SENATE BILL NO. 47 "An Act increasing the monthly stipend available for students attending a statewide boarding school operated by a school district; and providing for an effective date." 9:16:58 AM Senator Coghill testified that the bill would remove the sunset provision for providing stipends to boarding schools. He said that there were many burgeoning small boarding and trade schools that had been helping young people in rural Alaska to receive an education that they might not otherwise experience. He asserted that boarding schools not only raised the bar for educational standards but also created work and college ready members of society. 9:19:31 AM RYNNIEVA MOSS, STAFF, SENATOR JOHN COGHILL, discussed the sectional analysis: *Sec. 1. This section removes narrow applicability to schools operating before June 1, 2005. Currently three school districts are receiving the stipend: Nenana, Bethel and Galena. The Department of Education is currently soliciting applications for three additional boarding schools statewide. Sec. 1 also adds magnet schools that have variable-length terms but have a 180-day school year. *Sec. 2. Section 2 increases the monthly stipend rate based on the region of the state the boarding school is located. *Sec. 3. Section 4 allows school districts to contract room and board. *Sec. 4. This section repeals AS 14.17.200(c) which limited DOE to approving three additional boarding school applications. Sec. 4 also repeals AS 14.16.200(d)(2), the definition for "district-operated statewide residential program" as Section 1 now included both statewide and district- wide residential schools. *Sec. 5. This Act has an immediate effective date. Co-Chair Meyer observed that part of the fiscal note for the bill needed to be included in the 2013 Supplemental Budget. Ms. Moss replied that the administration could speak to the fiscal note. 9:22:55 AM Co-Chair Meyer asked about the Jesse Lee Home in Seward. He wondered about the qualifications needed to be labeled a boarding school. Ms. Moss replied that boarding school qualifications were determined by the public school system. She thought that a public school could contract with the Jesse Lee Home for room and board. 9:23:25 AM Co-Chair Meyer noted that it sounded like a charter school. Ms. Moss informed the committee that charter schools are public schools. 9:23:36 AM Senator Bishop pointed to Section 3. He requested an example of the kind of school intended in the section. Ms. Moss replied that the example would be a non-profit organization that was providing room and board for students attending a public school. 9:24:17 AM Senator Dunleavy stated that all charter schools in the state were public schools under the district of their location. 9:24:48 AM Co-Chair Meyer inquired whether the administration supported the bill. MICHAEL HANLEY, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT, stated that the department appreciated the cost of housing and monitoring students 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. He believed that the increase in the funding represented true costs. He supported shifting from a statewide to a district-wide component, which would allow programs to bring in students from outlying schools and provide them the intensives for qualification in the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP). He explained that the variable term component meant that although the school would run for the full school year, students participating in the ANSEP intensive could cycle through and return to their home schools within the school year. 9:27:33 AM Co-Chair Meyer understood that boarding schools boasted high test scores and academic achievement. Commissioner Hanley replied that comparisons in graduation and achievement rates between the boarding schools and the student's home schools in the state had revealed positive results on the boarding school side. 9:28:00 AM Co-Chair Meyer asked how many boarding schools in the state would apply and receive the stipend. Commissioner Hanley responded four. He noted that Mount Edgecumbe was unique as it was a state-run private school. 9:28:31 AM Co-Chair Meyer pointed out to the committee that passage of the legislation would result in an additional $1.6 million in the supplemental budget. 9:28:46 AM ELIZABETH SWEENEY NUDELMAN, DIRECTOR, SCHOOL FINANCES AND FACILITIES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT, agreed that additional funding would need to be added to the supplemental budget to support the legislation. 9:29:08 AM Commissioner Hanley interjected that the stipend increase that was awarded two years ago would sunset this year. He said that the lack of the additional funds would make future funding of the state's private schools, except for Mount Edgecumbe, challenging. 9:29:35 AM Co-Chair Meyer relayed that the state paid for students to fly several times per year to Mount Edgecumbe in Sitka. He wondered if boarding schools saved the state money. Commissioner Hanley replied that boarding school students still received the BSA, but that the added boarding component allowed each student one, round-trip ticket to and from school. He believed that boarding schools were more expensive than traditional neighborhood schools, but that tickets would be based on the number of beds the school housed, rather that the number of students who came and went. 9:31:56 AM Co-Chair Kelly queried whether a boarding school had been planned for Kotzebue. Commissioner Hanley replied that the department had recently begun an open application period to allow districts to apply for schools. He stated that the Star of the Northwest boarding school was considering allowing high school students to register. 9:32:58 AM Co-Chair Kelly inquired what communities the department would target for boarding schools. Commissioner Hanley replied that he would do regional research. He said he would consider Barrow, Kotzebue, Bethel and Southeast Alaska. Co-Chair Kelly asked about Dillingham and McGrath. Commissioner Hanley said that the Bristol Bay area, Dillingham, King Salmon and Naknek had all been considered. He stressed the importance of building schools in the region of need so that students still felt connected to home. Co-Chair Kelly queried the lack of roads as a barrier to the success of a boarding school in Kotzebue. Commissioner Hanley responded that road access was a barrier. He said that currently there were no roads to any of Alaska's boarding schools. He believed that greater access would be beneficial. 9:35:48 AM Senator Olson stated that Nenana had a road. Commissioner Hanley said that the road was relatively far removed from other communities; most of the student still had to fly to the school. 9:36:17 AM Senator Olson asked whether there had been requests from certain school districts for a boarding school. Commissioner Hanley replied that requests had been made. He said that local communities should make their need known to the department. He stated that four areas had applied: Kotzebueu, Nome, Chugach, and Anchorage. 9:37:27 AM Senator Olson referred to earlier testimony that some students became homesick during Christmastime visits which resulted in students dropping out of boarding school. He wondered if it would be best to not allow them to return home at Christmastime. Commissioner Hanley said that experience had shown that when students were away from home for too long it became a problem. He recognized that being away from home could be a challenge for teenagers. 9:38:25 AM Senator Olson commented that he came from a long line of people that had attended boarding school. He wondered what the options would be for these students if the boarding schools did not exist. Commissioner Hanley responded that the option would be the neighborhood school; a school with 10-20 students and two teachers. He noted that it was difficult to offer a broad ranged curriculum at a very small school. 9:39:22 AM Co-Chair Kelly queried what the cost would be to make the boarding school model work for the state across the board. Commissioner Hanley responded that the answer was to provide more opportunities for students throughout the state. Co-Chair Kelly asserted that he was seeking a dollar number. Commissioner Hanley replied that if you looked at the four schools that had applied and several that had not applied, the department would have to add the cost of access to the schools. He stressed that an exact number was difficult to pencil in. He hypothesized that if you added 1000 rural Alaskan student to full or part-time variable term programs, the total cost would be approximately $10 million. Co-Chair Kelly queried what the capital costs would be, once there was an additional $10 million added to the operating budget. Commissioner Hanky relayed that the state did not currently build residential facilities; if the state were to do so, the capital cost could be as high as $50 million per school. 9:42:53 AM Senator Bishop noted that there were assets that could be utilized for room and board components. He cited the work in Galena where the Air Force facility was being used for culinary classes. He stressed that there were existing hard assets that could be utilized to stretch state funding. 9:44:04 AM Senator Dunleavy asked what kind of school the if the commissioner would send his children to given the choice of a small, two teacher, school or a comprehensive, boarding home, high school. Commissioner Hanley replied that he would be tempted by the greater options of a boarding school but would ultimately choose the school that was best for the individual child. 9:44:52 AM Senator Dunleavy restated the question. Commissioner Hanley asserted that his fist inclination as a parent would be to keep his children close to home. 9:45:09 AM Senator Dunleavy asked what if the schools were both two blocks away from the commissioner home. Commissioner Hanley replied that he would send them to the school with the greater opportunity. 9:45:34 AM Senator Hoffman noted that Akiak, Akiachak and Tuluksak had been contemplating a sub-regional high school for over a decade. He said that sub-regional schools should be considered before taking half of the student population of a small town and relocating them to boarding schools. He expressed concern that the children left behind could suffer reduced educational opportunities. Commissioner Hanley agreed that the problem should be considered. He stressed that with the variable term program the funding would stay with the home schools. 9:48:07 AM Co-Chair Kelly believed that information should be gathered concerning the cost of building boarding schools and that the Commissioner of Transportations and Public Facilities should be probed for the costs of road they may need to be built to ensure access. He thought that information about the impact of more boarding schools on home schools should be examined. Commissioner Handley responded that he would gather the information. 9:50:24 AM Senator Dunleavy asked if there was a current waiting list for Mount Edgecumbe. Commissioner Handley said yes. 9:50:37 AM STEVE NOONKESSER, DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION, SOUTHWEST REGION SCHOOL DISTRICT, DILLINGHAM (via teleconference), spoke in support of SB 47. He stated that declining enrollment had caused the district to close two schools in seven years. He added that the economy of the region did not afford parents the ability to move their family for schooling, which had resulted in elementary school student moving in with other families of other schools in the district. He discussed a proposed amendment that removed the word "secondary" from statute which would provide an avenue to financially assist the house-parents that took in boarding students for communities that no longer had a school. He did not believe that the amendment would increase the fiscal note to an unreasonable level. 9:53:17 AM DAVID PIAZZA, SOUTHWEST REGION SCHOOL DISTRICT, DILLINGHAM (via teleconference), testified in support of SB 47 and echoed the comments of the previous testifier. 9:53:37 AM JERRY COVEY, EDUCATION CONSULTANT, COOK INLET TRIBAL COUNCIL, CITIZENS FOR THE EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT OF ALASKA'S CHILDREN, BARROW (via teleconference), expressed support for SB 47. He testified that short-term variable and district residential programs worked and were cost effective. He stated that they had minimal negative impact on the student's home schools because they were gone for a short period of time. He believed that the increase of the stipend amount was warranted based on the cost of delivery. He believed that the benefit of the proposed programs would greatly outweigh the costs. He urged support of the bill. 9:57:15 AM Senator Olson asked about the ultimate cost of students dropping out of school in underserved areas. Mr. Covey responded with a history of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Schools in the state. He pointed out that the capital costs would need to be addressed in terms of the construction of a residential facility, and that the state would also need to determine that existing facilities were being used to their maximum extent. He said that there was space in Kotzebue High School that could accommodate an additional 150 students. He believed existing facilities should be maximized in the effort to keep costs at a minimum. He estimated that a new, 50 student dorm in Kotzebue would be approximately $12 million. He stated that as the population shifted, the rural schools were getting smaller and smaller and were among the lowest achieving schools in the state. He stressed that one of the best things for students in small schools was to provide them with access to a comprehensive high school located in a rural community. 10:02:01 AM CHRIS RITAN, SUPERINTENDENT, GALENA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, GALENA (via teleconference), spoke in favor of SB 47 and discussed some of the history of Galena school district. He stated that the district started a boarding in 1997 after gaining access to old Air Force buildings. He explained that the district had grown each year thereafter. He shared that there were 213 students currently enrolled. He said that the main focus of the school was vocational programs. He shared that a 2005 bill had provided funding to offset room and board costs, which up until that time had been paid for through the BSA and federal funding. He said that the extra money saved through the room and board stipend would give the school the ability to expand its already high quality programs for students in the state. 10:05:04 AM ERIC GEBHART, SUPERINTENDENT, NENANA SCHOOL DISTRICT, NENANA (via teleconference), testified in support of SB 47. 10:05:48 AM DR. NORMAN ECK, SUPERINTENDENT, NORTH WEST ARCTIC BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, KOTZEBUE (via teleconference), spoke in support of SB 47. He stressed the importance of finishing high school with specific job skills and the ability to enter into post-secondary schooling. He said that smaller regional schools were necessary as a part of school choice in rural Alaska. He stated 9th and 10th graders in the 9 high schools in his district had a 27 percent proficiency rate on state standardized tests. He said that the percentage was higher in Kotzebue, 51 percent, because it had a comprehensive high school in a regional hub. He said Northwest Arctic had a 53 percent graduation rate for native students; however, each student that took 2 classes in career technical education had an 83 percent graduation rate. He stressed that innovative and instructional programs of practical application to students brought success. He said that the dormitory should be considered an integral part of the school in terms of major maintenance and school construction. 10:09:05 AM Senator Olson inquired the testifier thoughts regarding homesickness among students. Mr. Eck responded that the hope was to have wireless internet in the dorm. He shared that in the ten outlying villages in Northwest Arctic over 65 percent of the homes had internet access and could use SKYPE. He stressed the importance that students have a strong cultural base. 10:11:21 AM Senator Olson acknowledged that the state was dealing with a budget shortfall. He asked whether Dr. Eck believed that the limited funds should be dedicated to boarding schools or early childhood education. Dr. Eck replied that both were needed, and that his district believed so strongly in early childhood education that it had a program for 4 year-olds. He asserted that the program was so important that it was conducted without any dedicated funding. He stressed the importance that all children learn to read at grade level by the 3rd grade. He thought early childhood was the key to future academic success. He added that students who graduated from school had to be career and job ready. He opined that too many students that graduated from the district could be found unemployed six months later. He concluded that it was the districts obligation to provide the programs necessary in order for students to be successful. 10:14:19 AM Senator Bishop wondered if elder mentors in the magnet schools could help ease homesickness among displaced students. Dr. Eck replied in the affirmative. He noted that the district planned to use elders as part of its advisory group in the dormitory. 10:15:49 AM LISA RIEGER, GENERAL COUNCIL, COOK INLET TRIBAL COUNCIL, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support SB 47 and echoed earlier testimony. 10:19:10 AM Co-Chair Meyer CLOSED public testimony. 10:19:28 AM SB 47 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further consideration.