ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE  SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE  March 27, 2013 7:59 a.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Gary Stevens, Chair Senator Mike Dunleavy, Vice Chair Senator Bert Stedman Senator Charlie Huggins Senator Berta Gardner MEMBERS ABSENT  All members present COMMITTEE CALENDAR  CONFIRMATION HEARINGS: University of Alaska Board of Regents  Dale Anderson - CONFIRMATION ADVANCED Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development  Sue Hull - CONFIRMATION ADVANCED PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION  No previous action to record WITNESS REGISTER DALE ANDERSON, Appointee University of Alaska Board of Regents Juneau, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information for his confirmation hearing. SUE HULL, Appointee Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development Fairbanks, Alaska POSITION STATEMENT: Provided information for her confirmation hearing. ACTION NARRATIVE 7:59:58 AM CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Senate Education Standing Committee meeting to order at 7:59 a.m. Present at the call to order were Senators Gardner, Stedman, Dunleavy, and Chair Stevens. ^Confirmation Hearing: University of Alaska Board of Regents CONFIRMATION HEARING  University of Alaska Board of Regents    8:00:14 AM CHAIR STEVENS announced that there would be two confirmation hearings at today's meeting. DALE ANDERSON, Appointee, University of Alaska (UA) Board of Regents, introduced himself. SENATOR HUGGINS arrived. CHAIR STEVENS requested information about Mr. Anderson's background. MR. ANDERSON shared his personal and professional information. He said he has done both public and private sector work for over 45 years. He noted he served as commissioner of the Limited Entry Commission, as a legislative aide to the House Finance Committee, and on the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly. He said he has already served one year on the UA Board of Regents and enjoyed the work. 8:02:56 AM CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Anderson what he would like to accomplish in his term on the UA-Board of Regents. MR. ANDERSON said it was an 8-year term and he wanted to address various facility and land projects, as well as deferred maintenance funding. He noted he was excited about the direction education is headed at UA. He said he is a fiscal conservative who looks for efficiencies in spending. 8:04:47 AM SENATOR STEDMAN asked if he has visited the other Southeast Alaska campuses in Ketchikan and Sitka. MR. ANDERSON replied that UAS campuses need bolstering. He said he has not yet visited the Ketchikan and Sitka campuses, but he is scheduled to attend all three UAS commencements. CHAIR STEVENS asked about the geographical structure of the board. 8:06:08 AM MR. ANDERSON replied that members from the major cities are represented. CHAIR STEVENS asked if he was the only member from Southeast Alaska. MR. ANDERSON said Ken Fisher is also from Southeast Alaska. SENATOR GARDNER asked about Mr. Anderson's work on statewide regional learning centers when he was a legislative aide. MR. ANDERSON explained that it was a very interesting project that required travel to the various areas of Alaska. He said he saw the importance of regional learning centers for small villages. He concurred with the idea of keeping children in their own villages for school. 8:09:09 AM SENATOR HUGGINS asked about Mr. Anderson's art talent. MR. ANDERSON replied that art is now a hobby. SENATOR HUGGINS asked for the top two changes in the university system Mr. Anderson would like to see during his tenure. MR. ANDERSON replied that he would improve budget planning and fund facility maintenance. He added that he also would like to see e-learning expanded. 8:11:33 AM CHAIR STEVENS called attention to a study on the organizational structure of the university. He asked if Mr. Anderson was familiar with it. MR. ANDERSON replied that one of the areas the board worked hard on last year was to reduce competition between campuses. He explained efforts to make the programs interchangeable and the system more unified. CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Anderson to address disparities between UA campuses. 8:14:15 AM MR. ANDERSON answered that some teachers have a higher level of expertise in a certain field. He opined that all students should have access to that teacher via e-learning and be able to earn a transferrable credit. He shared an example. 8:15:53 AM CHAIR STEVENS stated that Mr. Anderson's recommendation would be moved forward. ^Confirmation Hearing: Alaska Board of Education and Early Development CONFIRMATION HEARING  Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development    8:16:11 AM CHAIR STEVENS asked Ms. Hull to introduce herself. SUE HULL, Appointee, Alaska State Board of Education and Early Development, introduced herself. CHAIR STEVENS asked Ms. Hull to describe her involvement with the board. MS. HULL related that she currently serves on the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board. Prior to that she said she was involved in PTA, both on the state and national level. She said in the 80's she served on the Alaska State Board of Education for five years. CHAIR STEVENS asked why Ms. Hull wished to serve on the board again. MS. HULL explained that she has concerns about the disconnect between the Department of Education and local school districts. She said she is interested in bringing the perspective from a local school board to the state board. CHAIR STEVENS suggested that new educational trends such as e- learning depend more on the department's and other districts' involvement. 8:18:57 AM MS. HULL replied that not only digital learning, but all options for learning should be considered. There should be more collaboration with the department when setting student achievement as the top goal and when implementing Alaska Standards and related assessment tests. In order to accomplish all of Alaska's educational goals, the districts and department should be working together in a united fashion. 8:21:23 AM SENATOR DUNLEAVY stated that the K-12 educational system has been focused on process rather than outcomes. He asked Ms. Hull to respond to that idea. MS. HULL replied that education is all about the outcome; it is what the public expects. She opined that parents get to decide "the how" and schools can provide the options. She said education should be student driven. SENATOR DUNLEAVY asked if Ms. Hull wanted an expanded public education system focused on outcomes or a traditional neighborhood school model. MS. HULL did not think it was her job to make that decision; it is the parents' job to do so. She stated she believes in more options, not less options. CHAIR STEVENS inquired about the frequency of testing. 8:24:13 AM MS. HULL replied that it is not the number of tests, but the effectiveness of the tests that is important. She noted there are new assessments pending. She voiced concern about doing away with the TerraNova test because then it would no longer be possible to make comparisons with national norms. She maintained that there are better tests out there. CHAIR STEVENS asked for Ms. Hull's opinion on the high school exit exam. 8:26:02 AM MS. HULL discussed the high school qualifying exam. She did not think the test was as necessary today as it once was. CHAIR STEVENS thanked Ms. Hull and said her nomination would be moved forward. SENATOR DUNLEAVY moved to forward the Governor's appointee to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, Mr. Dale Anderson, and the appointee to the Alaska Board of Education and Early Development, Sue Hull, to a joint session of the legislature for consideration. There being no objection, it was so ordered. 8:27:48 AM There being no further business to come before the Senate Education Standing Committee, Chair Stevens adjourned the meeting at 8:27 a.m.