TAPE 94-07, SIDE A Number 000 CHAIR BUNDE called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m., and asked for roll call to be taken. Rep. Irene Nicholia was not in attendance; she was excused. Chair Bunde stated that there was to be a continuing discussion of HB 84. CSHB 84: "An Act relating to grants for the improvement of school performance, to school advisory boards, and to teacher tenure rights; and providing for an effective date." Number 040 CHAIR BUNDE clarified by stating that before the committee was (workdraft 8-GH1033/R) Version R of CSHB 84 that was discussed in committee, January 26, 1994. He said Version R incorporated changes from the previous meeting and that he also had additional changes to recommend to the committee. He stated that HB 84 would be addressed again on Friday and it was his hope that it would pass out of committee. Number 078 REP. TOOHEY made a motion to adopt Version R of CSHB 84 as a working document. Number 085 CHAIR BUNDE stated that there were no objections. He continued on by listing each individual amendment and said he would address each amendment individually after the initial reading. (Attachment 1 is a copy of Chair Bunde's amendments.) Number 209 CHAIR BUNDE asked the committee to return to the first amendment, page 3, Section 7: Delete Section 7 and renumber. He said that he still maintained his concerns as to what the relationship would be between the advisory board and the PTA, and he was not willing to mandate specific advisory councils. He felt the best that he could do was to delete the entire section. Number 243 REP. TOOHEY asked "are we just assuming, is there somewhere that says this, or does that automatically take over the PTA, will they automatically take over or are there any functions in this that they have to take over?" Number 250 CHAIR BUNDE said that the language in the bill, as it exists, says that the PTA would be the local advisory board. Number 263 REP. OLBERG related to Chair Bunde that in small communities "you'd soon run out of people." Number 268 CHAIR BUNDE agreed. He announced Rep. Bettye Davis' arrival at 3:10 p.m., and apprised her of what had transpired up to the time of her arrival. He continued on to say that the PTAs were uncomfortable with the role of advisory board, and hence he was deleting Section 7. On page 5, lines 7-8, CHAIR BUNDE recommended deleting "A tenure committee serves at the pleasure of the local school board." He said that in further reflection, he realized that the language could allow for the local board to hold on-going elections until the committee was found to be satisfactory. That was not his intent. Number 334 REP. VEZEY asked Chair Bunde to clarify further. Number 335 CHAIR BUNDE stated that if the composition of the committee was not one that pleased the board, the board could keep removing members until the committee was found to be satisfactory. Number 350 REP. VEZEY asked about the rotation of the tenure committee. Number 359 CHAIR BUNDE said that the elected members serve a staggered, three-year term. Number 376 REP. G. DAVIS asked if the local school board acts on the recommendations of the tenure committee. Number 385 CHAIR BUNDE responded yes and assured Rep. G. Davis that the tenure committee does not have the final decision. CHAIR BUNDE continued on with the amendments. On page 5, line 13, he recommended deleting "or" and insert "and." Hence on page 5, line 14, Chair Bunde amended to delete "or both." The sentence would now read: "The remaining members shall be appointed by the local school board and shall be representatives of school administration and the local school board." CHAIR BUNDE continued. On page 5, line 15, he asked to insert "for just cause" after "terminate." The sentence would now read: "Each member of a committee serves for a term of three years unless the member is removed for just cause by the local school board or no longer meets the qualification requirement under which the person was appointed." (As follows, page 7, line 20, after "terminate" insert "for just cause".) CHAIR BUNDE referred to a statement of opposition filed in the committee bill packets. For the record he quoted the discontent of an Anchorage teacher in regards to the proposed tenure revision. Number 485 Before Chair Bunde read the statement into the record, Rep. Gary Davis moved to adopt the recommended amendments. There being no objections, the amendments were adopted into the working draft. Number 497 (Attachment 2 contains a statement of opposition from Michael McVee.) CHAIR BUNDE read the statement from Michael McVee that said: "Tenure only guarantees just cause in termination procedures. This protection is needed to insure high quality teachers. Teachers who must be concerned with being fired without cause may lesson (Chair Bunde proceeded to spell lesson, L-E-S-S-O-N) requirements and be less inventive in planning." In regards to the writer's spelling, Chair Bunde said that perhaps indeed, there was the need for tenure revisions. Number 516 REP. BRICE needed clarification stating that the Fairbanks school district supports changing the tenure law. He had thought earlier that Chair Bunde had stated it was the Teachers Association that supported changes in tenure. Number 541 CHAIR BUNDE clarified and said that it was the Fairbanks school district that was considering a five-year tenure procedure. He continued on to say that because the National Education Association/Alaska (NEA/AK) was in the process of holding meetings regarding the new legislation, it was not his intention to move the bill out of committee until Friday, February 4. CHAIR BUNDE stated that there would be a cost for having a teacher leave a class to attend a review in the form of a substitute teacher cost. He said that principals, teachers, and school board members are on salary, and there was a provision allowing for the school board to appoint a representative. He said he chose not to have a parent on the board because there would have to be compensation, and the parent may not be available during the day for reviews. Chair Bunde felt that the parent involvement issue would be addressed by the fact that, most likely, the board members, the principals, and teachers are parents also. Number 615 REP. G. DAVIS stated that he had "a bit of a problem" with the tenure section. He stated that it could be foreseen that the principal would not be on the committee. He quoted that as amended it said, "a school board shall appoint an administrator..." He felt that could be someone from the central office. He felt it was unclear. Number 633 CHAIR BUNDE felt that common sense would dictate that it would be an administrator from that school. However, he did say that in a small district with two schools, one administrator might serve on a tenure committee for both schools. Number 648 REP. TOOHEY asked if Chair Bunde had looked over the letter from the Anchorage Education Association. She further asked if he had looked at Section 2 of that same letter. She asked the amount of tenure year teachers in regards to all of them being reviewed in the fifth year. (See Attachment 3 - a letter from Rob Pfisterer, President, Anchorage Education Association.) Number 661 CHAIR BUNDE asserted that there would be a tenure review committee for each school building, and said it would not be an unruly task. CHAIR BUNDE asked for public testimony or further questions. Number 691 REP. G. DAVIS stated, as he understood it, that after eleven years a teacher could still be under review, citing what he thought was a review after five years, and then another review after another five years, plus the opportunity to appeal for another year. Number 704 CHAIR BUNDE clarified his intent. He said there would be five years of teaching under the Alaska system with a review each of those five years. The final year the tenure review committee recommends tenure (or not). If the school board decides in favor of the committee's recommendation, tenure would be granted, and there would be no review for another five years. Number 720 REP. G. DAVIS asked about the extension for tenure approval for one year. Number 727 CHAIR BUNDE stated that the one year option was after the secondary tenure evaluation. He pointed out that teachers often start out strong, and then after a period of time they lose their initial drive. If tenure is taken away after the secondary evaluation, the teacher would be given a one-year grace period to change any deficiency. If there is no change after that one year, the teacher is put on an "at- will" contract with no tenure. Number 764 REP. BRICE, for demonstration purposes, said that a teacher was reviewed and found to have deficiency "A". Two years later the school board has found that deficiency "A" has been cured, but have now discovered deficiency "B". He then asked if the teacher had two deficient reports, would he/she retain his/her tenure. Number 809 CHAIR BUNDE stated that "we can't play catch 22." Number 810 REP. BRICE asked if Chair Bunde had considered providing, through the proposal, extra support for teachers with deficiencies, or would the responsibility remain with the school district? CHAIR BUNDE said that the support was the responsibility of the school district. He also mentioned the professional responsibility of the individual teacher to continue on with their own education to maintain their teaching certificate. Number 839 REP. BRICE asked if "deficiency" was a harsh enough term to use and suggested that maybe the term "incompetence" could be used. Number 852 CHAIR BUNDE responded by saying that if Rep. Brice came up with a term better suited for his intent, he would be glad to hear it. Number 868 REP. BRICE felt there were certain levels of deficiency, citing a classroom teaching deficiency and an administrative deficiency; i.e., the teacher not filling out required paperwork for administration. Number 981 CHAIR BUNDE stated that the deficiencies would be defined by a committee composed of teachers, administrators, and school board members. Number 905 REP. TOOHEY asked if it was the "normal job" of the principal to see how the teachers are doing. Number 910 CHAIR BUNDE said that theoretically it is the principal's job, but in reality they are so busy that they seldom get into the classroom. He also mentioned that not all principals are as competent as they should be. Number 922 REP. BRICE facetiously asked if principal tenure should be considered also. Number 923 CHAIR BUNDE stated that Representative Kott arrived at 3:25 p.m. Number 929 REP. VEZEY continued to say that in regards to Rep. Brice's quip, principals do serve at the pleasure of the administration. Number 934 CHAIR BUNDE said principals have their own organization for review, but they don't have tenure. Number 937 REP. G. DAVIS said that just as principals have too much to do, so do teachers. He thought that it was asking too much of teacher's time to be involved in the review process. Rep. G. Davis expressed the desire to hear more debate on CSHB 84 and said he would do further research into the matter before the bill was passed out of committee. Number 971 CHAIR BUNDE said he did not view the tenure revision as burdensome and that it was an elected position that would be a significant contribution to education. Number 995 REP. VEZEY asked what Chair Bunde's interpretation of academic freedom was. Number 000 CHAIR BUNDE expressed it as "the freedom to teach as affectively as you know how, without having to get involved in a popularity contest to maintain your job." Number 030 Seeing no further business before the committee, CHAIR BUNDE ADJOURNED the meeting at 3:40 p.m.