska's benefits are not better than other states, but
Alaskans pay more. A big part of the benefits package offered to
educators is healthcare.
4:38:06 PM
MS. DEFEO moved to slide 15 and said there are two components to
energy cost and amount needed. She addressed the following
points:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Costs
Fuel
? Costs more in remote places
? Costs fluctuate (a lot)
? Districts have different capacities to negotiate
competitive prices
Electricity
? Schools don't benefit from Power Cost Equalization
(PCE) program
Amount needed
More to heat schools in colder places
Regardless of the number of students in a building, it
must be heated and lit
4:39:32 PM
MS. DEFEO moved to slide 17 and said the presentation tried to
put school spending in Alaska into a national context. Per pupil
spending is about how much a district spends and where it
spends. Much of what drives up Alaska's per-pupil expenditure is
beyond education policy, such as fuel, healthcare, and the cost
of goods. Higher costs are Alaska's reality and influence
education spending. She further stated that the two-year
differences between 2017 and 2019 show that other states invest
more in public education than Alaska. Investing more in public
education is a big deal because teachers live and work in the
conditions and resources that public education spending covers.
Alaska needs to produce more teachers to fill its need.
Therefore, Alaska is competing for teachers in a national
market. To attract good teachers, Alaska must have competitive
salaries, benefits, and working conditions.
4:41:44 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked if Alaska's 15 percent lower salary study
pertained to Anchorage or the state.
4:42:31 PM
MS. DEFEO replied that the 14-15 percent salary increase was a
state average. ISER's model suggested much higher salary
increases for some areas of Alaska. She offered to send a copy
of the report to the committee.
4:42:48 PM
MR. BERMAN said several districts in Alaska are close to the
national average, such as Mat-Su, Juneau, and Sitka. Fairbanks
was slightly below the national average. Rural districts and a
shortfall in Anchorage did not pay enough that the urban
districts could compensate for the disadvantages of living in a
rural community, which is why Alaska's average was 14-15 percent
lower than the national average. Housing and healthcare are the
two most significant cost-driving differences between living in
Anchorage and elsewhere in the US. Teachers or the district pay
these costs. There is no free lunch. Lowering Alaska's high
healthcare costs could also make up for the difference in
salary.
4:45:34 PM
MS. DEFEO added that the salary recommendation study modeled
what teachers should be paid. However, the salary schedules
reflect what the districts can pay. There is tremendous
variation in teacher compensation across the state. Some
districts having better resources is another reason there is
variation in wage recommendation and actual wages.
4:46:13 PM
MR. BERMAN commented that unincorporated districts depend
entirely on state and limited federal funding. They cannot tax
residents. The ability to tax is what allows other communities
to pay adequate salaries to teachers.
4:47:06 PM
CHAIR TOBIN asked if healthcare costs are high for all state
sectors or only for educators.
MR. BERMAN replied that healthcare costs are high across all
sectors of the state.
CHAIR TOBIN asked if the local contribution reduces a school
district's state contribution.
MR. BERMAN clarified that there is a required local effort
deducted. However, if a municipality wants to increase its local
contribution through taxes above the required amount, that is a
supplement. For example, the North Slope Borough is an expensive
and challenging place to live. It has a high tax base and pays
its teachers more than other rural districts. By law, there are
constraints regarding how much an area with a very high tax base
can spend on education. Valdez and North Slope Borough are the
only two districts that have reached the legal contribution
limit.
4:50:10 PM
CHAIR TOBIN thanked the presenters for the explanation of per
pupil spending in Alaska and how it compares to the national
average.
4:52:24 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Tobin adjourned the Senate Education Standing Committee
meeting at 4:52 pm.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Clayton Holland Presentation 01.26.2023.pdf |
SEDC 1/27/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| ISER Presentation to Senate Education 01.27.2023.pdf |
SEDC 1/27/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| ISER K-12 Spending Research March 2022 Update 01.25.2023.pdf |
SEDC 1/27/2023 3:30:00 PM |
|
| ISER 2019 Research Summary K-12 Spending 01.27.2023.pdf |
SEDC 1/27/2023 3:30:00 PM |