Legislature(2023 - 2024)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/27/2023 03:30 PM Senate EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation Anchorage School District Update | |
| Presentation State of Pk-12 Education in Alaska | |
| 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
February 27, 2023
3:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Löki Tobin, Chair
Senator Gary Stevens, Vice Chair
Senator Jesse Bjorkman
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Representative Justin Ruffridge
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT UPDATE
- HEARD
PRESENTATION STATE OF PK-12 EDUCATION IN ALASKA
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JHARRETT BRYANTT, Superintendent
Anchorage School District
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided an update of the Anchorage School
District.
LISA PARADY, Executive Director
Alaska Council of School Administrators
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
BRIDGET WEISS, Superintendent
Juneau City and Borough School District
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
BRENDAN WILSON, President
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
JOSH GILL, President
Alaska Association of Elementary School Principals
Bethel, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
BRENDAN WILSON, President
Alaska Association of Secondary School Principals
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
YODEAN ARMOUR, President
Alaska Association of School Business Officials
Klawock, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
ANDY RATLIFF, Chief Financial Officer
Anchorage School District
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
ANDY RATLIFF, Chief Financial Officer
Anchorage School District
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
DOUGLAS GRAY, Director
Alaska Staff Development Network
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
SAM JORDAN, Grant Director
Alaska School Leadership Academy
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the State of PK-12 Education in
Alaska.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:31:00 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, Gray-Jackson, Stevens, Kiehl and Chair Tobin.
^PRESENTATION ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT UPDATE
PRESENTATION
ANCHORAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT UPDATE
3:32:04 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of an update from the
Anchorage School District.
3:32:34 PM
JHARRETT BRYANTT, Superintendent, Anchorage School District,
Anchorage, Alaska, said Alaska's current education policy is
failing students, but the legislature can be part of the
solution. He stated the following facts:
• According to the Anchorage Economic Development
Corporation, living in Anchorage is 26 percent more
expensive than the average American city.
• Alaska has the fourth-highest healthcare costs in the
nation.
• Alaska has the seventh-highest cost of groceries in the
nation.
• The year 2022 marked the tenth consecutive year of Alaska
net out-migration.
MR. BRYANTT opined that being an educator in Alaska is no longer
a good deal for Alaskan teachers. Alaska's teacher retirement
system is portable, making it easy for teachers to gain
experience in Alaska and transfer state-matched retirement
accounts to another state. Without sensible reform, Alaska will
soon have the least experienced teacher workforce in the nation.
MR. BRYANTT said flat funding of school bus transportation since
2015 caused the Mat-Su and Anchorage school districts to shut
down bus service for several months in 2022. Raising bus driver
wages by 25 percent using funding for teachers and textbooks
resolved the transportation issue. A vote to not invest in
schools is to make Alaska education akin to bus service at ASD
in 2022, inadequate and in need of support.
MR. BRYANTT gibed that there are people who want to invest in
schools with accountability. He welcomes policy solutions, but
none have been forthcoming. In Texas, the legislature closes
schools that do not perform. He has learned through personal
experience that many people oppose school closures. The Texas
legislature also earmarked millions to pay the best teachers a
top salary. Districts fought to obtain the best teachers. He
said he was responsible for 26,000 employees, and in response to
the legislation, he led the charge to recruit and pay talented
educators six-figure salaries. There are various ways to improve
schools through policy, but the only solution legislators have
put forward is hoping students will learn to read by not
investing in schools; data shows this solution is not working.
3:36:00 PM
MR. BRYANTT said ASD's original budget deficit forecast was
about $68 million. The district balanced the budget by
exhausting COVID and one-time funds. Those funds will not be
available next year. Last year, the legislature passed a $30
increase to the base student allocation (BSA). However,
inflation has increased by 18 percent, so Alaska is still on
track to close schools, lay off teachers, and shrink popular
programs. Population growth, a strong economy, safe
neighborhoods, and world-class schools are evidence of
accountability in Alaska. Budgets are complicated and require
prioritization. Schools are Alaska's future. ASD gives students
vocational credentials with a promise that there will be high
wages and jobs when they graduate. Out-migration means Alaska
needs to develop its workforce and prioritize developing its
residents to further prosperity, which is the work of schools.
He said he is ready to do his part in leading positive change as
a superintendent. However, when the legislature does not
increase funding, it cuts funding. Schools have had seven years
of cuts, and academic performance is at an all-time low. Long-
term prosperity in Alaska is jeopardized when schools are not
the priority. He thanked the legislature for wanting to be a
part of positive change.
3:38:26 PM
SENATOR STEVENS said the committee passed a $1000 increase to
the BSA because it understands the importance of increasing
funding. He hoped the amount would stay the same as the bill
moved through the legislative process. For 23 years, he has
heard there needs to be accountability in education. He opined
that Alaska has yet to attach accountability to educational
funding successfully. He asked Mr. Bryantt for recommendations
of accountable measures that Alaska could install.
3:39:26 PM
MR. BRYANTT said he is open to a variety of policy solutions but
has yet to hear any.
SENATOR STEVENS clarified that he was asking for suggestions
from Mr. Bryantt.
MR. BRYANTT said he does not want to tell the legislature what
bills they should pass. He said Texas is a state with high
accountability and provided examples of policies he is willing
to discuss. He does not fear accountability because it creates
excellent schools.
^PRESENTATION STATE OF PK-12 EDUCATION IN ALASKA
PRESENTATION
STATE OF PK-12 EDUCATION IN ALASKA
3:40:28 PM
CHAIR TOBIN announced the consideration of a presentation by the
Alaska Council of School Administrators on the State of PK-12
Education in Alaska.
3:41:34 PM
LISA PARADY, Executive Director, Alaska Council of School
Administrators, Juneau, Alaska, moved to slide 2 and said the
Alaska Council of School Administrators (ASCA) is a 50-year-old
private, nonprofit organization representing superintendents,
secondary principals, elementary principals, school business
officials, and others. ACSA's focus is leadership, unity, and
advocacy for public education. Over 100 members came to attend
the legislative fly-in.
3:43:15 PM
MS. PARADY thanked the committee for supporting a $1,000
increase in the base student allocation (BSA). She said the
committee would hear from ACSA's affiliated presidents. ACSA is
an umbrella organization that works to promote the educational
priorities of its affiliated members. ACSA advocates for
students in all districts of Alaska.
CHAIR TOBIN asked why Alaska has 54 school districts.
3:44:33 PM
MS. PARADY replied that Alaska has 54 unique school districts to
honor local control, traditions, and cultures. The topic of
school districting has been studied a lot by the legislature.
Last year, under David Teal, the legislative finance division
found that consolidation was not cost-effective. Consolidating
districts is complex partly because Regional Education
Attendance Areas (REAAs) would need to establish local
governments. The study found that cost savings would be minimal.
Schools help preserve the community in rural areas by being a
place where the community can gather for events such as weddings
and funerals.
3:47:00 PM
MS. PARADY turned to slide 5, Annual Joint Position Statements,
and said members developed policy statements over several months
focusing on prominent education issues. The presentation will
reference various positions from the document.
3:47:57 PM
MS. PARADY noted that school districts in Alaska are generally
the largest employer in a community, which means superintendents
are stewards of students and the largest business in a
community.
3:48:53 PM
SENATOR STEVENS clarified that the ASD superintendent did not
answer his innocuous question regarding accountability. The
committee desires to support education. However, other members
of the legislature want accountability attached to educational
funding. He requested that superintendents think of practical
ways accountability can be tied to funding.
3:50:16 PM
CHAIR TOBIN said Superintendent Trani asked questions and spoke
about alternative types of education and accountability
happening at ASD. She said she would like to hear about them
during the hearing.
3:50:33 PM
BRIDGET WEISS, Superintendent, Juneau City and Borough School
District, Juneau, Alaska, said there are approximately 4,300
students in the Juneau school district. The district has 13
schools; four are choice schools. Four elementary schools have a
Pre-K program within them, and there are three in-kind classroom
spaces for Head Start preschools. She is from Juneau and has
spent 39 years supporting K-12 education.
3:51:48 PM
MS. WEISS turned to slides 7-8 and stated that the Alaska
Superintendent Association has 12 board members. The association
works to provide organized leadership to statewide education.
Its top priority is ensuring fully funded school districts,
which means funding is timely, reliable, and predictable.
Superintendents must be able to attract and retain teachers and
administrators to provide viable and sustainable programming
along with instruction efficacy. Early notification allows
superintendents to be fiscally responsive and avoids chaos when
funding streams change. Currently, school funding does not keep
pace with inflation, resulting in lost purchasing power. A
nationwide shortage of educators makes hiring competitive.
3:53:28 PM
MS. WEISS advanced to slide 9 and said the pencils on the chart
represent the actual BSA amount per year and appear as a
relatively flat revenue amount. The black line shows the impact
of inflation over those same years, demonstrating that flat
funding is regressive funding.
3:54:12 PM
MS. WEISS moved to slide 10, Education is Accountable, and said
she is glad senators asked about accountability because school
districts already have many accountability measures. Trying to
select one quantitative measure to express success with students
is faulty due to the complexity of educating students with
individual needs and the variety of educational programs.
Successful accountability requires multiple measures. Educators
have their noses to the grindstone. Finding time to share
success stories is a struggle. She spoke to some of the
accountability reports superintendents provide to the state:
• Special Education Audits
• State Monitoring of Federal Programs
• DEED Report Card Shared with the Public
• Other Alaska Student ID System (OASIS) Reporting
• Attendance and Achievement Data for Indian Education Grants
• Program Audits
MS. WEISS said each district has strategic plans and metrics
corresponding to goals. Every year school boards help keep
superintendents accountable for their accomplishments.
3:57:25 PM
MS. WEISS moved to slide 11 and said a common public
misconception is that school administration is top-heavy. While
this may have been true of some districts ten years ago, it is
no longer accurate. School districts have survived flat funding
by trimming non-classroom expenses first. Ten years ago, Juneau
did not fill the vice superintendent position due to budget
cuts. The position remains unfilled. School districts are doing
dynamic work with very little administration.
3:58:23 PM
SENATOR STEVENS asked for a definition of administration.
3:58:39 PM
MS. WEISS responded that finance personnel would offer
definitions because items within instructional and
noninstructional categories are only sometimes intuitive. School
districts are disadvantaged businesses because they only
generate revenue through grants and taxes. Therefore,
superintendents need to pay attention to increases in the fixed
costs that schools must have to operate, such as fuel and
liability insurance. She said Juneau School District's property
liability insurance cost $200,000 three years ago, $400,000 two
years ago, $1.2 million this year, and will increase $59,000
next year. Inflation coupled with flat funding results in
schools making programmatic cuts that impact students.
4:00:28 PM
MS. WEISS turned to slide 12 and said Alaskans had noticed the
problem of teacher turnover and retention, but there is also a
problem with superintendent turnover. In the past five years, 39
out of 54 school districts have replaced their superintendent at
least once. Educator instability is bad for schools, staff, and
students. It is challenging for school personnel to continue
doing more with less.
4:02:04 PM
MS. WEISS moved to slide 13 and said the new superintendent
induction and support program is an example of how ASA works to
resolve problems. ASA created a superintendent cohort that
mentors new superintendents to help reduce turnover. Since the
program began four years ago:
• 72 percent of superintendents have participated in the
program.
• 100 percent of 2021-2022 first-year superintendents
returned to their position in 2022-2023.
• 80 percent of the 2023 cohort is on track to return for
their third year.
4:02:40 PM
MS. WEISS said superintendents are frustrated by the
legislature's underfunding of schools. They wonder what their
schools could achieve if appropriately funded. She said schools
are doing amazing work, and students are excelling despite the
challenges caused by underfunding. Schools are the heart of many
communities educationally, economically, recreationally, and
socially. The following could happen with appropriately funded
schools:
• Students could catch a school bus daily and arrive on time.
• Buildings could be sufficiently maintained.
• Nutritious breakfasts and lunches could be served.
• Classrooms could have highly certified teachers.
• Students could have access to classified support when
needed.
• Students could arrive at school rested, well-fed, and self-
regulated.
• Schools could be fully staffed and have substitute
teachers.
• Staff morale could be healthy, invigorated, and ready to
innovate.
4:05:04 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked how early elementary school students in
Juneau have been impacted by measures to avoid COVID and how it
affected student learning outcomes for the district.
MS. WEISS said she taught secondary school math for 16 years
before being an elementary school principal. She is passionate
about early childhood and the preventative measures that occur
with high-quality learning experiences. The effects of COVID on
younger students were extraordinary. For example, schools
intuitively knew there would be students arriving at school with
limited exposure to learning experiences. Following COVID, the
Juneau school district had several 7-year-old students enter a
learning environment for the first time. COVID impacted the
self-regulation and the behavioral and emotional needs of K-3rd
grade students. Educators must focus on these issues before
entering academics. The state does a developmental profile on
children entering kindergarten. On average, one-third of
Alaska's children are ready for kindergarten.
4:07:36 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked if cutting teachers results in an outcome
opposite to what the district wants.
4:07:46 PM
MS. WEISS said it would help 100 percent. Juneau school
district's budget for next year is $4.5 million short. To
accomplish a balanced budget schools must increase the pupil-
teacher ratio (PTR) even though increasing class size is
contrary to the needs of students. She opined that there must be
a certified teacher and classified support person in every class
to overcome the learning and regulation deficits of students.
4:08:40 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked if cutting teachers results in an outcome
opposite to what the district wants.
MS. WEISS replied yes. School districts have trimmed all the
low-hanging fruit. Class size is one of the remaining levers
superintendents have available to balance their budgets.
4:09:27 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked if the response to intervention (RTI)
educational strategy works for the Juneau School district. He
asked whether the district is nimble in transitioning students
into and out of interventions into full services.
4:09:58 PM
MS. WEISS said RTI is also called multi-tiered systems of
support (MTSS). ASA acquired a grant that supports 18 Alaska
school districts. The data-driven strategy is terrific and
removes bias from achievement across multiple fields of
learning. School districts supply interventions to support
students based on a tiered level of need; the lower the tier,
the more resource interventions are applied. Progress is
continually monitored and adjusted on a four-to-six-week
schedule. She stated her belief that MTSS is critical to
increasing student achievement across Alaska, but it takes
resources.
4:12:23 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN said staff with years of teaching experience
are working through the RTI process while students face
significant learning deficits. He opined that there is no time
to collect data and wait two months to see if a program works.
Students need action now. He encouraged districts around the
state to defer to the expertise of educators to decide what
interventions students need. Data is great when there is time
and support, but schools have yet to receive support, and second
graders need to start learning to read.
4:13:43 PM
MS. WEISS stated she appreciates Senator Bjorkman's sense of
urgency. The data she referred to was not state achievement data
but real-time, locally based school assessments to immediately
identify needed interventions. She agreed there was no time to
waste.
4:14:15 PM
CHAIR TOBIN referred to slide 14, New Superintendent Induction
and Support Program, and said accountability goes two ways. The
superintendent support program is incredible, and the
legislature should also be accountable for supporting
superintendents.
4:14:44 PM
MS. PARADY said she reflected on Senator Steven's request for
suggestions on accountability. She opined that school districts
are swimming in accountability and that presenters would provide
a list of ways they are accountable. Policymakers need to
understand how much accountability there is at the various
levels of government. Adding more accountability to existing
layers of accountability when school districts have been
operating at a deficit is counterintuitive. Government can apply
accountability measures to any extra that schools receive once
school districts are made whole.
4:16:27 PM
SENATOR STEVENS said his understanding of Ms. Parady's comment
is that there is no silver bullet. There is no single
accountability measure, and school districts already have many
accountability measures.
MS. PARADY replied that the accountability measures presenters
will share are partial lists. She offered to provide the
committee with a list of existing accountability measures.
4:17:20 PM
CHAIR TOBIN acknowledged Representative Ruffridge was in
attendance.
4:17:46 PM
BRENDAN WILSON, President, Alaska Association of Secondary
School Principals, Anchorage, Alaska, said he is the principal
of Begich middle school. He shared a brief video of an
elementary school student saying she likes reading and learning.
Principal Thompson from Sand Lake Elementary provided the video.
The video is a good reminder that middle school educators stand
on the shoulders of elementary school colleagues. It makes
teaching easier when students enter middle school liking to
read.
4:19:02 PM
MR. WILSON moved to slide 18 and said the mission of the state
board is to promote excellence in school leadership through
professional development, advocacy, and mentoring. He thanked
the legislators for their focus on education. One of the biggest
challenges facing education in Alaska is recruiting and
retaining staff. Schools have unfilled positions and positions
filled by only partially certified employees. The Governor's
Teacher Retention and Recruitment Task Force stated that salary
and benefits are the main issues impacting retention. He said he
did not expect to become rich by teaching but was offered world-
class healthcare and an excellent retirement system. He opined
that teachers leave Alaska after five years due to their
retirement benefit. The loss to the state is immeasurable
because it takes a new teacher about five years to become
proficient.
4:21:16 PM
MR. WILSON advanced to slide 20 and said educators trained in
Alaska are more likely to stay in Alaska. More robust systems of
education lead to better teacher retention. He encouraged
support for the University of Alaska and was happy that two
aides from Begich middle school were preparing to be special
education teachers.
MR. WILSON turned to slide 21 and said ACSA advocates for safe
and secure schools by providing a supportive, welcoming
environment. The BSA directly impacts safety.
4:22:21 PM
MR. WILSON turned to slide 22 and said the top two safety issues
students care about are drug safety and gun violence. Vaping has
become a national epidemic for students. Often parents are
unaware that their children are using drugs and vaping. Students
expressed concerns about gun violence in their communities. He
said there is a principal in the room who disarmed a student
last year, and one who helped students feel safe after a six-
year-old brought a loaded gun to school. He stated that he had
lost four students to gun violence in five years, two to
suicide, one to domestic violence, and one to homicide by a
juvenile.
4:24:42 PM
MR. WILSON advanced to slides 24-25 and said that the board is
proud of its statewide mentoring program, Alaska School
Leadership Academy, because many districts cannot offer robust
professional development. Mentoring principals is essential
because having quality principals in every building is second
only to quality teachers as an indicator of student achievement.
4:25:31 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked about slide 23, titled Education is
Accountable.
MR. WILSON replied that he would discuss the slide later in the
presentation.
MR. WILSON said the photographs on slide 26 were of professional
development meetings.
4:26:07 PM
MR. WILSON turned to slide 23, Education is Accountable, and
provided a partial list of the ways principals are held
accountable:
[Original punctuation provided.]
• Teacher and Principal Evaluations
• Accreditation Process
• Title I Data
• Graduation Rates
• Attendance
• DEED Dashboard
• Staff Retention
• Program Audits
• Special Ed/IEP Audits
MR. WILSON said he would share data from Begich Middle School.
The federal government requires Title I schools to set goals. He
spoke about the following three goals set by the school:
Goal 1: Students would have a minimum grade point average (GPA)
of 2.8. The use of GPA was selected over standardized test
scores because there is a growing body of research showing GPA
is a better predictor of student success after high school than
standardized tests. He said research shows that 2.8 is the GPA
needed to be on track for life, a career, or college. The
combined average GPA of the 900 students at Begich Middle School
is 2.8.
Goal 2: Reduce the number of suspensions for physical behavior.
Following the COVID pandemic, there was a spike in school
behavioral problems. Begich Middle School is on track for a 28
percent reduction over last year.
Goal 3: Increase family engagement.
4:27:43 PM
CHAIR TOBIN asked what scale he uses to determine grade point
average (GPA).
MR. WILSON said the scale used in high school is more
complicated than in middle school. Middle school uses a simple
4.0 scale. A middle school student would need a minimum of six
Bs and one C to have a 2.8 GPA.
4:28:28 PM
MR. WILSON moved to slide 27 and said ASD envisions a day when
schools partner with businesses to identify career paths in
Alaska that students can aspire to after graduation. That means
exposing middle school students to a wide range of careers so
they can enter career paths in high school with a realization
that some occupations have yet to be invented. For this to
happen, curriculums and career paths must align, which means
hiring teachers for a broader range of subjects and staff that
can work with the business community.
4:29:45 PM
SENATOR KIEHL asked for information about the leadership
academy.
MR. WILSON replied that braided funding through the state and
grants fund the leadership academy. Admission to the academy is
voluntary. Experienced principals volunteer to mentor new
principals for two years. Next year Anchorage will join the
statewide mentorship program. Currently, he participates in
Anchorage's mentorship program and learns a lot from his mentee.
4:30:57 PM
SENATOR KIEHL said it is good the academy is expanding. He asked
if 7 - 8 percent of principal participation is adequate to cover
turnover.
MR. WILSON replied no, principal turnover is between 28 - 30
percent.
4:31:36 PM
JOSH GILL, President, Alaska Association of Elementary School
Principals, Bethel, Alaska, said he is the principal at Ayaprun
Elitnaurvik elementary school in the Lower Kuskokwim School
District (LKSD). LKSD is about the size of West Virginia, with
22 sites and 27 schools. It is the largest REAA in Alaska, and
no roads connect the villages. He has been the principal of his
four children.
4:32:13 PM
MR. GILL moved to slide 29 and said the people in the
photographs are AASP's elementary school board of directors and
regional representatives. The representatives ensure statewide
representation. The board represents both urban and rural
elementary schools. The mission of AASB is to support school
leaders in their work to strengthen Alaskan communities and
provide an excellent opportunity for all students.
4:32:34 PM
MR. GILL turned to slide 30 and said the first joint position
statement he would address is early childhood education. Early
childhood education programs offer many advantages, especially
in rural areas where students enter school with language
challenges. Students should enter school with a vocabulary
between 5,000 - 6,000 words. Instead, many students in his
district enter school with a vocabulary between 2,500 - 3,500
words, making it impossible for them to learn to read.
4:33:13 PM
MR. GILL moved to slide 31 and said the following are long-term
risk factors for students who do not have access to quality
childhood programs:
• 25 percent more likely to drop out of school.
• 40 percent more likely to become a teen parent.
• 50 percent more likely to be placed in special education.
• 60 more likely to never attend college.
• 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime.
MR. GILL stated that early childhood education is a preventative
measure for the issues secondary school teachers face. He said
the graph on the right shows the long-term monetary benefit of
implementing preschools. Schools appreciate the Reads Act, which
addresses the need for early childhood education but needs more
funding. Quality education programs exist in Alaska but must be
made available to all students. While working as a principal at
a PreK-2nd grade school in Bethel in 2009, he applied for and
received a language grant. Only low-income students were allowed
in the program. Using data collected over two years, the
students scored in the 85th percentile of their peers. He said
there is a direct, immediate benefit to early childhood
programs.
4:34:48 PM
MR. GILL turned to slide 32 and said ACSA's statement about the
need for mental health support through additional training and
staffing should not be surprising. ACSA has also discussed
safety and the lack of staffing for early childhood programs
directly related to mental health issues across the state.
CHAIR TOBIN said the Senate Judiciary Committee heard the
Department of Justice report on behavioral health and the hyper-
institutionalization of children. The report's first
recommendation was to have more school counselors. She said she
wants conversations about using Alaska's resources to keep
students living in the state to continue.
4:35:32 PM
MR. GILL moved to slide 33 and said Alaska has the nation's
highest child abuse and neglect rates. Abuse rates were high in
Alaska before COVID, but afterward, the rates became extremely
high. Many schools do not have counselors or social workers,
especially in elementary school. Students are coming to school
with greater needs at younger ages. Student learning does not
occur unless districts address their social, emotional, and
mental health needs. "Compassion fatigue" is a new term to
describe the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of
helping others. He said compassion fatigue is taking a toll on
education, especially in rural areas with limited outside
support.
4:37:04 PM
MR. GILL turned to slides 34-35 and said geography should no
longer be a determinant in connectivity. He provided ACSA's
joint position statement on increasing bandwidth in underserved
areas as follows:
[Original punctuation provided.]
ACSA supports continuing the Broadband Assistance
Grant (BAG) to ensure all schools are able to access a
minimum speed of 25 megabits per second as this
leverages federal ERate funds up to a 9:1 match. We
support efforts to continue to increase download speed
to meet national recommendations of 1 gigabyte per
second, per student.
MR. GILL said the graph comprises national data collected during
the COVID pandemic and illustrates how social-economic levels
affect students and their access to online learning. Some areas
of Alaska have major bandwidth issues. Lack of bandwidth also
affects educators' access to online professional development.
Bandwidth limited the Lower Kuskokwim School District's (LKSD)
ability to offer online classes during the pandemic. The
school's bandwidth can only support 15 - 20 standardized test
users at a time. This results in a lot of lost instruction time.
Families in the area do not have online access.
4:38:18 PM
MR. GILL moved to slide 37 and said the school he works at is an
immersion charter school that offers choice. He said he wants to
see a fully funded PreK - 8th-grade immersion program that
develops bilingual and biliterate students well-prepared for
their chosen career path. Students deserve the best, and the
state of Alaska should be able to give it to them.
4:38:49 PM
MR. GILL moved to slide 36 and stated his belief that the video
he shared of a mechanical engineering student attending Stanford
encompasses the dedication and work of teachers. The student
credited the academic rigor and extracurricular offering of ASD
for her acceptance into Stanford. She thanked her principal,
teachers, and counselors for their help.
4:40:35 PM
CHAIR TOBIN asked whether young people could compete nationally
to enter institutions of higher learning without extracurricular
activities.
4:40:58 PM
MR. WILSON replied that he does not have data to back up what he
believes to be true. Extracurricular activities are sometimes
the only reason a student attends school. The greater breadth of
opportunities schools can offer students, the more likely they
will enter a good college, career, or life path.
4:42:21 PM
YODEAN ARMOUR, President, Alaska Association of School Business
Officials, Klawock, Alaska, said Klawock School is a single-site
district with 118 students in grades K-12. She is a graduate of
Klawock School and is grateful for the education she received.
4:42:44 PM
ANDY RATLIFF, Chief Financial Officer, Anchorage School
District, Anchorage, Alaska, said ASD has about 44,000 students
in 95 schools. His wife works for Fairview Elementary School,
and his four children attend schools in Anchorage.
4:43:10 PM
MS. ARMOUR turned to slide 39 and said that school districts
would face a fiscal cliff in the coming year due to the loss of
COVID funds. She stressed the importance of inflation-proof
funding to ensure schools can continue to use funds to address
the academic, social, and emotional needs of students that are
present and will continue to exist once COVID funding is
exhausted. School districts striving for academic excellence
must employ tutors, teachers, counselors, and specialists.
4:43:40 PM
MS. ARMOUR turned to slide 40 and said the pie chart combines
the budgets of Alaska's 54 districts and demonstrates
instructional versus non-instructional expenditures. Statewide
instructional expenditures are 74 percent of budget spending.
4:44:03 PM
MR. RATLIFF moved to slides 41-42 and provided a brief overview
of what items the Department of Education and Early Development
(DEED) defines as belonging to instructional versus non-
instructional categories:
Instructional (Functions 100-400) = 74 percent
Instruction - the cost of teachers, paraprofessionals,
supplies, materials, technology that is directly in the
classroom
Special Education Instruction - the cost of teachers,
paraprofessionals, supplies, materials, technology that is
directly in the classroom
Special Education Support (non-direct instruction) - pull-out
services, occupational therapy, physical therapy,
psychologists, counseling, behavioral supports
Support Services (ancillary support) counseling, security,
nurses
Support Services for Instruction (muddled function code)-
librarians, district administration, professional development
support, supervision of principals
School Administration - support for principals in the daily
needs and functions of the school
Non-Instructional (Functions 450-780) = 26 percent
•School Admin Support - front office personnel in schools
•District Administration - the cost of the school board,
superintendent, and executive level staff, assessment of
evaluations, communication team, legal fees, internal and
external auditors
•District Admin Support (items related to running a business) -
payroll, human resources, purchasing, the budget office
•Operations & Maintenance (cost of operating school buildings) -
rent, utilities, maintenance personnel
•Student Activities - activities that generally fall outside of
a school day, such as sports or clubs
•Community Services - facilitating the use of school buildings
by outside community members
4:47:23 PM
CHAIR TOBIN commented that there were times she learned more by
engaging in sports and other extra-curricular activities than by
attending class.
4:47:30 PM
MR. RATLIFF responded that students learn from activities the
state classifies as non-instructional. His job is to report
items according to state classifications.
4:47:44 PM
MR. RATLIFF moved to slide 43 and said transportation funding is
not a joint position statement because it is a separate funding
stream from the base student allocation (BSA). It is a different
statute from the foundation formula. The amount of funding for
transportation has stayed the same since 2015. Transportation
costs used to be fully supported by the state, but this is no
longer the case since prices have increased substantially.
Approximately 75 percent of transportation costs are state
funded. Transportation costs have outpaced other areas of
inflation. Districts increased transportation wages to entice
people to apply for positions following COVID. The government is
slower to adjust to changes than the private sector.
4:48:43 PM
MR. RATLIFF turned to slide 44 and stated that the graph shows
how much the state has generated in transportation revenue and
how much it has spent over the last ten years. From FY13 to
FY16, transportation revenue steadily increased because a
statute provided inflation-proof funding. The spike in FY 16 was
due to a $9.5 million purchase of Anchorage school buses. The
purchase bought down the long-term cost of ASD's contract. In
FY17, the state short-funded revenue. Schools needed the same
bus routes despite a decrease in student population. For
example, in FY21, slightly fewer children were on each route due
to COVID. COVID did not affect just one neighborhood. The same
bus routes had to be continued even though there were less
students on the buses.
4:49:58 PM
MR. RATLIFF moved to slide 45 and spoke to the following
accountability measures that occur within finance:
[Original punctuation provided.]
? DEED Approved Budgets Publicly Published
? Annual Financial Audits
? GEER/ESSER Reporting Requirements through DEED for
COVID Expenditures
? TRS/PRS Audits
? Title I comparability reporting
? Program Audits
4:50:50 PM
CHAIR TOBIN said slides titled Education is Accountable have had
information on the right side that has gone unaddressed. She
asked about that information and where to find it.
MR. RATLIFF replied that budget information could be found on
ASD's website in its entirety and on DEED's website as a 10 -
15-page report.
4:51:29 PM
MS. ARMOUR turned to slide 46 and said that from a business
viewpoint, timely, reliable, and inflation-proofed funding is
what schools require to issue needed contracts and be good
stewards of public dollars. Long-term planning provides the
ability to support instructional staff to focus on students and
outcomes.
4:52:36 PM
DOUGLAS GRAY, Director, Alaska Staff Development Network (ASDN),
Juneau, Alaska, provided a brief work history and said ASDN is a
private non-profit small business organization providing high-
quality professional development for forty years. He shared
highlights of ASDN as follows:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Our Mission: To provide Alaskan educators with
multiple pathways to refine instructional practice and
maintain certification.
Annually we:
•Host over 5,000 overall professional learning
registrations
•Serve over 2,000 with online classes. We Offer 70
self-paced, high-quality professional development
courses.
•Offer 8 webinar series with national education
experts that serve over 700 Alaskan educators
•Host the largest K-12 professional development
conference in Alaska with 1 in 10 Alaskan educators in
attendance
4:54:00 PM
MR. GRAY turned to slide 48 and spoke to the following points on
ASDN's Annual Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-tiered
System of Support (MTSS) Instruction Conference:
[Original punctuation provided.]
•Served over 1,000 Alaskan educators from 44 districts
in 2023
•Largest statewide PK-12 Conference in Alaska
•Cost savings for districts to stay instate
4:55:42 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked about the standard for using attendance
to determine whether interventions or other support measures are
needed.
MR. GRAY responded that research shows that it takes students
ten days to make up for one day of missed instruction.
Therefore, families need to know the importance of attendance.
As a former principal, he highlighted attendance to provide
success to some students.
4:56:24 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked if schools statewide consider the number
of days pupils miss school when educators assess them for
interventions or special support services.
MR. GRAY replied that it is always a relevant factor that
educators look at when determining how to support students. The
best strategy for dealing with missed instruction due to
assessment is situational. The focus is letting everybody
understand that attendance is just as important as studying for
a test or participating actively in class. ASDN wants people to
know that attendance is a factor in school success.
4:57:24 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked Mr. Gray if he agreed that schools and
administrators are not following best practices if they are not
accessing students for interventions or special support services
because they missed several school days.
MR. GRAY said he would not want to evaluate a school district
regarding how they impact attendance. He strongly encourages
every school district to look at its attendance data to see how
students are doing. He said he would encourage schools to look
for ways to support students who are absent from school.
4:58:07 PM
SENATOR BJORKMAN asked if the state has any accountability
measures that encourage families to send their students to
school.
MR. GRAY replied that he was not aware of any. He knows
attendance is reported and offered to follow up on the question.
SENATOR BJORKMAN said attendance plays a vital role in student
success, but there is no accountability or expectation that
students attend school.
MR. GRAY said he would need to ask school districts what they do
with attendance reports. He said he is hopeful that districts
are taking action to reduce absenteeism since schools are
reporting attendance.
4:59:18 PM
SAM JORDAN, Grant Director, Alaska School Leadership Academy,
Wasilla, Alaska, advanced to slide 51 and said ACSA supports a
broad portfolio of state and federal grants in collaboration
with school districts statewide. The purpose is to help school
districts extend their ability to provide professional learning
opportunities to educators and instructional opportunities to
students. He spoke about the following innovative projects of
the organization:
[Original punctuation provided.]
• Performance-Based compensation models
• Support for National Superintendent Certification
cohort
• Support for National Board Certification cohort
College and career preparation for rural
students/families
• Indigenous language assessment
• Computer science instruction in rural and
correspondence schools
5:01:36 PM
CHAIR TOBIN said she was excited to hear about indigenous
language assessments because DEED expressed concerns about the
ability to support language immersion schools through the Reads
Act.
5:02:30 PM
MS. WEISS answered the question concerning attendance
accountability by saying educators are accountable for chronic
absenteeism through the school report card published on DEED's
website. Chronic absenteeism is one factor of the report. It is
measured using a metric of greater than ten absences. Many
schools in Juneau, and likely across the state, have student
support teams that meet weekly to review lists of at risk
students. The lists include students with chronic absenteeism.
The team looks for agencies that can provide support to the
student. It is an example of school accountability, even though
schools do not have control over whether a parent sends their
child to school. She said schools could benefit from a statewide
campaign regarding how important it is for children to be in
school. School attendance is an issue in Alaska and nationally.
MS. WEISS said a lack of attendance could be an obstacle to
providing needed support services for students. Special services
are considered restrictive environments; therefore, a team
cannot deem a child eligible if they have not been in school.
5:05:52 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Tobin adjourned the Senate Education Committee meeting at
5:05 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| ACSA Presentation 02.24.2023.pdf |
SEDC 2/27/2023 3:30:00 PM |