----------------------- Page 1----------------------- 1971-72 HOUSE HEALTH WELFARE AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE, voL. 2 " TABLE OF CONTENTS 1972 MINUTES: 1/11/1972 - 3/31/1972 1971-72 ----------------------- Page 2----------------------- 1972 Minutes ----------------------- Page 3----------------------- The committee meeting of HWE held January 11, 1972 heard testimony pertaining to House Bill 467 pertaining to the rescheduled school year. Present were: Reps. Chance, Coletta, Naughton, Speck- ing and Moore. First to testify in favor of the bill was Rep. Mike Miller, main sponsor of the bill. His testimony was primarily as follows: Population estimates indicate that the school population will continue to grow for some time in the future - meaning a need for building more schools. However, a population plateau is due and it would be advantageous to hold off having to build more schools until this plateau is reached. Two levels of spending are involved in building schools within independent school districts in Alaska: 1. local school districts - sale of bonds and initial payments thereon. 2. state - school bond indebtedness sharing (50%). The schools are utilized 3/4 of the time, which arose out of the needs of agricultural communities to have children free to work in the summer. Under HB 467 the state would offer financial incentives to local school boards for investigation of year-round school use. This would be in the form of 1% of each district's normal local entitlement (up to $25,000) to be used for planning and feasibility studies. If a district decided to go ahead with the year-round program the state would continue to participate by allowing the district 10% of its normal entitlement for the first 3 years of operation of a year-round school system and 5% of its normal enti- tlement thereafter. Rep. Miller cited some of the most common objections heard to the concept of year-round school operation: Children have the idea that this system would mean that they would have to attend school 360 days per year. In reality each child would only have to'attend school for 180 days, though they would have the option of attending year-round if desired for early completion, make up work, etc. There are some 60 variations of the rescheduled school year. Two of the easiest systems for use of the rescheduled system mentioned by Rep. Miller were: 1. the 9- month/3-month system. This system would be operated as the present system on a quartersystem and only the vacation times would be diff- erent. 2. the more popular 45/15 plan in which students attend school for 45 school days (9 weeks) and are off 15 school days (3 weeks). The school population is broken into 4 groups in this sys- tem -' 3 groups are always in their "on" cycle and 1 group is always "off". Under this system each student would have a 3-week vacation during each season of the year - winter, spring, summer and fall. One of the most often heard teacher objections is that they would have to work 1/3 more time for the same pay. However, where this system is in use teachers are given the choice of working year-round with commensurate pay or working 9 months at regular pay. ----------------------- Page 4----------------------- -2- Teachers sometimes feel that they will have no chance for updating their studies which is normally done by attending summer schools. Under the rescheduled system teachers could take a study break at any time of year and attend school during regular sessions which generally offer a more complete course of study than summer school. The point was made that this program should be developed in agree- ment with the teachers involved. Some of the advantages mentioned by Rep. Miller were: 1. Full utilization of school buildings and school trans- portation systems. 2. The possibility of taking vacations at any time of the year. 3. The 3-week break rather than one of 3 months leads to better retention of material taught on the part of the student and lessens need for reteaching. Rep. Miller further pointed out that a school system could have some of its schools - not necessarily the whole system - under the rescheduled program and would then receive their incentive payment on a percentage basis depending on the number of students involved in the program. A district utilizing this program would in essence have 1/3 more classrooms without building new schools and would be able to have smaller classes. At the conclusion of Rep. Miller's testimony Rep. Moore asked if BIA schools would qualify for this program. The answer was made tha BIA schools don't receive Alaska entitlement payments but that BIA schools have authority at this time to utilize this type of pro- gram if they so desire. The second person to give testimony was Robert Thomas, deputy commissioner of education for the state of Alaska. He distributed mat- erials to the members of the committee before testifying. Mr. Thomas first differentiated between the rescheduled school year as outlined in Rep. Miller's testimony and the expanded school year in which students attend classes for more days per year and for fewer years. The rescheduled school year has found more favor than the expanded school year. Mr. Thomas testified that there may be school design and structural technique changes in the next few years and that if the rescheduled school year program were utilized school districts could defer building new schools until such time as these new tech- niques were developed. School transportation would be used year round leading to more economical use of transportation employees, insurance, etc. An objection sometimes heard by districts further south is that more money would be needed to air condition schools during summer use = this is not a problem in Alaska. Students would be available for part-time employment year round instead of all com- peting for jobs in the summer and not being available at all the rest of the year. Pressure would be relieved on recreational facilities which could be used year round and seasonal activities could be par- ticipated in more fully by students. The case was cited of a town in Alaska which closed its schools in the winter and opened them in ----------------------- Page 5----------------------- -3- the summer due to seasonal employment. Mr. Thomas testified that no other legislative change other than adoption of this bill would be necessary for application of the rescheduled school year program. Alaska statutes provide for a school year extending from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. Mr. Thomas stated that the Alaska Board of Education is in favor of the bill and that several cities in the state have indi- cated interest and some have asked for funds for local feasibility studies. An informal poll taken by the Board of Education - 3,000 inquiries sent out and 500 returned - indicated that approximately 50% of the teachers answering the poll were in favor of resched- uled school year and 50% against. Of administrators responding to the poll, 80% were in favor of the program and 20% against. Mr. Thomas pointed out that this poll was made without any type of educational material presented on the program to those participating in the poll, and that doubtless some misconceptions existed. At the conclusion of Mr.Thomas' testimony several questions were asked: It was agreed that the language of the bill should be clari- fied to make it clear whether the 10% participation for the first 3 years in districts initiating the rescheduled school year program would be in a single payment to the school district or whether it applied separately to each school within the district as it took part in the program. Rep. Miller said that the intent of the bill was probably that the 10% participation payment would be made once - to the district at the time of implementation of the program regard- less of the number of schools within the district participating and that the payment would be based on daily attendance of those participating in the program. Rep. Coletta questioned the policy of the state making feasi- bility study monies available without requiring the school districts to put up money of their own. Rep. Miller stated that the 1% incen- tive payment was intended as an incentive and that this probably would only be needed until some district initiated the program to get the ball rolling and that matching provision by local districts could be considered later of desired. The point was made that the maximum limit of $25,000 allowed for stUdies would probably be insufficient for larger districts and that they would have to add funds of their own for a good faasibility study. In response to Rep. Coletta's questioning lack of participation by local districts, Rep. Miller made the point that local districts would have to be actively involved as they would have responsibility for all the work necessary for the study. Several questions were asked regarding specific financial as- pects of the program. Nothing definite was available in the way of figures and Mr. Thomas agreed to come back to the committee with something - probably involving checking on school construction expendi- tures for the last 5 years and a projection of what could have been saved if the program had been initiated 5 years ago and an analysis on the basis of projected student load. ----------------------- Page 6----------------------- -4- No action was taken on this bill and more testimony will be taken. Materials relating to tribal and de facto adoptions were distributed to members of the committee to be considered at a later date. The meeting was adjourned. ----------------------- Page 7----------------------- { pages 7-15 referenced article: The New Trend: Year-round Schools; July 26, 1971 from US and World Report} ------------------------Page 8------------------------ ------------------------Page 9------------------------ ------------------------Page 10----------------------- ------------------------Page 11----------------------- ------------------------Page 12----------------------- ------------------------Page 13----------------------- ------------------------Page 14----------------------- ------------------------Page 15----------------------- ----------------------- Page 16----------------------- Schools-Time for Re-Evaluation Robert L Thomas Deputy Commissioner of Education As the Nations Population continues to boom, schools feel the pinch of swelling attendance roles. Classrooms become crowded and many related problems develop. the cost of quality education with its emphasis on specialist personnel and techical aides continues to rise. Taxpayers who are asked to suppport additonal building programs, more instructional staff, and add resource materials are beginning to ask whether existing staff and facilities are being used as efficiently as they might be. Increasinng number of educators and laymen, therefore, are asking whetherit is not time to question the effectiveness of utilizing school staff and ficilities only part time. they challeng the logic of a system that seems based on the notion that learning begins in September and ends in June. Originally, when the United States was Primarily a nation of farmer, the demands of agriculture dictated the school calendar. School was conducted during the winter months when manpower could be spared for teachibng and learning, although at the same time there were many cities which conducted school nearly the year-round with 48 and 49-week school years. The length of the school year gradually became more uniform across the country, with the cities reducing it and rural areas lengthening it, until by approximately 1915 the 9-month school year had become the norm in most parts of the nation. Even if we were to subscribe to the ridiculous idea that a child can learn all he needs to know in 180 days of instruction in any one year, there is no sound rationale for an arrangement where all are in school for the same nine month and off for the same three. Even the argument that for older students the summer off is an opportunity to earn money is illogical and results only in an over-supply of students competing for jobs in the summer and lack of applicants for many of those same jobs during the other nine months a lack that, in fact, provides additional incentive for the marginal student to drop out. As a result of the increasing pressures, several state legislatures have directed studies to be made of rescheduled school years, and a number of school districts are well into apparently successful trial. Alaska, and especially the Juneau area, could, perhaps benefit to a greater degree than systems in the southern fory-eight. The economy, based on goverment to a great extent, is not seasonal. Summer vacation are not all that "summery," compared to fishing in teh spring, hunting in the Fall, and the opportunity for winter sports. Four 3-week vacations or six 2-week periods off during the year would provide more opportunity to take advantage of all these. The main advantage of this type of schedule, however, is not just better vations, opportunities for full-year teacher employment (at equivalently higher pay), or continuous learning; the greatest advantage is obtaining, instantly, a 20 to 25 per cent increase in building capacity. ----------------------- Page 17----------------------- {Pages 17-22 referenced article, The Legal Financial Question by: George Isaiah Thomas, Comapact, December 1970} ----------------------- Page 18----------------------- ----------------------- Page 19------------------ ----------------------- Page 20---------------------- ----------------------- Page 21----------------------- ----------------------- Page 22---------------------- ----------------------- Page 23----------------------- { Page 23-24 Referenced article: Why It Pays To Keep A School Open All Year by Thomas F. Driscoll, Chicago ILL.} .~-..----- , ,.<~...., \ l :...... \. ----------------------- Page 24----------------------- ----------------------- Page 25----------------------- Conference commmittee on Education Sub-Committee on Parent Involvement in the Educationalm Proeess Committee members: Laurita Hefner, Chinook Elementary School, Anchorage Delegate to white House Conf.-Children Carol Lindbland, Alaska Childrens Service, Anchorage Leslie Griggs, Juneau-Douglas High School student Jan Lindeman, Chugiak-Eagle River Head Start Program Outline of findings: I. Major Assumptions A. Presently parents are estranged from the public school system. We too often see the teacher's client to be only the child, while it should be the whole family. B. Schools have become depersonalized because of over-centralization of school programs and over-departmentalization and over-specialization of school staffs. C. Counseling presently in most schools over emphasizes diagnosis, placement and scheduling while the focus should be on providing services to the total family. II. Recommendations to bridge the gap between parents and the public schools A. Emphasis family services especially on the elementary level 1. Have Home-School oordinators who work with parents, children and teachers 2. Incorporate family services into teacher training & education. 3. Schedule time for teacher home visitation and private conferences 4. Have Parent-Teacher-Student conferences wherein all come to agreement on commitment and goals for student. B. Open school resources and facilities more to parents and community 1. Encourage 'parents to attend classes and participate as volunteers in classes and other activities. 2. Make school facilities available all year at extended hours for community activities. C. Provide for representation of parents and students in determining curriculum. D. Individualize teaching methods in order (not only to better educate the students) but also to allow for parent and adult volunteers and assistants in learning experiences in the classroom. E. Promote educational TV with a maximum of local programming ` and community participation. F. Especially in rural areas, include Native language and culture into the curriculum. (We suppport the Univ. of Alaska's Rural Alaska Bilingual Education project and the rural lHead Start program's hiring of Native para-professionals and inclusion of the Native language into the classroom.) III. Recommendations for educational services other than public schools A. Parent-Child-Centers: We recommend that this educational model be extended by increasing the number and services of such centers) and also that this model be used to reshape the public school program vis-a-vis parent involvement in education. B. Group homes for students in rural areas are far preferable to establishing large dormitory facilities. (The Nunapichuk group home in Bethel is a model we would like to recommend.) C. Family Service Centers: We support the concept and construction of community centers wherein family counseling, health, homemaker, day care and recreational services can be made available to fami1ies. ----------------------- Page 26----------------------- -2- Outline of findings of sub-committee on Parent Involvementin Education, cont IV. Discussion and recommendations on pending legislation~ 1. We discussed and wholeheartedly support the intent of House Bill 224, the Community Service Bill introduced Feb. 26th. 2. We affirm and support the intent of the House Joint Resolution 15 on BIA group homes. 3 . While we are in favor of the intent of expanding pre-school opportunities to more children which seems to be indicated in SB 54 and SB 32, we would recommend the principal of the outward expansion of the Parent-Child Center model (which includes parent and farnily education) and not the downward expansion of the elementary & kindergarten school model into pre-school education. ----------------------- Page 27----------------------- Legislative Content of Health Facilities and Supporting Legislation To Encourage needed development and expansion of health and service programs in the state of Alaska which are sponsored and/or provided by local governments non profit corporations and other non profit entities. "non profit" in the context of this legislation refers specifically to those institutions in which any access of revenues over expenses are utilized solely by the "non profit" entity for reductions in cost incurred by it or funding of programs provided by it in carrying ou the mission for which it is authorized, incorporated, or otherwise vested to carry out. In no way does this legislation support governmental funding of any programs sponsored or provided by entities which could divert operational financial accesses into accounts, holding, etc, of private individuals or enterprises. ----------------------- Page 28----------------------- A STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IN ACTIONS FOR MALPRACTICE AGAINST HEALTH PROFESSIONALS PROPOSED BILL In an action against a physician, osteopathic Physician, dentist, dental hygenist, clinical psychologist, podiatrist, nurse, nurse's aide, village health aide, special clinical therapist such as physical therapist, inhalation therapist, speech therapist, and the like, clinical laboratory bioanalyst, clinical laboratorY technologist, clinical radiology technologist, clinical dietician, optician, optometrist, or a licensed hospital as the employer of any such person, based upOn such person's alleged professional negligence, or for rendering professional services without consent, or for error or omission in such person's practice, liability shall be limited to four years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever first occurs. This time limitation shall be tolled for any period during which such person has failed to disclose any act, error, or omission upon which such action is based and which is known or through the use of reasonable diligence should have been known to him. In an action against a physician, osteopathic physician, dentist, clinical psychologist, podiatrist, nurse, nurse's aide, village health aide, special clinical therapist such as physicial therapist, inhalation therapist, speech therapist, and the like, clinical laboratory bioanalyst, clinical laboratory technoiogist, clinical radiology technologist, clinical dietician, optician, optometrist, or a licensed hospital as the employer of any such person, based upon such person's alleged professional negligence, or for rendering professional services without consent, or for error or omission in such person's practice, if the answer pleads that the actions barred by the statute of limitation, and if either party so moves, the issue raised thereby mUst be tried separately and before any other issues in the case are tried. If the issue raised by the statute of limitations is finally determined in favor of the plaintiff, the remaining issues shall then be tried. ------------------------Page 29----------------------- { See original/Referenced artical, Looking Forward by: Arthur H. Rice} ----------------------- Page 30----------------------- Dateline: Washington, D.C March 8,1970 'YEAR ROUND' SUCCESSES REPORTED The year-round school concept--a much promoted idea that has rarely proved work- able--is beginning to show signs of important successes. This is the consensus of several recent reports from experiments in widely separated parts of the country. Significant claims are now being made by the directors of current projects. They say the year round school can free curriculum from the constraints of tradition, cut fail- ures and dropouts, give teachers more money, reduce overcrowding, use fewer school buildings, and possibly save money--all at the same time. There is no legerdemain connected with the concept of the year round school, according to Joseph C. Cantrell, director of the Elective Quarter Plan recently introduced into the Jefferson County Schools, Louisville, Ky. It's simply a mattern of rewriting the curriculum into a . "more flexible and more comprehensive program of study" suitable to student needs Atlanta, Ga. the largest city in the country to make the switch--and the school administrators involved are reporting a successful transition. Douglas G. MacRae, deputy superintendent of the Fulton County Schools, one of six Atlanta area school districts to adopt a four-quarter plan two years ago, says the basic thrust of the program is better education. Saving money on school buildings, graduating students earlier, a 40% drop in failures, and using buildings all year round, he says, are only ancillary outcomes" in Fulton County. "The heart, the core" of the Fultcn plan, MacRae says, is the "reorganization and restructuring of the entire secondary school curriculum" to provide flexibility both for the student's program and for the school schedule, and to eliminate the "rigid lockstep" of required sequence in the taking of courses. He says Atlanta school officials were "astonished and highly grat- ified" to find that 70% of the high school curricula could be reorganized into nonse- quential units. One-third of Atlanta's 36,000 high school students now voluntarily stay with their books through the heat of June, July and one-half of August. Families are able to plan vacations at other times of the year. Students no longer are in heated competition for a limited number of summer jobs, according to John H. Letson, Atlan- ta school superintendent. If a student wants to finish high school in three years to gain an early start on the long preparation period for becoming a doctor or a law- yer, he can. Others interested in deepening their education can take extra courses, Letson says. Three terms run 12 weeks each. One is just 10 weeks, but classes are 10 minutes longer per day to make up the difference. MacRae says the year round program should not be entered into overnight. It takes time and the effort of many people to develop a program with any chance of suc- cess. Three years were spent in planning the Atlanta area program. Another problem, MacRae says, is initial funding. Although the program will save money in Fulton County in the long run--$400,OOO was saved in the 40% reduction of failures--it takes considerable extra funding at first to pay teachers for working the whole year. An- other successful year round operation is reported at the Valley View Elementary School District near Chicago. Every youngster goes to school for 45 class days and then has a three-week vacation--all year long on rotating shifts. All-year experi- ments also are being considered in Baltimore, Chicago, and several districts in Oregon. Copyright 1971 National School Public Relations Association. 145 ----------------------- Page 31---------------- { Page 31-32 Refer to original "What is the rescheduled school year"/ PDF document} ----------------------- Page 32----------------------- ------------------------Page 33----------------------- The folloing is a news review of the special report entitled Year-Round School: Districts Develop Successful Programs, released December 15, 1971 by the National School Public Relations Association. Copies of the report have been ordered and should be available from the Department of Education in February 1972. Year-Round Schools Spread Across Country WASHINGTON, D.C.--The year-round schnol, as an educational innovation, is here. That is the conclusion of a new Education U.S.A. Special Report called Year-Round School: Districts Develop Successful Programs. The report, published by the National School Public Relations Association, estimates that about 25 school districts across the country are operating either full year-round programs or pilot projects in one or two schools. In addition, scores of school districts in at least 27 states are actively studying the concept. The report predicts that the idea is going to grow even more in the months ahead because of "the continuing and rising pressures for more and better learning for children and youth in today's urban society and the constant demands from tax- payers to at least hold the line on educational costs." "As more and more school budgets and bond issues are rejected by the taxpayers, more and more school boards will continue to look at year-round schools as the most viable alternative," the report says. "Parents are quick to oppose double sessions and oversized classes for their children. Educators will press for more opportunities to individualize instruction and revise curricula. Taxpayers will continue to resist costly building programs." The report notes that year-round schools do offer "many possibilities for solving other ,educational problems. Despite the growing interest in year-round schools, opposition and problems still remain. "The real problem," the report says, is state laws which forbid or inhibit the use of year-round schools. Presently, most states allocate a aid on (more) ----------------------- Page 34----------------------- year-round/first add the basis of the average daily enrollnent of a school system for a traditional September through June school year. If school districts are going to switch to some other forms of scheduling the school year, "state legislatures are going to have to reform their methods of distributing state aid," the report says. Also, many state governments set the requirements for school operations. "These, too, have to be changed to permit school districts to operate on a more than 180-day school year." The report found that it can be "extremely difficult to convince state legislatures to revise their existing laws. So far only three states--Texas, Illinois, and California--have passed legislation to permit year-round school operation. These three state laws also provide emergency funds for districts during periods when regular state aid is not available. However, "there are indications that other state governments are supporting the movement toward year-round education," the report says. It also analyzes existing laws in 21 other states to see what changes would have to be made to permit the operation of year-round schools. Other problems, which have forced some districts to drop their plansn for year-round schools, include: lack of community support or student interest, uncertainty about which of the marty types of year-round plans is best for them, and the whole question of financing the program. Although the proponents of year-round education usually do not promote it as a money-saver, "the main reason for its appeal is economic," the report says. "Given today's revolt by taxpayers who have been rejecting school budgets with alarming frequency, anything that gives even the semblance of saving money or of using funds, facilities and people more efficiently appeals to a lot of people--school board members, administrators, and the general public." Some districts have been disillusioned, however, to find that their saving in facilities was negated by increased instructional costs. ----------------------- Page 35----------------------- year-round/second add The report studies the reactions of various groups to the concept of year-round schools. It found that there is no consensus on this issue, but in general these conclusions can be drav.-rn: Teachers who have never been in a year-round program are usually less enthusiastic about the idea than are those who have been. Most administrators and school board members endorse the concept, viewing it as a practical necessity. Students, as expected, are not too excited about the idea of going to school all year round. Businessmen tend to favor the idea. And the reaction of the general public is, at best, mixed. The reactions of these groups can be pretty well tied to the major advantages and disadvantages of year-round schools. Their advantages: more efficient use of facilities, flexible scheduling of students, reduction in new building costs, full employment for teachers, improved course offerings. Their disadvantages: disruption of family vacations, increased costs for maintenance and salaries, problems with scheduling classes, interference with student activities and sports. Nevertheless, most of the school districts working with year-round education feel that their programs are successful. And they back up their claims by pointing to the support their programs have earned from teachers, administrators, students and the community. One program operating in the Valley View Elementary School District in Lockport, Ill., even reports an immediate financial saving of about 5% per pupil. Although overall costs went up when the district's enrollment was increased by one-third, the annual per pupil cost dropped from $810 to $777. In-depth case studies in the report show that the year-round school concept is viewed with equal enthusiasm in Atlanta, Ga., Houston, Tex., Lake Oswego, Ore., Chula Vista, Calif., and Louisville, Ky. Although the results of these programs appear to be most promising, the report cautions that "until a number of year-round school programs have been operating long enough, it will be extremely difficult to pinpoint concrete (more) ----------------------- Page 36----------------------- The following is a news review of the special report entitled Year-Round School: Districst Develop Successful Programs, released December 15, 1971, by the National School Public Relations Association. copies of the report have been ordered and should be available from the Department of Education in February 1972. Year-Round Schools Spread across Country WASHINGTON, D.C.--The year-round schnol, as an educational innovation, is here. That is the conclusion of a new Education U.S.A. Special Report called Year-Round school: Districts Develop Successful Programs. The report, published by the National School Public Relations Association, estimates that about 25 school districts across the country are operating either full year-round programs or pilot projects in one or two schools. In addition, scores of school districts in at least 27 states are actively studying the concept. The report predicts that the idea is going to grow even more in the months ahead because of "the continuing and rising pressures for more and better learning for children and youth in today's urban society and the constant demands from tax- payers to at least hold the line on educational costs." "As more and more school budgets and bond issues are rejected by the taxpayers, more and more school boards will continue to look at year-round schools as the most viable alternative the report says. "Parents are quick to oppose double sessions and oversized classes for their children. Educators will press for more opportunities to individualize instruction and revise curricula. Taxpayers will continue to resist costly building programs." The report notes that year-round schools do offer "many possibilities for solving other educational problems." Despite the growing interest in year-round schools, opposition and problems still remain. "The real problem," the report says, is state laws which forbid or inhibit the use of year-round schools. Presently, most states allocate aid on (more) ----------------------- Page 37----------------------- year-round/third add effects and to make any clear-cut judgments." It also notes that year-round education will never become the right answer for every school district. One of the positive aspects of year-round education is its many forms which can be adapted to the needs of individual schools. In general, year-round education offers the same instructional program on a continuous basis for 12 months instead of the traditional nine-month school year with limited summer offerings. A year-round program, however, can be put together in many different ways. The report details the seven most common types plus a few unusual offshoots. There is, for example, the Valley High School in Las Vegas, Nev., which operates as a standard public school during the day. At night it becomes Urban High School, geared to theb needs of dropouts with full-time jobs. The report, which has been called the most comprehensive wrap up of what's going on today in the year-round school movement, also includes: a district by district and state by state history of the movement since 1966, examples of public relations programs which have won community support for year-round schools, a capsule review of 20 districts now operating a year-round program, and reports on five other districts which had to shelve their plans. ----------------------- Page 38----------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ISSUES-FY 73 Preschool, Elementary, and Secondary Education Year-Round School Operations OVERVIEW there are essentially two types of what are commonly called year- round school programs. For purposes of discussicn, these will be defined here as (1) the extended school year, and (2) the rescheduled school year. Since the first of these does not provide monetary savings and, additionally, would require legislation to implement it will be dealt with briefly first merely in cirder to define it and dispose of it for consideration at this time. The primary analysis will then be on the rescheduled school year in its variant forms. It is true, hOweVer, that there are ways of using some aspects of each in a combination; and to the extent that this is practicable, it will be discussed. EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR Educational objective--lncreased Learnirng Time A school program which is limited to 180 days of schooling cannot begin to meet the educational needs of children who are faced with life in a world far more complex than was the case 70 years ago when the 180-day school calendar began to be accepted as a minimum. Modern children need to be able to delve deeper into learning, they need exposure to new fields, and they need a broadened and enriched background of knowledge, including skills which require more time for mastery and reinforcement. School years 220 to 240 days in a continuous learning year with short intervals in between can provide this type of enrichment. The Economy Objective-Release of Classroom Space Several patterns of school organization hav been develOPed which use the extra learning time in a lengthened school year to reduce the total number of years of schooling. In effect, then, the total school enrollment at any point in time is reduced in the same ratio that the overall length of schooling is reduced. If two years are cut from a twelve-year program, then, in effect, the student body is reduced by one-sixth and an equivalent gain of space can be achieved. ----------------------- Page 39----------------------- RESCHEDULED SCHOOL YEAR The Educational Objective--Development of a continous learning Year Many children are just beginning to master a basic skill or develop understanding of an important concept when the school begins to tool down for the summer. At that point, little new learning goes on and then when school closes, children begin to regress. At the end of summer school then resumes, but the children have regressed or forgotten much that they had learned in the fall. With the retooling comes reteaching and relearning, which takes time and interferes with the introduction of new skills and new learning experiences. While no one argues but that children need vacations, the curve of retention and forgetting is such that they Cannot afford extended vacationS of three-months duration at any season of the year. For this reason, rescheduled school year plans which shortage of standard vacation schedule with one-fourth of the children out for a three- month period at any point in time achieve the economy objective to be discussed later but lose the educational advantage of the continuous learning year. The optimum continuous learning year may range from the current minimum 180 days to over 220 days in session with a number of shortened vacation periods spaced throughout the year. The Econemy Objective--Release of Classroom Space Many school districts are facing a crisis due to the shortage of classroom space. Under & continuous learning year where a substantial portion of the student body is on vacation at any one time in a continuous learning year program, the net gain is directly proportional to the number of students on vacation compared to the number attending in session. On the simplest staggered four-quarter plan with one-fourth of the student body in recess at all times, the effetive increase in capacity is 33 percent. This may permit either the abandonment of obsolete, nonfunctional school plants, or may relieve the necessity of constructing a new school to handle increasing enrollment. Economic Benefits School Construction. The immediate economic benefit in the area of school construction is first to the municipality responsible for providing school buildings where in the institution of a rescheduled orcycling plan provides a grace period of a good number of years before enrollment increases again catch up to capacity. By reducing the level of bonded indebtness on a municipality, there is a secondary benefit to the state as we11 under the current statutes pro- viding for state reimbursement of a percentage of the capital construction costs. 2 ----------------------- Page 40----------------------- Operational Overhead. Insurace, depreciation, some heating, ground maintenance, and security precautions are costs that continue whether school is in session or not. the extent that this is increased utilization of the school plant, these elements of the per-pupil expenditure will be reduced accordingly. Teacher Salaries. Teachers have historically worked nine months of the year in their profession and then must often compete in the summer against college students in limited job market for whatever seasonal type work can be found, generally at a lower rate incommensurate with their professional train- ing. Under the rescheduled school year plan, teachers cou1d be employed for the full 11 or 12 months wwithout necessari1y a directly corresponding increaSe in salary. Savings could also be realized in retirement contributions, insur- ance, and other fringe benefits if handled on a full-year basis. Non-Economic Benefits Vacation and Leisure. So far as Alaska is concerned, the agrarian concept of the summer vacation is inappropriate. In the first place, there just isn't that much summer; in the second, many desirable activities occur at other times of the year--winter sports, the fall hunting season, and fishing in the spring. Shorter vacations scattered throughout the year would permit students and parents to participate in a wider variety of activities. Addi- tionally, the pressures on recreational facilities and transportation and travel accommodations would be more evenly distributed. Opportunities for Student Employment. Under the Present patterns, students looking for employment and teachers are both competing with college students home for the summer for the available positions. This results only in an oversupply of persons available for jobs in the summer and a lack of app1icants for many of the same jobs during the other nine months--a lack which, in fact, provides additional incentive for the marginal student to drop out. Social Pressures. The number of students "turned loose on society" at any point in time would be greatly reduced, presumably requiring lesser amounts of police supervision, etc,' Academic Opportunities. The increased program flexibility possible under a cycling plan permits students with special needs to do make-up work special projects. Any major change in organizational pattern which requires the depth of planning and community involvement and acceptance will effectively break up the obsolete and ineffective methods now used and makes it possible to adopt newer techologies and strategies. Articulation Transfer of students between districts or from one state to another can be facilitated by use of the rescheduled school year, even though they ----------------------- Page 41----------------------- may come from districts using the traditional pattern, since one of the basic advantages of the flxible scheduling required is the analysis of the indivi- dual students placement and needs. Therefore, a student transferring from a traditional program will not be at a disadvantage. Further, the tremendous increase in a11 states in the possibilites of rescheduled school years indicates that an increasing number of states and districts be instituting the program and therefore, articulation problems should be minimized. The attached material taken from an article in the U.S News and world report, July 26, 1971, consisely illustrates the degree of interest that is developing nationally and illustrates some specific programs which are in operation. Operational Patterns Once the decision has been made to adopt some form of the rescheduled school year, there is literally almost an infinite variety of operational patterns which may be employed. Some systems provide for common summer vaca- tions, although of shorter duration then the traditional; others provide for a staggered vacation period of from two weeks to three weeks, wherein the number of school days may range from the current minimum of 180 to 200 or more in order to provide for academic acceleration within the school year. The popular 45/15 plan in effect breaks the students into four groups that provide in effect a 33 percent net increase in facilities. Two illustrations of school calendars uti1izing this system are attached. Systems using five groups provide a 25 percent net effective increase in facilities and a greater variety of vacation patterns as i11ustrated in the remaining four exhibits. Current Considerations Legislation. House Bill 467 was introduced late in the session, 1971 and would provide an incentive for school districts first to plan for continuous year-round school and, additionally, a ten percent bonus for the first three years of actual operation and then a five percent bonus thereafter. Although the current school support program provides for a minimum of 180 days, the districts have the option of having a longer school term with no increase in the level of support. It may be that districts will find the savings in capital costs and other benefitS sufficiently attractive to adopt longer terms without an increase in support level. The incentive bonuses of five or ten percent also may be sufficient to cover the increased cost for a longer term. Basically though, it may be desirable to have legislative changes which permit proportionate increase in the school support commensurate with any increase in the length of the school term over the minimum. In such cases districts could, for example, expand the school term from 180 days to 200 and then receive essentially a one-ninth increase in basic support to cover the expanded term. ----------------------- Page 42----------------------- District Interest The Fairbanks schools have conducted a study of teacher attitudes toward rescheduled school years to determine the dgree of acceptance and program preferences. The conclusions indicated that among four variations reviewed, i.e., the pure extended school year, staggered school year or the two staggered plans aere the most popular with the favorite being the one with no acceleration. Essentially, this might be best compared to the 45/15 plan. The Anchorage school system has sent a delegation of administrators and board representatives to Atlanta to review and evaluate the programs in operation there. Additionally, they have a continuing study committee appointed to explore the feasibility of adopting some form of the rescheduled school year. Juneau school patrons have expressed an interest in further study of such programs and proponents are optimistic over the possibility. CONCLUSIONS The rising national interest as evidenced by the number of legisla- tive studies, pilot programs, and research indicates that the time is ripe for well planned implementation of some form of the concept. The cost avoidance resulting from an adequately planned program appears to be large enough to merit serious consideration and the increased flexibility ties in very well with the concept of individualized instruction, which is rapidly growing. The growing public resistance to the ever-increasing school costs and the rising demand for a greater degree of accountability appear to make it mandatory that the entire education process be closely examined and evaluated. A major change in the structure, oranization, financing, and staffing, as well as the potential effect on students and community can pro- vide an excellent opportunity for such re-evaluation. The system of public education is long overdue for change as a way of breaking away some of the encrusted obsolescences and gaining fresh perspective. The reschedu1ed school year can sufficiently perturb the systems so that fresh approaches can be more easi1y adopted. Attachments 5 ----------------------- Page 43----------------------- Introduced: 5/9/71 Referred: Health, Welfare & Education and Finance In the House By M. Miller, Bradner and Fischer House Bill 467 In the Legislature of the State of Alaska Seventh Legislature - First Session For an Act entitled: " An Act providing incentives for continuous year- round school programs within local school ditricts; and providing for an effective date." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: * Section 1. AS 14.17 is amended by adding a new section to read: See. 14.17.222. INCENTIVES FOR CONTINUOUS YEAR-ROUND SCHOOL PROGRAM. (a) In addition to other state aid for school purposes authorized under this chapter and other state law, a district having or planning a continuous year-round school program is entitled to incetive funds in amounts as follows: (1) an amount equal to one per cent of funds authorized for allocation to the district from the public school foundation account in the same fiscal year, or $25,000, whichever is less, to be used for study of program feasibility or planning, or both; (2) an amount equal to 10 per cent of such foundation account funds, for each of the first three years during which a continous year-round school program is operational; and (3) an amount to five per cent of such foundation account funds, for each year following the first three operational years during which a continuous year-round school program is continued. (b) to qualify for incentive funds under (a)(2) and (3) of this section, a district neet not implement a continuous year-round school program in all schools of the system. However, if the program is implemented within fewer than all schools of the system, the amount HB 467 ----------------------- Page 44----------------------- of funds authourized as incentives in (a)(2) and (3) of this section shall be reduced in the same proportions as the number of students in average daily membership to whom the program is not made available within the district bears to the total number of students in average daily membership within the district. (c) Allocation of funds under (a) of this section shall be made in the same manner and at the same times as provided in this chapter for allocation of funds from the public school foundation account. (d) In this section "continuous year-round school program" means bona fide 12-months operation of school facilities at a uniform level, with at least 180 days' minimum attendance required of all students during the 12-months period. A program shall be developed in accordance with regulations to be promulgated by the Department of Education. A program must be approved by the department before implentation by a district. ----------------------- Page 45----------------------- 13 January 1972 The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. All members were present but Rep. Moses. Under consideration were House Bills 187 and 441. HB 187, dealing with dispersal of interest earned on edu- cation funds and intrdduced at the request of Rep. Banfield, was considered first. Testimony was given by Bill Overstreet, super- intendent of Juneau public schools: He discussed the problem of cities and boroughs using excess education revenues for purposes other than that for which they had been initiaLly appropriated - education. At this time there is no provision for these excess funds earned as interest on deposited education monies to revert back to education uses, and it was Mr. Overstreet's opinion that there should be such a provision in the law. Rep. Coletta asked if interest so earned would offset the costs of administering the same. Rep. Specking asked if this type of reversion of funds might not lead to school districts asking for more funds than needed in order to earn more interest and then keeping the excess. Mr. Overstreet stated that he thought the press- ures of public opinion would act as a check against this type of action Next to testify on behalf of HB 187 was Marie Darlin, legis- lative chairman for the Association of Alaska School Boards (in which capacity she was testifying) and a member of the Juneau school board. She said that the Association had passed a resolution for the last 2 years in favor of this type of legislation and that the Asso- ciation supports the present bill. Ms. Darling expressed her support of the concept of an rescheduled school year and the incentive program as outlinedin HB 467. She told the committee that Mr. Overstreet had been hired by the Association as its executive secretary and that he would be dealing with the legislature on behalf of the Asso- ciation this session. She said that Juneau schools have worked out the problem of unexpended funds with the borough. Rep. Naughton asked if such monies could be used for bonded indebtedness and was told that the purpose of the bill intended that such funds would be used for operational purposes. Mr. Overstreet expressed the opinion that local school districts who used such funds for purposes other than operations would be guilty of bad faith. It was stated that if unexpended funds reverted to general funds it would be difficult or impossible to say if they were used for operations, bonded indebted- ness or capital improvements, and could a borough assembly or muni- cipality require that unexpended funds be included in the school district's budget forthe following year. Rep. Whittaker wondered if a school district could be accused of acting in bad faith by its borough or municipality for using unexpended monies to fund programs ----------------------- Page 46----------------------- -2- not funded by the borough assembly of municipality in their school budget. Rep. Coletta asked what would happen if a school district initiated a program with excess funds and then had no way of contin- uing such a program for the next year. Mr. Overstreet stated that allowing school boards to use unexpended funds as outlined would, in essence, be giving an elected boardauthority to deal with chang- ing needs. Rep. Specking xpressed the fear that present school programs would be expanded to seak up available excess funds. Mr. Overstreet said that the school board is elected and therefore respon- sible to the public. Rep. Chance noted that a borough assembly or municipality could cut the amount of funds out of the school budget for the following year if it so desired. Mr. Overstreet said he thought that borough assemblies should have the responsibility to intelligently manage unexpended monies and cited a recent Supreme court decision allowing municipalities to have only that authority over schools which is expressly granted them and no more. Next to testify on behalf of HB 187 was Elton Hall, assistant superintendent of schools from Cordova. The three points he made were: 1) it is difficult for school administrations to anticipate expenditures due to such things as students leaving the district which results in the district losing money. 2) School districts want to be able to plan for more than 1 year at a time, which entails a need for an operating balance. 3) His school district has built in anticipated income in its budget and does not consider these funds as extra money. Mr. Robert Thomas of the state Department of Education stated that the Department of Education favors HB 187 and feels that inter- est earned on education operating funds should go back into the school budget, and considers the bill necessary to insure that municipalities and boroughs don't defer funds to other uses. His testimony in favor of the bill is as follows: The school foundation program has been in operation for approximately 2 years, and the Dpearmtnet of Education wanted time to see how it worked before promulgating regulations - HB 187 is an example. The Department is putting out a request for an accounting and audit manual dealing with how school district use funds and how auditors are to report funds - this bill would act as a back up for these standards. Some problems will eventually be worked out between school districts and their municipalities or boroughs by ordinance and will not need to be legislated. In the case of unexpended funds a borough or muni- cipality would have the right to reduce a school budget, carry an excess forward as a reserve or allocate the sums in the budget - as it saw fit. State payments to school districts are made in 12 equal increments beginning July 15 of each year. Since there is less need during the summer a surplus accumulates. Some school districts pay their teachers in 12 payments. Federal school payments are often late. At the conclusion of testimony the committee requested that the Department of Education submit study materials on scholarship programs. It was noted that line 12 of the bill should read ----------------------- Page 47----------------------- -3- "school operating money" and that the effective date on the bill should be changed. No action was taken on this bill and there will be further testimony. House Bill 447 was then considered. This bill was intro- duced by Rep. Wright and deals with state aid to school districts for vocational education programs. Rep. Wright presented written and oral testimony as follows: Most jobs today and in the future require skills - not a degree. Most school boards are middle class in outlook and are hung up on the need of everyone to have a degree. At present 95% of school funds go toward academic programs which in- volve a small percentage of students. In Anchorage, for example, 25% of the student population actually graduates from college. Vo- cational education costs more than academic due to the need for a lower stUdent-instructor ration. One instructor can manage 27-30 academic students or 10-15 vocational students. Because of the higher costs districts won't initiate voc-ed programs without heavy state participation in funding. Many kids will only stay in school through the 12th grade if they can develop a saleable skill; voc-ed training has a low drop out rate. The present system is forcing students to go to college for lack of an alternative. Participation estimates for Anchorage include 600 students in the first year and 1200 after 2 years. Rep. Specking questioned whether the public would accept as a definition of education the training of students for jobs or whether it would require that the system forcibly educate in aca- demic areas. Rep. Wright stated that voc-ed courses should be offered from the 3rd or 4th grade through jr. high and that at that point students would have a basis for deciding whether to specialize in academic studies, voc-ed or to take a combination of both. Students could be trained for jobs available in the community and courses could be dropped when there was no local demand for a par- ticular skill. Rep. Chance brought up the possibility of utilizing existing facilities in the community rather than a district investing in equipment which would eventually become obsolete and have to be replaced. School districts could contract with local businesses for use of facilities and equipment - the money saved could be spent on the educating aspect of the program. Rep. Wright told of visiting voc-ed programs in Fort Lauder- dale and Milwaukee where industry and business sent instructors from among those actually qualified - i.e. the district would hire a chef to teach students interested in becoming chefs. The Seward Skill Center was mentioned as a similar example of hiring instructors whose only requirement was one of proficiency - and not academic. Mr. Elton Hall, superintendent of schools in Cordova, presented written materials to the committee and gave oral testimony in favor ----------------------- Page 48----------------------- -4- of HB 441 as follows: Vocation education has been redefined in Cordova to include career training. The district offers career exploration beginning at kindergarten level. The formula breakdown for instruct- ional units is felt to be too high for obtaining funding for a fourth unit as it requires a jump of from 21 to 51 students. He stated that either this fourth unit should be broken down to 10-15 increment increase or the value of each unit should be increased. Twice the number of students who enter college with a saleable skill graduate. He said that it cost $2,000 per year to educate an academic student over a 12-year period but that it was difficult to know just what the cost was for voc-ed. He will try to find out and let the committee know. Mr. Overstreet agreed with Mr. Hall's testimony and said he hope the legislature would support the bill. Mr. Thomas pointed out that federal law requires the forma- tion of state and local advisory councils regarding voc-ed course off- erings. The Department of Education has contracted for a study by Mario Martini to be completed within 8 weeks (by March 10, 1972) regarding costs and other aspects of vocational education. The Department of Education 1971 figures show a range of from $500 to $6,000 per student as the cost of educating voc-ed students over and above regular education costs. This will be investigated and reported on. More testimony will be taken on this bill. The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. ----------------------- Page 49----------------------- {Refer to "A report on the Status of cordova's Educational Program and its Relationship to the Present Level of Funding" By: Alton L. Hall, Superintentent} ----------------------- Page 50----------------------- ----------------------- Page 51----------------------- ----------------------- Page 52----------------------- ----------------------- Page 53----------------------- ----------------------- Page 54----------------------- ----------------------- Page 55----------------------- 27 January 1972 First to be considered at this meeting was HB 536 which HB 536 provides for a supplemental appropriation for the scholarship loan program. Testifying in favor of the appropriation were Commissioner of Education Lind; Mr. Carruthers, administrator of the loan program; and Mr. Cole, director of administrative services for the Department of Education. George Hohman of the House Finance Committee also ap- peared to answer questions. Committee members present were: Reps. Chance, Moore, Coletta and Specking. In responding to questioning as to why the program needs supplemental funding, Mr. Cole stated that the program is now being funded from whatever can be eked out of other programs, and that the program was given authority to overexpend by $150,000 with the expect- ation that there would be a 10% drop out rate which hasn't occurred. Many of those who had been previously recorded as drop outs have turned out to actually be transfers to other schools. If a student who has received a loan under the prpgram does drop out he has a one-year grace period before having to repay the loan. A student who transfers from one school to another has to submit a new budget to the loan officer as there is sometimes quite a large difference in costs: i.e., the University of Alaska at Anchorage charges approximately $900 per semester and AMU charges around $1300 per semester. Mr. Carruthers gave some statistical information regarding those who currently have loans under the program: 9.1% of the applica- tions are for career education, 3.9% for doctoral candidates, 3.4% for masters candidates, and the remainder are undergraduates. The question of level in school was not included in last year's loan app- lication form, but Mr. Carruthers estimated that 34% of last year's applicants graduated from high school in 1971 and 18% graduated in 1970. The program had 1,075 active loans as of 1 January 1972. Rep. Bradner said that the Budget and Audit Committee is quite pleased with the implementation of the program - especially in light of the fact that it was started late and contained quite a few innovations, such as the fact that loans under this program are to be based on student need and not parents' financial status. Mr. Carruthers gave the committee some information per- taining to the actual mechanics of the program. Student loans used to be paid to the schools and then re-administered by them. Under this program the check is sent directly to the student who signs. for it to show that he has received it. Before sending loan checks to stu- dents the loan administrator checks with the school to make sure that the student is enrolled and in good standing. Mr. Carruthers said that he has had good cooperation from the schools in handling the loans this way, and that he is soon going to start making an extra copy of the loan grant to send to school loan officers. In checking available statistics Mr. Carruthers found that Alaska gives the most per loan of the states included in the study and is in the top 10 as far as percentage of loans to students. The program has run into no problem with letting loans go to any school - in or out of the state. ----------------------- Page 56----------------------- Mr. Carruthers stated that heavy printing bills come due in the first part of the year so that their budget request for the first half of the fiscal year is actually more than half of what the program will need for the total year. He said that clerical work is not reflected in the budget and that he presently has 2 temporary clerk-typists for clerical help. Rep. Hohman told the committee that the $413,000 requested by the scholarship loan program was to make up the deficit of $150,000, to allow loans on the waiting list can be given, to take care of approx- imately $100,000 worth of additional loan applications that are ex- pected to come in when it becomes known that the supplemental appro- priation has been approved and to cover administrative costs of $35,000. Rep. Specking moved for unanimous consent that HB 536 pass. There were no objections and all committee members present recommended that the bill do pass. HB 549 Next to be considered by the committee was HB 549 regarding tuition grants. Rep. Bradner expressed the opinion that the language of the bill should differentiate between tuition costs and actual fixed costs and those costs such as room and board over which a stu- dent has some control. Commissioner Lind said that his department had just become aware of the bill today. He also brought out the difference between the costs of academic and vocational-technical training. The lang- uage of the bill seems to exclude all but academic assistance by stating that the grant can be only used for tuition at a college or university in Alaska accredited by the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools. The committee will contace the Depart- ment of Education and the Attorney Generals office in about one week regarding more information on HB 549 and will then reschedule it for hearing. At this point there was some more discussion on the scho- larship loan program. Rep. Moore requested a breakdown of loan app- lications from outlying areas. Mr. Carruthers gave some information on the forgiveness provisions of the program. The minimum repayment schedule is set by administrative regulation and not by statute. For- giveness of a loan applies only to those who finish their education. It was requested that any changes in the loan program law should take effect the following fiscal year to avoid confusion. The meeting adjourned at 3:15 p.m. ----------------------- Page 57----------------------- January 25, 1972 Representative, Genie Chance Chairman House Health, Welfare, and Education Committee Pouch V Juneau, Alaska 99801 Dear Mr. Chance: The Metlakatla-Annette Education Association has, without dissent, passed a resolution stating a lack of confidence in Mr. Stanley Friese as director of State-Operated Schools. Since Assuming leadership in August he has destroy- ed the meaningful involvement of teachers in rural and on-base education. For example, he has visited Metlakatla on two occasions. Neither time has he met with the teachers. After Hr. Friese's first visit he wrote a highly crit- ical letter to our administrators regarding local school problems. One of the criticisms involved our secondary counseling program. He apparently missed our counselor during his brief tour of the school and stated that we needed a coun- selling program. If he had met with the teachers he would have learned that we have one of the finest rural school counseling programs in the state. We are justifiably proud of the record of our students in obtaining jobs, training, and higher levels of education. During his second visit he again failed to meet with the staff. The problem is not just on the local level; it is district wide. Mr. Friese in- sists that State Operated Schools is in need of severe improvement. However, he ignores one of the most expert and creditable sources of information for improv- ing education----the teachers, the people who are most informed and involved in the functioning of the system. Their representative organization, DOEA, cannot even obtain a constructive dialogue with him. In addition, Mr. Friese has seized upon every technicality in order to not pay teachers their retroactive pay, which was withheld under Phase I of President Nixon's economic program. Furthermore, he has refused teacher's personal eave after consenting to grant said leave, which was negotiated last spring and ratified this-October. Lastly, Mr. Friese has pro- posed policies which are deliberately calculated to relegate teachers to an obse- quious role within the State Operated School System. T These incidents and many more like them have convinced us that we, as a staff in- terested in promoting the best possible educational program for Alaskan students, cannot work effectively under Stanley Friese's administration. In order to alle- viate these conditions, yourconcerted efforts on behalf of the students and tea- chers of State Operated Schools would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Gilbert HJellen President, MAEA ----------------------- Page 58--------------------- 28 January 1972 The meeting was called to order at 1: 50 p.m. Committee members present were Reps. Chance and Naughton. Also present were Frank Ferguson - sponsoreof HB 490, Dr. Lind - Commissioner of the Department of Education, Robert Isaac, Assistant Commissioner of the Deprrtment of Education, James Harper - Director, Division of Re- gional Schools and Boarding Home Program, Bob Cooksey - Deputy Director, NEA Alaska. Under consideration was HB 490 asking for an appropriation of $500,000 to build a gym in Noorvik. Rep. Ferguson gave some statistics relating to the Noorvik area. The census district in which Noorvik is located includes 4,339 people, and the only gym in the district is in Kotzebue which is 60 air miles from Noorvik. There are 462 people in Noorvik, half of which are between the ages of 5 and 19 years. Copies of population statistics were presented to the committee. Rep. Ferguson said that he had in mind a multiple-use gym with a basketball court at least 50x90 feet. In answer to questions by Rep. Chance Rep. Ferguson said that Selawik is about 30 miles from noorvik and Kiana is about 20 miles from Noorvik - so that Noorvik is centrally located as far as those communities are concerned .. Commissioner Lind testified next, presenting some material which had been worked up by Mr. Isaac. He said that in the opinion of the department the single most important structure that could be provided for a rural community is a gym/multiple-use room. He fur- ther stated that the Department of Education has considered in some depth establishing some type of secondary school in Noorvik - either grades 9 and 10 or all four high school grades. There are 40 to 80 secondary school age students who could use such a facility. The cost per student for room and board in a dormitory situation is $4600; plus $1400 to $1500 per student for operating costs and the large ini- tial outlay for building the dorms. It costs less for good quality area secondary schools, and this dea is becoming more acceptable as people get away from the idea that a school has to have large classes. Comparative figures were given regarding dormitory and area high school costs as follows: 40 students 80 students Dorm rogram Build dorm: $800,000 $1.6 million Operating costs: $200,000 ( $5,000 each)per year $400,000 per year Area high school program Build school $1.2 million $1.2 million Operating costs: $100,000 per year $160,000 per year Commissioner Lind said that some dorms will always be needed but that students are being taken too far from home. ----------------------- Page 59----------------------- He further stated that the state will have to pay for the high cost of the dorms. He then showed the committee some architectural plans for a school the department feels would be good for Noorvik and other similar villages. This school building would accomodate 75 to 100 students and includes classroom space, a gym and a small water safety tank in which students could be taught the essentials of water sur- vival. The estimated cost of constructing this school is $1.2 million. Mr. Isaac noted that the state has a legal obligation to provide educational programs at the local level if at least 5 stu- dents at the same grade level request it. The hypothetical question was asked as to what the state would do if a court granted a class action suit at the village level requiring the state to provide local education facilities and the Department of Education did not have suf- ficient funds in its budgetto do this. Mr. Isaac said that the court would probably give the state some sort of grace period in which to build the necessary facilities and further noted that the court could not force a bond issue or legislative appropriation. Bob Cooksey voiced concern that there should be some minimum number for a high school attendence to ensure that a good quality program be presented. Some general comments were made at this point regarding what could be done if funds were appropriated only for a gym. It was put forth that a gym could be built alone and the plans under consideration would allow for the remainder of the school to be added on later. Also that possibly the gym and water safety tank could be built first. Nothing can be added on to the present Noorvik school structure as the site is too crowded already The possibility of using existing elementary facilities in the late afternoons for a secondary program until a high school could be built was brought out. The Department of Education said that some of the definite advantages of the plan under consideration are: This building is a rigid structure of teflon-coated fiberglass giving less heat loss that with a standard frame wall. This structure goes up faster and costs about $40 per square foot constructed in Noorvik as contrasted with a usual cost of $80 to $100 per square foot in this area. The suggestion was made that the committee invite Ronald A. Raasch, the artichect of this school, to answer questions that members might have. Mr. Isaac then talked about some other types of structures that are beginning to be used including a quonset-shaped structure with a thin tough fireproof covering and the pneumatic structure which is supported by air pressure. In the plan under consideration acoustical problems are solved by using carpeting and movable baffles. Commissioner Lind stated that some money had been left over from a previous bond issue which the department had thought of using for a dorm at St. Marys but that the department has lately been re- thinking the whole idea of dorms and is now leaning more and more in the direction of local rural high schools. The point was made that if the school plan under consideration was used in enough villages the possibility existed of being able to prefabricate the materials and thus save some of the construction costs. There was some objection to the fact that the present ar- ----------------------- Page 60----------------------- chitectural plan does not include windows, but it was pointed out that windows could easily be included if desired. Commissioner Lind mentioned the possibility that the BIA might be able to use some of the funds it has been given for building dorms for building local high schools instead. One of the problems would be that of getting Congress to approve this switch. At this point the committee and Rep. Ferguson agreed to a committee substitute changing the amount of the appropriation from 500,000 to $1.5 million and changing the use the appropriation will be put to from building a gym in Noorvik to building educational fac- ilities in Noorvik - which would include the building of a gym. The normal procedure according to Commissioner Lind is for the appropriation to be made to the Department of Education which handles the construction of the facility. After construction is completed the operation of the school is the responsibility of State Operated School. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m. ----------------------- Page 61----------------------- In reference to HB 490 providing for a multipurpose room for Noorvik, it would appear such a facility is badly needed. This school enrolls 14 pupils in grades K-8 and is the single largest rural elementary school in the State-Operated School Systems. Presently, the school facilities consist of 5 classrooms, a small multi- purpose room (36' X 56'), a school kitchen, and 3 sets of teachers quarters, 4 relocatable classrooms and 2 quarters added in 1971. If a multi-purpose room is authorized, it would permit adapting some of the existing facilities to secondary education, thus permitting a greater number of pupils to continue their education in Noorvik. Assuming costs would be approximately $70 per square foot, it would be possible to construct an addition approximately 70' X 10O' or some other multiple which would permit 7,000 square feet of space. Normally, it takes about this much space to accommodate instructional space, lockers, etc., and 300 to 400 spectators. {see original for graph/pdg version} 1/28/72 ----------------------- Page 62----------------------- {Page 62-64 refer to orignal/pdf version} ,-- ;:- ----------------------- Page 63----------------------- I ----------------------- Page 64----------------------- --,~>:OS""~~ ".-~'~~~~'''''~.''f. ~:,... •.~ ,~""M"""'~,"'''.c'' ., .--..... -... ... ...... .-....._,- ..... ----------------------- Page 65----------------------- 31 anuary 1972 The meeting was called to order at 1:45. Committee members present were Reps. Chance, Coletta, Moore, Moses, Specking and Whitt- aker. Bill Overstreet of the School Board Association introduced a movie "To Touch a Child" of which deals with Flint, Michigan's community school program. Mr. Overstreet also introduced Juneau's two comm- unity school directors Terry Kelly and Joe Miguel, who were once both 6th grade teachers and who had been sent to Flint to observe the program there. After the movie testimony was heard concerning HB 467 pro- viding state monetary ncentives for school districts planning a rescheduled school year. Nat Cole and Bob Thomas of the Department of Education distributed materials drawn up by the department showing financial aspects of a rescheduled school year using Anchorage as an example. Mr. Thomas then clarified this material for the comm- imum and minimum payable to various areas if they decided to re- schedule based on 1% of each area's foundation payment. Under this schedule if Anchorage rescheduled it would receive $25,000 or 75¢ per student for planning and Nome would receive $12,300 or $15.00 per stu- dent for planning purposes. Another set of statistics, using Anchorage as the example, showed that the state would save $489,000 over the first 5 years of using the rescheduled school year, and would save $1,070,000 each year after that. The tax avoidance saving to An- chorage (in not having to build new schools) would be roughly the same as the saving to the state. Mr. Thomas said that if a small district which needed more school space decided to go to a rescheduled school year rather than building a new school it would show an imme- diate saving. Rep. Mike Miller, sponsor of the bill, told the committee that Rep. Wright had said that Anchorage would need $100,000 for planning studies and had suggested that maybe the best idea would be for a revolving sum to be allocated to the Department of Education for it to use as needed district by district without setting a sta- tutory maximum. The amount used out of the fund each year would be replaced so the amount of the fund would be maintained. Commissioner Lind agreed with this and stated that adequate planning money must be available. Rep. Whittaker asked why additional incentives to school districts, beyond those used for planning were necessary. Rep. Miller answered that increased costs of maintenance, grounds, transportation, etc. would amount to around 5%, but that the state would still be saving on its 50% matching costs. It was also brought out that Valley view School in Illinois which has been on the 45/15 plan for some time has had a saving of 4% per student. Next to testify was Bob Arnold, vice president of the An- chorage school board. He first said that he felt it was unfortunate that incentives must be offered for innovation, but that this was a fact. He feels that good planning is necessary and that $25,000' ----------------------- Page 66----------------------- is inadequate for Anchorage for planning purposes - that possibly $75,000 would be sufficient. He agreed with the idea of leaving dis- persal of these planning funds to the Department of Education. He thinks it is good to spread the rescheduled year over a period of time in order to gain acceptance. On the matter of hidden costs Mr. Arnold stated that one of the biggest of these has been found to be air con- ditioning, which would not be a factor in Alaska. He said that he thinks the term "school year" as used in the bill should be redefined in order to give school districts more flexibility as to how the presently-defined school year of 180 days is used, i.e. allowing some of this time to be used for teacher training. Rep. Chance posed the question of whether it would be poss- ible for a district to implement the rescheduled system in some of its schools and go on with planning in others. Mr. Arnold said the Anchorage school board agrees with the idea of the rescheduled school year but is not sure how it should be done, what form it should take, etc. The committee then heard testimony from Sue Greene, a re- presentative of the REFOCUS (Responsible Evaluation For Overall Continuous Utilization of Schools) Committee which is a citizens' advisory committee appointed by the Anchorage school board in August 1971 to investigate alternative school systems, etc. The committee consists of 10 adults, 2 students and 1 military liason representa- tive. REFOCUS decided that it should first identify what were con- sidered to be traits of a good education in Anchorage and, secondly, determine the best program to carry out those qualities. Ms. Greene said she thinks the 1% figure should be the basis of planning incent- ives but not with a $25,000 maximum. The REFOCUS Committee has met with with people involved in education from kindergarten through post-graduate level, including high school students and those in- volved in higher education and vocational education. The committee plans to have news articles to inform the public of the available educational alternatives. The committee is still in the process of receiving information and hopes to present its recommendations to the school board in June. Ms. Greene presented the question of what "year round continuous operation" means - does it preclude everyone tak- ing a vacation at once as some rescheduled school plans use. She said that REFOCUS does support HB 467 but thinks that $25,000 as planning incentive for Anchorage would be too low and that $80,000 to $100,000 would be needed in order to hire 2 professionals, an assistant and 2 secretaries for one year - which is the committee's idea of what would be needed for sufficient planning studies. Bill Klingler, assistant superintendent of facilities and finance for the Anchorage school district, appeared next before the committee. He felt that the 1% figure for planning incentives would be better than setting the maximum limit of $25,000 which he felt was far too low for Anchorage. He said that this type of planning would go forward even without such a grant but that it would be quicker and easier with financial aid. He also saw a need for clarification of the 180-day school term in the bill. Mr. Klingler presented some fig- ures showing additional costs that would be incurred by the school district with the implementation of an extended school year as fol- lows: Student activities (coaches, transportation, maintenance, etc.- $400,000 is now spent, the addition of a 4th quarter would add approx- ----------------------- Page 67----------------------- -3- imately one-fourth to this figure. Custodial costs - would increase from the $400,000 now spent per year in the beginning but would level off later. Maintenance - $82,000 additional cost. Clerical- $240,000 additional cost. Trucking and mail deliveries - $70,000 to $75,000 additional cost. Crossing guards - $15,000 increased cost. Heat and electricity - $240,000 to $250,000 increased cost. Adminis- trative costs would increase by one-fourth. Mr. Klingler said that the 10% offered as implementation incentive for the first 3 years was a little high and that 5% would be quite close to the actual increased costs to the school district for all of the first 5 years of implementation of the rescheduled year. He would like to see the initial study grant monies distributed by the Department of Education with individual districts applying to the department for planning and implementation grants. The idea was then discussed of whether or not it would be best to set a statutory limit, to be administered at the discre- tion of the Department of Education, for the first year of implemen- tation of the rescheduled school year of a minimum of 5% and a max- imum of 10%. After the first year the maximum amount would be 5% of the foundation matching funds to which the school district was enti- tled. Rep. Miller thinks it would be best to leave in the maximum of 10% for the first 3 years, at the discretion of the Department of Education, as a built in safety factor. Mr. Klingler agreed with this and thought the limit should be 5% after the first 3 years. The topic of the definition of 12-month operation was dis- cussed again - would this include community use of the school? Rep. Miller said that it would defeat the purpose of the extended year prog- ram for the whole school to take a vacation at once for more than 3 weeks as this would cut the percentage of added use down proportion- ately. The opinion was expressed that the language of the bill should be changed to say that the 180-day requirement should apply to school use but not to individual child attendance, which would be more than what is required by statute at present. This part of the bill - (d) line 11 - will be changed to read "180 days membership" Mr. Overstreet would like to see the concept of extended day use of schools included in the bill, perhaps in the form of stat- ing that up to a certain percentage of funds could be used for this type of program to pay for a community school director which is the major cost and which, in his opinion, is the key to the success of a community school. Mr. Klingler said that the Anchorage school board has funded this type of thing in Anchorage for the past 3 years in which youth sponsored activites are permitted to use school facilities rent free but adult activities pay rent. Ms. Greene said that some districts should be able to take advantage of the community school incentive even if they don't use the rescheduled school program. Mr. Arnold supported the community school concept. Mr. Overstreet said that the cost of a community school program was 6% of the school's normal budget. Commissioner Lind thought that community schools might be able to be funded under the foundation program under the heading of supplementary programs, but these must be recommended by the comm- issioner to the legislature and pass the governor's review. Rep. ----------------------- Page 68----------------------- -4- Chance expressed the fear that this might be considered non-educational in nature by being considered as supplementary and therefore be knocked out of the budget.. Mr. Overstreet suggested that a percentage of the rescheduled school year incentive could be allocated each year for community schools. Rep. Chance asked for submission to the HWE Committee of a break down of costs, etc. of existing community schools. Reps. Whittaker and Colletta state their opposition to the bill on the grounds that innovation and community involvement shouldn't be legislated. Rep. Whittaker also questioned whether some very real problems in education weren't being ignored and the extended school year concept being offered as a panacea. Mr. Arnold made the point that his school board thinks the rescheduled year is a good thing but might not if no money were available for planning and implementation. Mr. Klingler pointed out that it is hard to get money to be spent when the actual cost saving is deferred for several years as is the case with the rescheduled school year program. Commissioner Lind said that his concept of the advantage of the rescheduled school year was not only one of saving money but the fact that it could tend to loosen up the educational system in ways that would allow teachers and administrators more lat- itude in many areas, i.e. teachers would be able to attand school other than just with other teachers at summer programs as is now the case. Mr. Klingler said that Anchorage would need to have $60 million more in bonding for needed school over the next 5 years if it does not go to the rescheduled school concept. Rep. Chance said that perhaps the extended school day and rescheduled school year programs should be kept separate and that the committee would soon look into the con- cept of extended school day with the Department of Education to see if statutory changes were necessary, etc. Rep. Moses moved that a committee substitute be drawn up for HB 467 and brought back to comm- ittee for consideration. Those present agreed. Rep. Chance asked for suggestions by the Department of Education for the committee sub- stitute and for information on the extended school day. Rep. Chance requested that Commissioner Lind investigate for the committee whether the community school concept could be implemented through administra- tive regulation or if statutory authorization were necessary. The De- partment of Education will also provide the committee with costs esti- mates and cost experiences on community schools and bring it back to the committee in 2 weeks. It was suggested that perhaps State Oper- ated Schools might have something along this line. The meeting was adjourned at 4:45p.m. ----------------------- Page 69----------------------- Content of Testimony on HB 467 Sue Greene, Representative from REFOCUS Committee 1/31/72 Anchorage The REFOCUS committee is a citizen's advisory committee appointed in August 1971 by the GAAB School Board. It consists of 10 adults, 2 students, and 1 military liasion representative. The Charge to the committee was " to review the School District Operation in terms of length of the school year and attendant building utilizationz" This was further interpreted to mean that we should include time alternatives, personnel utilization, administrative structures, costs adn theyr factors. It was further explained taht we should con- sider all that citizens might find it necessary to consider in deter- mining alternatives to shoose from in this type of study. In carrying out this charge, we have felt taht we must determine first identifiable traits of a good educational program for the Anchorage community and they try to determine which of the various operational alternatives open to us we would find best implements that education. to that end we have met with representatives from the community who work with various phases of education K - post graduate met with students in the senior high schools to hear their views on the program they have experienced and met in committe to discuss these conferences and plan others as well as study. We are planning a series of articles and programs to prevent information to the public about the alternatives open to the community and we plan open hearing later in the spring. It is hoped that we can draft our recommendations in May and present them to the board in June. No conclusions have been drawn to date; we are still in the reading, listening, studying stage. We do feel that the quality of the program offered is the first consideration and taht the recommended operational ----------------------- Page 70----------------------- plan must implement the program desired. It ought not be simply a money saver. HOUSE BILL 467 reflects what we feel should be the attitude of the State toward education - it provides incetive for improvement and innovation. (1) Judging from studies of other systemms that have made such changes in the operational plan that involved departure from the 9- month tradition, I would recommend athat the 1% figure be used ad the base for allocation. I feel the $25,000 would be of little benefit to our three largest school ditricts at least, and I feel that we must be more pro- portionate than this section now reads. Change is expensive, and if it is to end in improvement without chaos in the intervals, it must have sound planning - and we need money to plan thoroughly and well. When the goal is to give quality education to meet the needs of Alaskan families and society, that 1% - evne when it exceeds 25,000 is a wise and imperative investment. (2) The other amounts seem proportionate and fair in light of what reading I have done in relationship to planning and programming. b. I feel that allowing for pilot programs in part of a district is wise and that the proportionate allowance is fair. d. This section raises some questions. The interpretation of "bone-fide 12 months operation of school facilites at a uniform level" has brought a variety of interpretations from the persons I have questioned. Does taht phrase mean full-scale operations - classes in session - all 12 months, allowing for short vacations such as Christmans, etc. OR Does it mean operating year-round but with as much as 4-6 weeks vacation for everyone simultaneously. ----------------------- Page 71----------------------- I raise the question because I feel that such a bill as 467 ought not pre- clude what choices of plans are open to district.and some fo the plans in existence (as well as others that might be devised) do allow for 3-6 weeks vacation taken by all simultaneously. Further, it is a distinct possibility that such might be desirable in Alaska as a com- pormise between the tradition and the innovation due to the particularly short summer and the apparent desirability of that period for slightly more than a few weeks of time off. this is speculative in content, but the main point is that the bill should not prohibit sucha move that is obviously in the direction of literal 12 month operation. In fact it would seem to me that any system operating with "doors open" most of the time except for a 4-6 week break is virtually on a full year operation. Does this bill prohibit such a choice as some readers suggest? These are our main points - The bill and its intention should be supported. It should define continuous operation more clearly and in so doing clearly not prohibit some of the possibilites open to a district. The 1% figure in section (1) should be the base oand the $25,000 figure eliminated. ----------------------- Page 72----------------------- OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COST SAVINGS ASSUMPTION 1. Operations and maintenance cost savings are estimated at 10% of total oper- ating cost to the school district. 2. The extended school year allows for 1/3 increase in existing building capacity 3. Rescheduled school year will be implemented over a 1 year period (1/5 per year). 4 A 5% growth factor per year in enrollment of the school district. MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONAL SAVINGS (IN THOUSANDS) Year # of Instr. Units Affected Multiplying Factors Amount _________ ______________________________ ______________________ ___________ 1st 320 X1/3 X 10% 185 2nd 670 " " 387 3rd 1,060 " " 612 4th 1,360 " " 785 5th 1,950 " " 1,126 INCREMENT COMPUTATION ((a) 10% or 5% 1. Assume 20% or 1/5 of school district participating per year for 5 years to total school district participation. INCREMENT COST (IN THOUSANDS) Year # of Instr. Units Affected Multiplying Factors Amount _______ ____________________________ _______________________ ___________ 1st 320 (a) 10% X 19,250 X .9 554 2nd 670 " " " 1,161 3rd 1,060 " " " 1,836 4th 1,360 (a) 5% X 19,250 X .9 901 5th 1.950 " " " 1,118 SUMMARY BY YEAR (IN THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS 1st Year: (a) Savings to the school district: Debt Service 440 Op. & Maint 185 ______________ 625 (b) Savings (cost) to state: Debt Service 440 10% or 5% Increment (540) _______________ 511 ----------------------- Page 73----------------------- 2ND Year a) Savings to School district Debt Service 868 Op. & Maint. 387 _________ 1,255 b) Savings (cost) to the State: Debt Service 868 10% or 5 % Increment (1,161) ___________ (293) _______ _____ C) Over all savings 962 3rd Year: a) Savings to the school District: Debt Serive 1,270 Op. Maint. 612 __________ 1,882 b) Savings (cost) to State: Debt Service 1,270 10% or 5% Incentive (1,836) __________ (566) ________ ________ c) Total Savings 1,316 4th Year a) Savings to the School District: Debt Service 1,743 Op. & Maint. 785 __________ 2,528 b) Savings (cost) to State: Debt Service 1,743 Op. Maint. (901) ___________ 842 __________ __________ c) Total Cost Savings 3.370 5th Year a) Savings to the School District Debt Service 2,188 Op. Maint. 1,126 __________ 3,314 b) Savings (cost) to State Debt Service 2,188 10% & 5 % Increment (1,118) ___________ 1,070 ----------------------- Page 74----------------------- Analysis reveals that the savings to the State under the above assumption and including a 5% increment in the foundation program would be about 2-3 percent at best. There does appear to be a more significant savings tot hte school dis- trict on debt retirement and operations and maintenance costs. however, in- creases in other areas of the school districts budget (particularly instructional costs) may offset those gains. ----------------------- Page 75----------------------- 1. Anchorage Construction needs, 1970-75 is $42,000,000 Construction needs are based on max 5% increase per year in enrollment 2. Rescheduled School year can be implemented throughout system by FY-76 (1/5th system per year) 3. Cigarette tax at $600,000 per year average. 4. Outstanding debt in 1970 of $40,000,000. 5. Repayment schedule of $3,500,OOO per year. 6. State Debt Service Payments (chapter 249) would average $1,300,000 per year to Anchorage if no new debt service 7. If 42,000,000 new construction is authorized it will bean about $84,000,000 in additional debt service over 20 years or $4,500,000 additional debt retirement per year of which chapter 249 woul be picking up 50% ($440,000 to 2,250,000). 8. Operational and maintenance costs average 10%. {side note: of total school Expenditures} ----------------------- Page 76----------------------- (In Thousands) 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year Totals Est. S.D. State S.D. State S.D. State S.D. State S.D. State S.D. State Debt P 400 200 400 200 400 200 400 200 400 200 I 480 240 456 228 432 216 408 204 384 192 8,000 ___ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____ ____ _____ ____ ____ _______ _______ T 880 440 856 428 832 416 808 404 784 392 4,160 2,080 8,000 P 400 200 400 200 400 200 400 200 I 480 240 456 228 432 216 408 204 _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _______ ________ T 880 440 856 428 832 416 808 404 3,376 1,688 8,000 P 400 200 400 200 400 200 480 226 456 228 432 216 _____ _____ _____ ______ _____ ______ _______ _________ 880 426 856 428 832 416 2,568 1,270 9,000 P 450 225 450 225 I 540 270 513 256 ______ ______ ______ ______ _______ _________ T 990 495 963 481 1,953 976 450 225 540 270 _____ _____ _______ __________ 990 495 990 495 42,000 880 440 1,736 868 2,568 1,270 3,486 1,743 4,377 2,188 13,047 6,509 Oper. & Maint Savings 185 387 612 785 126 2095 ____ _____ _____ _____ ______ _____ _____ _____ ______ _____ _________ 1,065 440 2,123 868 3,180 1,270 4,271 1,743 5,503 2,188 15,142 6,059 10% & 5% Increment ______ (554) ______ (1,161) ______ (1,836) _______ (901) ______ (1,118) ______ (5,570) 1,065 (114) 2,123 (293) 3,180 (566) 4,271 (842) 5,503 (1,070) 15,142 489 ----------------------- Page 77----------------------- DISTRICT MAX MIN ________ ____ ____ Anchorage 25,000 25,000 Bristol Bay 5,000 Cordova 7,000 Craig 2,300 Dillingham 6,900 Fairbanks 25,000 25,000 Haines 5,700 Hoonah 5,200 Hydaburg 1,400 Juneau 25,000 25,000 Kake 3,200 Kenai 25,000 25,000 ketchikan 25,000 25,000 King Cove 1,300 Klawaok 1,000 Kodiak 25,000 25,000 Matanuska-Sus 25,000 25,000 Nenana 4,000 Nome 12,300 12,300 Pelican 1,100 Petersburg 7,800 St. Mary's 2,000 Sitka 19,600 19,600 Skagway 3,600 Unalaska 2,400 Valdez 6,700 Wrangell 8,300 Yakutat 2,800 Totals 284,600 206,900 -ll J--.\,....,I'}~: .\-J ----------------------- Page 78----------------------- 3 February 1972 This was a joint committee meeting with the Alaska Med- ical Association for purposes of considering legislation the asso- ciation would like to see enacted this session. The meeting was called to order by Senator Thomas at 3 p.m. House HWE committee members present were Reps. Chance, Coletta, Moore, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. After some introductory comments by Sen. Thomas, Dr. Ray Langdon, president of the Alaska Medical Association, introduced the members present of the association's legislative comm- ittee: Dr. Rodman Wilson - chairman of the legislative committee, Dr. Carolyn Brown, Dr. John Dalton, Dr. Gary Hedges and Dr. Herb James. Dr. James, chairman of the association's quackery commi- ttee, was first to testify. His presentation consisted of defini- tions of and problems in controlling medical quackery. He stated that Alaska has no statutory control over quackery. This was quest- ioned by Rep. Whittaker who said he didn't see why those considered quacks couldn't be denied licenses and then prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license. Dr. James said the association feels no one should be allowed to practice medicine in Alaska who hasn't graduated from a school accredited by the Department of Education of HEW and the National Council on Accrediting. He stated that the association does not want workman's compensation to pay for treat- ment by chiropractors, etc. The AMA favors HBs 224, 292 and SBs 48, 230 and opposes SB 252 and HB 186. Dr. Rodman Wilson then testified further as to what legis- lation the association favors and opposes. The association does not favor implementation of the Medicaid program but will not actively oppose it this year. They favor appropriation of funds for the med- ical library in Anchorage and increased revenue sharing for rural hospitals, and SCR 2 which provides for opening an office in Anchor- age for the licensing of medical professionals. Dr. Carolyn Brown testified that the association would like a minor to be able to consent to his own medical treatment for other than just VD and pregnancy tests - which is all they are allow- ed to do now without parental permission. Sen. Josephson asked if this wouldn't present quite a problem as to who was liable to pay for the services - the parent or the child. Rep. Chance asked if the child could be declared indigent. Commissioner McGinnis said that his department would prepare a position paper on the topic and present it to the committee. Senator Josephson asked why Alaska has the highest gonorrhea rate in the country. Dr. Brown said it is partly a problem of having failed to adequately educate young people, physicians and the general public about venereal disease and partly the lack of funding to employ adequate numbers of investigators and lab facilities. Rep Whittaker asked how many of investigators are necessary and was told by Dr. Brown that she would estimate that at least 10 would be needed and that they would be needed by region and not by population due to the long distances between populated areas in the state. ----------------------- Page 79----------------------- When asked by Rep. Chance about minors in need of medical treat- ment, Dr. Brown stated that 30% of gonorrhea cases are found in people under 18 years old. Dr. Wilson said the association is disturbed by the fact that cigarette vending machines are located in public build- ings allowing minors to buy cigarettes and that the machines in most cases do not even display a notice stating that it is illegal for minors to buy cigarettes. The association favors SB 272 which would leave to the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services the decision of which diseases are reportable. Dr. Wilson said the association had not had sufficient time to consider HB 510 relating to disposal of foetuses and stillborn in- fants or infants which die within 24 hours of birth. The associa- tion would like to see something done in the areas of boating safety and auto inspection but has nothing specific to offer and has no new family planning proposals. The association supports SB 281 which provides for construction of footpaths as this would promote exercise. Support was given to a resolution introduced by Rep. Specking relating to disposal of solid wastes. The association is taking no stand on HB 363 which would make it unlawful to drive while under the influence of hallucinogenic, stimulant, etc. drugs as no one is sure of the effect of these drugs on driving and acc- idents and no tests presently exist to measure or detect levels of influence of marijuana, amphetamines, LSD, etc. Rep. Chance asked what the association's stand is with regard to marijuana. Dr. Wilson said that the results of the study done by the association will probably not be made public until June but that in general it was felt that dangers had been greatly exag- gerated and that it was unfair to allow people to use alcohol and tobacco and make it a crime to use marijuana. He further stated that there should be some control over its use by minors, who are in the process of forming their ideas of reality which might be dis- torted by such use. The association supports HCR 1 which provides that eye- glasses obtained by mail must be fitted by someone qualified to do so to insure that they are the right ones. Dr. Wilson said that the WAMI (Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) medical school prog- ram has been successful over its first three experimental years and that the state may later be asked to take over the financing of this program. He said that a question that is going to have to be considered soon by the state involves the tremendous costs involved in keeping alive people who have chronic kidney failure. The treat- ment involved costs $18,000 the first year and $6,000 for each fol- lowing year. A federal bill has been introduced relating to this problem. Dr. Brown said that the association feels that birth control information and methods should be available to teenagers and distributed some information on the subject. This meeting was adjourned at 5 p.m. ----------------------- Page 80----------------------- {p. 80-88 Refer to article, Birth Control, Teen-Agers and the Law: A New Look, 1971 by: Harriet F. Pilpel and Nancy F. Wechsler} ----------------------- Page 81----------------------- ----------------------- Page 82----------------------- ----------------------- Page 83----------------------- ----------------------- Page 84------------------- ----------------------- Page 85----------------------- ----------------------- Page 86----------------------- ----------------------- Page 87----------------------- ----------------------- Page 88----------------------- ----------------------- Page 89----------------------- 4 February 1972 This joint meeting of Senate and House HWE Committees was called to order at 8:15 a.m. by Senator Lowell Thomas. The chair was later taken over by Rep. Genie Chance. Present were Reps. Chance,Coletta, Specking and Whittaker; Sens. Thomas, Joseph- son and Hensley. Board of Education members present were: Katie Hurley, chairman; JOhn Borbridge, Mrs. McLane, and Mrs. Cuddy. No specific bill was under consideration at this meeting, and the con versation revolved primarily around problems of education in the bush- specifically the comparative merits of the boarding concept ver- sus the use of small local secondary schools. The Department of Edu- cation and the Board of Education agree that building dormitories in the state's larger cities and sending high school students from the villages to stay in them while completing thier education is no the best way to handle the problem and that it would be much better from several aspects to build small local high schools wherever possible. Commissioner Lind stated taht the dormitory program costs a good deal more in the long rund due to higher upkeep costs and having to provide board and room which is not a factor in local high schools. He said that he thought a combination of three programs would be sused in the future: 1. some dormitories would always be necessary 2. some use of the existing boarding home program. 3. building as many local schools as possible. Sen. Hensley asked how the decision was made to switch from the dormitory concept to the idea of building local schools. Ms. Hur- ley stated taht many factors were taken into consideration - primar- ily the wellbeing of the children themselves; the discovery that local schools would cost less was discovered later; members of the board who went into the villages and heard the expressed desires of the the parents and studentsthat the children be allowed to have their edu- cation without having to leave home. such recent programs as educa- tional program have made the possibility of education on the local level more attainable. Sen Hensley said that people in his district want local schools - at least those in villages of 400 to 500 pop- ulation - though the fear has been expressed that locally educated studenst wwill not receive education of a high enough quality to allow them to compete at the college level. Sen. Hensley next wanted to know how and by whom the decision is made as to where local secondary schools are built. Commissioner Lind replied that State Operated Schools is supposed to analyze the situation and needs and present its recommendations to the Department of Education and the Board of Education. Bob Van HOut said that at present most of this responsi- bility is with the Board of Education but that the board is in the process oof beginning to work together with SOS. Sen Hensley pointed out that the BIA operates schools in Barrow and Kotzebue and wondered why the sate board had not considered using them as regional centers. Ms. Hurley said taht the state cannot dictate to the BIA in the matter of school use other taht in the area of curriculum. Sen. Hensley asked why the state hasn't taken over all of the BIA schools. Commissioner Lind replied taht the department does not have the funds to bring the BIA schools up to state standards with regard to square footage per student, etc. and taht the state does not completely take over these ----------------------- Page 90----------------------- schools until they are brought up to state standards. Additional money would then be needed to operate the schools after transfer is completed, as well as during the transitional stage. Sen. Josephson said that he had wondered why the state didn't take over those schools in the worst condition first and bring them up to standard first. Commissioner Lind stated taht this transfer program was begun before his time and that he doesn't see that the students themselves receive much advantage from the transferring of school from the BIA to the state. Sen Josephson asked whether a study has been done of the effects on the children participating and their education of the boarding home program. Ms. Hurley said that Dr. Judith Kleifel is in the process of doing a study of this program as well as an evalua tion of teachers in bush schools. Senator Thomas said that the Senate HWE Committee has been considering the porposition of having outside consultants come in and do an alalysis of Alaska higher education. During a discussion of this everyone seemed to agree that some type of evaluation was u urgently needed but some felt that it sould be done by someone who lived in the state and could better relate the results to local con- ditions than someone brought in from another area. The feeling was that the department should have much better information on education programs to give to the legislators so the legislators would have solid information on which to base decisions relating to education. Senator Thomas stated that his committee is considering adopting the universal free food program in Alaskan schools. This would be funded in part by federal money but the state would have to put up some of the cost. Included in this program would be a nutrition education program for the students. This meeting was adjourned at 9:15 A.M. ----------------------- Page 91---------------------- 4 February 1972 this hearing was held to consider HB 542 which apppropriates The sum of $22.000 for the Alaskan Health Sciences Information Center in Anchorage. Committee members present were Reps. Naughton, presid- ing chairman; Specking, Moses and Whittaker. The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. First to testify in favor of the bill was Dr. Rodman Wilson, chairman of the legislative committee of the Alasak Medical Associa tion. Dr. Wilson said that the AMA feels that the medical library is a very worthwile institution and taht it serves broad medical nurses, corrections officers, teachers, attorneys, medical students, lab technicians, pharmacists, dieticians, etc, throughout the state. Though the library is located in Anchorage, 47% of requests for infor- mation to the library come from outside Anchorage. The library was started three years ago largely with funds from the Washington-Alaska Regional Medical Program (a federal program); approximately half of the funding needed to fund the center has been provided by the Public Health Service Hospital in Anchorage where the library facility is located; some money has come from the national medical library and some from donations. Financial support from the Washington-Alaska Regional Medical Program ended in December 1971 and this is why it is necessary to ask the state for funding in a minimum amount of $22,000 per year to maintain the facility at its present level. Dr. Wilson said taht he felt funding of the medical library could and should be provided by the state, drawing a parallel with law librar ies which are financed by the state. Next to testify in favor of the bill was Airlie Bruce- assistant nursing chief for the section of nursing of the Division of Public Health. By request of Dr. Freedman, medical director of the division, Ms. Bruce was also testifying on behalf of the Division of Public Health as well as the section of nursing and the Alaska Nurses Association. She stated that the medical library is the primary source in Alaska of up to date scientific and technical information in health and health-related fields and that is particularly use- ful to those medical personnel, including a large number of nurses, who are working in the bush areas. Ms. Bruce then outlined the way the medical library serves those people who are out of town. The li- brary sends out lists of 430 periodicals which it receives, the indi- vidual selects those he is interested in and receives copies of their tables of contents, he then informs the library of the articles he is interested in and the library supplies copies of those articles. the library will also send collections of pertinent articles on specific topics when requested. Ms. Bruce stated that these services are par- ticularly valuable in aiding the nurse in her expanded role, expec- ially the nurse in isolated areas whose role has always been a broad one. Richard B. Engan, director of Division of State Lib- raries, testified in favor of the bill. He stated that the division ----------------------- Page 92----------------------- has $2500 presently in its budget which can be used to help the information center in Anchorage. He made the point that the Divi- sion of Libraries acts as a transfer point of funds intended for the center which cannot be given directly to it because it is a federally initiated program. He told the committee that a Telex machine has been installed in the Anchorage library allowing it to be in contact with several Alaskan cities as well as the Health Sciences Library at the University of Washington which is the state's major resource for health sciences information. Mr. Engan then in- formed the committee of a Medline which is going to be offered by the National Library of Medicine. This involves a computer hook up with the library in Bethesda, maryland which will allow more complete information searching. The charge for hooking into the system from Alaska would be an equipment charge of $110 per month. A workshop is to be held in Seattle on march 10 for three weeks to train those who are going to be operating the medline equipment. Rep. Moses made a motion that the bill pass. There were no objections and the meeting was adjourned at 1:50 p.m. Telegram HB542 RCA Alasksa communications InC Phone 586-6440 Juneau, Alaska 99801 {STAMPED FEB 3, 1972 3:07 P.M} AL233 BQA015 NL PDF TDA PALMER ALASKA 3 GENE cHANCE REPRESENTATIVE JUN 01, 88 RE HOUSEBILL 542 REQUESTING STATE SUPPORT FOR ALASKA HEALTH SCIENCES INFORMATION CENTER I HEARTILY ENDORSE AND ASK YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE PROMPT PASSAGE OF THIS BILL HARRYOWNE JR MD. 524 ----------------------- Page 93----------------------- {Feb 9, 1972 minutes: See combined minutes for Feb1-16 filed uner Feb. 16} ----------------------- Page 94----------------------- {Feb 11, 1972 Minutes: See combined minutes for Feb 1-16 filed under Feb. 16} ----------------------- Page 95----------------------- 14 February 1972 This meeting of the House HWE Committee began at 9 a.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, colletta, Moore, Naughton, Specking and Whitaker. First under cosideration was HB 556 providing for appropriation of the sum of $1.00 to the Department of Educa- tion for purchase of facilities at Wildwood Air Force Station. Rep. Chance proposed a committee substitute which would appro- priate the sum to the Legislative Affairs Agency for purchase of the Wildwood facilities for use as an annual meeting place for the Alaska legislature. Rep. Specking moved for unanimous adoption of the committee substitute. the committee substitute was passed with Reps. Chance, colletta, and Specking voting do pass; Reps, Moore and Naughton signing no recommendation; and Rep. Whittaker indicating do not pass. the committee next considered HB551 which amends that protion of the statutes dealing with disposal of bodies. Rep. Tillion, sponsor of the bill, testified that the primary purpose of the legislation would be to free parents of the emo- tional rigors of being forced to provide for disposing of the remains of fetuses, stillborn infants and infants who die with- in 24 hours of birth. He said that the present law allows for private burial, if desired, of infants who survive longer than 30 hours but is vague in its application to fetuses, stillborn and infants who survive less than 24 hours. The bill would allow hospitals to dispose of the remains of fetuses, still- borns and infants who survive less that 24 hours if the parents so desired. The said that it presently costs around $500 at a minimum for funeral and burial of an infant. Rep. Colletta asked if the hospitals might not charge a large fee for disposing of the remains. Rep Tillion answered that he had talked to doctors about this and was told that hos- pitals ordinarily do not charge for incineration of amputated limbs and that disposal of fetus remains, etc. would come under the same category. Rep. Specking moved for unanimous passage of the leg- islation. Rep. colletta objected. The bill passed out of comm- ittee with Reps. Chance and Colletta giving no recommendation and all others present recommending do pass. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 a.m. ----------------------- Page 96--------------------- 15 Februray 1972 this meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, colletta, Moore, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whitt- aker. The meeting was in the form of a public hearing on special education of the handicapped child - particularly the deaf, hard of hearing and blind. First to testify was Shirley J. Carman, Chairman of the Task Force on Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing which has prepared a proposed state plan for the education of the hearing im- paired for Alaska. Copies of this plan were distributed to members of the committee. the proposed plan was written for the Department of Education. Ms. Carmen said that the task force was organized in Februrary 1971 and worked for 2 years in researching the problems and drawing up the plan which has now been presented ot the Department of Education. She outlined the philosophy of the task force which involves doing whatever is necessary "in order that each hearing impaired individual may secure for himself knowledge, competencies, attitudes and values necessary for the realization of his full po- tentional as a healthy, productive and respected citizen." She said that the major problem of the hearing impaired is one of language - that is, communication - and that those working with ahrd of hearing or deaf children now focus on how the child is functioning in terms of his hearing loss, how it is affecting his education, communication with others, etc. rather than just looking at the amount of hearing loss. Material were distributed showing educational options, from least desirable to most desirable, for the child with varying degrees of hearing impairment. For example, the child whose hearing is mildly to moderately impaired would probably need a hearing aid and support- ive services in its existing educational environment bu the child whose hearing was severely to profoundly impaired and who had no speech or language or limited oral communication would have to have a special class or program. the task force decided that a program for the child whose hearing is profoundly impaired should be devel- oped with the objective of moving the child toward total integration in society. It was felt that a centralized program for group educa- tion of the deaf was possible to achieve through existing facilites and that it was not necessary to buld new structures. It was felt that both academic and vocational training should be offered. 18 deaf children are presently being educated outside of the state, due to lack of adequate facilities in the state, at a cost of $5,000 per student per year. there is a problem with dislocating native children who are deaf in order to educate them. A minimum of 75 deaf children is needed in an educational facility in order to group them properly. Rep. Specking asked if a large percentage of the deaf chilt- ren in Alaska were Native, and Ms. Carman said this was so. Rep. Whittaker asked if it were possible to educate the deaf close to home so as to avoid uprooting them. Ms. Carman answered that this was true for some but not for the profoundly deaf who needs a highly special- ized education which is available only in anchorage or out of state. ----------------------- Page 97----------------------- -2- She said that the task force recommends several types of housing for children who are moved from their homes for education - foster homes and cottages are preferable to dormitories. Next to testify was Keith Tolzin, audiologist and program coordinator of the pre-school program of the Alaska Treatment Center in Anchorage. He said that the program he is involved in is an inde- pendent one and not connected with any governmental entity. His prog- ram is the only pre-school program for the deaf in the state and in- volves 10 children in the school and 3 or 4 in a home program. He said that the deaf should be educated as early as possible so that they may develop other lines of communication to take the place of oral language. He said that the treatment center has 1 full time and 1 part time deaf teacher, that it has an extensive parent pro- gram in the evenings and that more staff is needed. There is a great problem at this time of continuity of programs for the deaf - that is, when a child is through with one program where will he go next. He said that parents do not want to send their children away from home but that the only alternative is for the whole family to move out of the state to wherever further education can be obtained for the deaf child. Rep. Specking asked how the treatment is phys- ically and organizationally structured. Mr. Tolzin said that the program has 1 room in the treatment center with both teachers work- ing in the same room, they also conduct evening classes and conduct 2 to 3 hour home programs with parents every 3 to 4 weeks The center itself is a private, non profit organization which is supported by tuition payments by parents and some aid from the state. Rep. Naughton asked what the optimum pupil teacher is in preschool programs for the deaf. Mr. Tolzin said that 1:1 would be ideal but that realistic- ally it should be 4:1 or 5:1. Rep. Specking asked if there is a state program for the deaf. Mr. Tolzin said that there is not and that there are only the treatment center, the Anchorage Borough program and a few small programs elsewhere. Rep. Whittaker asked what the age range of the children in the treatment center's preschool program is and was told that they range from around 8 months to 5 years old. He also said that the deafness of the children is due to rubella, genetic damage and unknown causes. Rep. Naughton asked about the salary range for teachers of the deaf. Mr. Tolzin said that the range was probably from $5,000 to $10,000 but that it would depend entirely on the training, experience, etc. of the teacher. Rep. Whittaker asked about the availability of well trained teachers of the deaf. Mr. Tolzin said that they are not easy to find but that it can be done with proper advertising, etc. and that the quality of the teachers have a great effect on the program and the quality of the education that the children receive. He went on to say that there are two basic philosophies of how to educate deaf children to communicate - the oral method which does not allow use of sign language but concentrates only onlip reading, and the total approach which uses all types of possible communication and results in better oral skills. Rep. Speck- ing asked about the use of mechanical aids and was told that there were some available, such as the loop aid and some f.m. systems which are being developed, but that they are very expensive, costing about $6,000 for an aid that would serve 8 children, and that they should be in each classroom. Rep. Chance asked where the children go when they have completed the preschool program. Mr. Tolzin said that the only program available was the one run by the Anchorage Borough and that the only alternative would be to go out of state. ----------------------- Page 98----------------------- -3- Marianne Brabanski testified next. She works for the Public Health Service at the Anchorage Alaska Native Service hospital and was hired to work on the otitis media program and is a member of the task force. She said that the latest study done showed that 16% of native children have a hearing loss large enough to effect their communication - that is, mildly to moderately impaired. She said that the hospital provides medical, preventative and surgical services to those whose hearing is impaired and that 1400 children are seen each year who are suspected of having a hearing loss, though not all those seen do have a loss. The hospital also provides hearing aids but is functioning on an emergency basis at present and is not able to do enough preventative work. She said that parents of deaf native children are not being properly informed about what deafness means, about educational possibilities, etc. She said that she sees many problems in deaf teenagers who haven't been taught to communicate - that they generally have severe identity problems and have not been prepared to function in society. Deaf children who go on to graduate from high school without a specialized program have an educational level of around third grade. She said that it is necessary to uproot the profoundly deaf in orderto provide an adequate education for them but thatin doing this the best possible service must be provided consisting of what the parents and child want. Native parents now are often not consulted as to what is best for the parents and child. Foster parents are poorly picked and there is no preparation or edu- cating of foster parents, whether in foster homes, cottage or dorm facilities, and there is also no educating of the actual parents in how to communicate with the deaf. There are few states where this is still not done. Rep. Colletta questioned the procedure of taking a child away from home. Ms. Brabanski said that the interest and aware- ness level in villages has risen greatly with regard to ear diseases an that it is made clear to parents that this is a voluntary program. Rep. Colletta asked what the BIA's attitude is toward special education and was told that the BIA has no experts on the deaf or handicapped. Rep. Specking asked about ANS programs. Ms. Brabanski said that there are no education programs for the deaf and that this is not the func- tion of the hospital which deals with medical aspects, but that they are concerned with the mental health aspects. She said that the hos- pital has been granted $438,000 in federal funds for medical treatment of otitis media but that the children need an education program to cover the years of their hearing loss to teach them to develop lang- uage skills. It is important to centralize services so that early identification can be made. She said that the 16% figure quoted above was derived from a study made of over 600 children in Bethel born between 1960 and 1962 and that it is felt that this figure is repre- sentative of the state in general. Next to testify was Margaret H. Wood, chief of communicative disorders program of the Department of Health and Social Services. She said that her program involves treating speech, hearing and language disorders of all Alaskan children and some work with adults. She said that audiograms are of questionable value due to the varying ability of those giving the test and varying criteria used in evaluating the results. She said that a great deal of importance was placed on audio- gram results up to a year ago but that now the child's total function- ing is being looked at. Audiograms are still used for indicating ear health and amplification needs. ----------------------- Page 99----------------------- -4- She said that people are being educated in preventative measures regarding upper respiratory diseases to keep them from leading to ear infections. She said that the department is interested in acoustic trauma which is hearing being affected and hearing loss as a result of being exposed to loud noises. In response to a question from Rep. Specking she said that the Health and Social Services program is one of identifying hearing loss and sending suspected cases to doctors for diagnosis rather than one of educating those with hearing loss. She said that the 60 to 80 public health nurses in the field do the majority of hearing loss identification. The department is involved in preventative education and not classroom education. Doug Bullard testified next. He is a deaf person and his introductory remarks were interpreted to the committee by Mr. Tolzin. He then offered a prepared speech as testimony which was read aloud by Mr. Tolzin. Mr. Bullard felt that, "the most practical school for the deaf would be a state-operated residential school. This is because such an institution would be stable and be able to accumulate experience over the years in handling, teaching and training deaf children of varying cultures as is the case in Alaska." He further stated that he thought it was very important not to send Native child- ren outside the state for their education where they often become alienated to their culture. Mr. Bullard said that the concept of special education classes located in various communities sounds like a good idea but that in reality local boroughs shift special educa- tion classes around as space dictates and that special education ad- ministrators are on the bottom of the educational totem pole. He said that foster homes have proved disappointing because most foster parents are more interested in the money than in the children. Also, along these lines, Mr. Bullard said that it takes either a deaf per- son or a real friend of the deaf to judge whether or not a deaf child has been taught to the best of that child's abilities. Note: No one else who testified at this hearing agreed with Mr. Bullard's concept of a dormitory situation. However, Rep. Chance discovered, in speaking with Mr. Bullard later, that this was a matter of semantics and that his concept of a dormitory was the same as the task force's comcept of a group or cottage home sit- uation - that is, a group of from 10 to 20 children. Next to testify was Sue Trepani of the parents' council of the Alaska Treatment Center in Anchorage. Ms. Trepani has a deaf 4 year old daughter attending the treatment center. The child was educated under the oral program for 18 months and then went on the total communication program where she has now been for the past 18 months. Ms. Trepani said that the total program is much more success- ful and that her daughter is now happy and learning very rapidly. Ms. Trepani said that she and her husband are very concerned about where their child will go after she is through with the treatment cen- ter's preschool program; they are afraid the child will regress if an adequate program is not available and would like to see a program from preschool through high school level available. She said that parents don't want to send their children out of the state - to the contrary, they want to keep the children as close to them as possible - and that many families have to make the decislon to leave the state ----------------------- Page 100----------------------- -5- in order to get the deaf child in a good educational program. Rep. Chance asked about the parents classes. Ms. Tre- pani said that parents learn the total communication approach, learn to sign and finger spell - practicing with other parents, compare children's progress with each other, discuss the school with the teachers and the teachers tell the parents how they can best help the child. Rep. Specking asked about the use of the oral program by Ms. Trepani's child and was told that this had formerly been used by the treatment center but that it has since changed its methods. Roy Fay, director of special education for the Greater An- chorage area Borough, testified next. He said that the borough pro- gram began 6 to 7 years ago and that there are eight qualified teacher in the borough system. He said that the borough is willing to cooperate in education programs with the various state programs - i.e. API, McLaughlin, ANS. The borough could operate in conjunction with the treatment center's preschool program to provide continuity of education. He said that he could not make a commitment for the borough as far as development of a total program for the deaf is concerned. He recommended that the task force develop proposals and present them to the Commissioner of the Department of Education. Rep. Specking asked how many children qualify for the program for the deaf. Mr. Fay said that there are presently 44 child- ren in the borough program, 27 of which are from out of the GAAB school district. Rep. Specking asked about the desirability of ed- ucating the deaf children with normal children and was answered that the deaf must have a special program and that deaf children tend to associate with each other and learn from each other. Rep. Whittaker asked who the borough contracts with for providing services for the deaf children from out of the district. Mr. Fay said that the borough contracts with other school district, BIA, etc. He said that the tuition rate is variable and that this year is somewhat over $260 per student per year. Rep. Specking asked about how much the program costs. Mr. Fay said that the average salary is $15,000 per year; amplification equipment cost $6,000 to $7,000 per year per classroom and that this equipment has about a 7 year life expectancy; and that at least $1,000 per year is needed for other specialized equipment. Mr. Fay told Rep. Chance that the borough program includes children from the ages of 5 through 17. Dr. Helen D. Beirne testified next with regard to a special project she is working on relating to the need for preschool programs for deaf children. She said that under this program the definition of reschool is any child who is operating on the preschool level. She cited the alienation of the child who is taken from his home for educating and the fact that there is usually regression in the summer when there is no follow up. She said that it had been decided to use existing head start facilities and contacts to educate the family and community about deafness. Head Start teachers were taught to do gross testing and to understand and develop an interest in prob- lems of the deaf. During this process the teachers also learned to locate other problems. Dr. Beirne said that she feels there should be a mandatory 1 week program to educate BIA and SOS teachers ----------------------- Page 101---------------------- -6- when they come in each year. During the course of the study 22 profoundly deaf children were located and a demonstrative home project was set up in Anchorage. A house was rented and a family was started on the total communication method during a 1 week in- tensive program. At this point a teacher goes back to the village and works with the parents and child and helps the village teacher develop classwork for the child. Some village teachers are now re- ceiving this training by correspondence course. The parents are told what options are available if they decide to go to Anchorage - that they could stay in Anchorage with the child, that they could go back home with the child or that they could leave the child in Anchorage in a foster home. The BIA will help a family which decides to move to Anchorage. Dr. Beirne said that she is working on another grant based on the need to build up a core center and as soon as possible have satellite core centers in other areas and go out to the village level to educate the local teachers as to education possibilities for the deaf. She said that there is a need to supplement the edu- cation foundation plan to include special education funding and that if existing facilities were used the cost would be cut by one third. A further study should be done of Johnson-Otmalley funds to determine if they could be used for construction of new facilities or upgrading of existing facilities. Rep. Whittaker asked what the term prescriptive teacher meant. Dr. Beirne said that this was a special teacher who could analyze the functioning of a child and prescribe remedies where nec- essary. In response to further questioning by Rep. Whittaker, Dr. Beirne said that a centralized program should have a strong advis- ory committee and that if the program is handled by the borough there would be available additional classrooms, teachers, instruct- ional materials, etc. She said that there should be extra funds pro- vided under the foundation program for special program. Rep. Whitt- aker said that maybe the existing priorities in the foundation pro- gram should be changed. Next to testify was John Anttonin, section chief, division of instructional services, Department of Education for special educa- tion. He said that he has taught retarded children and that he feels central facilities are necessary but that it is not necessary to build a stateschool. He said that it would be best to start with the only presently existing facility, which is in Anchorage, and to expand the program to other school district with the districts to run the programs. The task force could set program standards and the state could monitor them. He said that the state most likely would not want to participate in the actual running of the programs. He said that the idea of bringing a deaf child to the central facility, diagnosing the condition, prescribing remedies and moving the child back to his home school is an innovative one, not only for Alaska but for the whole country. He said that the borough school systems were to be reimbursed for programs for the deaf it should be done through a 3 year phase in program. He said the first need would be for more classrooms for the deaf and facilities for phasing in 20 to 30 more deaf children than are presently being handled. It would cost around $375,000 to fund teachers for the 128 deaf children now being handled for a 3 year period. ----------------------- Page 102----------------------- -7- This $375,000 figure would include related resources - such as salaries of psychologists and psychometrists. Mr. Anttonin said that the foundation act now counts the mildly handicapped child the same as profoundly deaf children. At least 3 new classrooms for the deaf will be needed and could be built onto an existing fa- cility. Rep. Specking asked if foster home quality might be improved by paying more for the service. Mr. Anttonin said that he thought this was so and that if more were paid the placing department could demand the competency to work with a deaf child - that someone would be needed in the program to handle this. He further said that there is a need to reword present legislation so that the state can provide education for the handicapped child down to the age of 3 years. Rep. Chance asked whether this program for the deaf would be better handled through the foundation program or the office of early childhood educa- tion if established. Mr. Anttonin said that he thought it should be handled through his office. Rep. Whittaker questioned the idea of the state staying out of the program and letting the Anchorage borough handle it and whether the state shouldn't have a more active role. Mr. Anttonin said that the state would need to establish standards and monitor and audit the program but that it could still be handled by the borough. Rep. Chance said that the program could be started initially using existing facilities and that the satellite programs would grow out of this and be run by other school districts. Also, that there would be a higher quality of service if the state sets the standards and school district run the programs than if the state both set standards and then operated the program under its own stand- ards. The task force has had input into the setting of standards. Next to testify was Bill Conyerd, education consultant for vision handicapped and deaf/blind for the Alaska Treatment Center. He said that there are 500 people identified as vision handicapped in Alaska, 82% of these are 18 years old and under, 15% of the 500 are totally blind - 25 of these are of preschool or elementary school age. There are 12 deaf/blind under age 14. There is one class in the state for the blind which is in the Anchorage borough and includes 10 students aged 9 - 17. With a small grant from the state a recreational-social program has recently been begun in Anchorage for the deaf/blind between the ages of 12 and 21. There are 12 volunteers in the program and the deaf/blind pupil teacher ratiot should be at least 2:1 in the younger age groups and 4:1 with the older child. He said that the blind also have the problem of continuity in their education and that there is a need to educate village teachers to the problems of educating the blind. Bob Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Department of Ed- ucation, made some comments on the preceding testimony. He said that he has become disillusioned with state operated programs which operate under their own standards. He said that funds would be better spent on training foster parents than building dorms. He feels that the department should set standards and monitor programs and that it may be possible to fund special education programs through the founda- tion orogram but doesn't know if new legislation would be needed or not. He said that he feels there is no clear answer at this time as to the program being handled through the office of early child- ----------------------- Page 103----------------------- -8- hood education or the Department of Health and Social Services, but that if the office of early childhood education is established the two should work together. Rep. Chance asked if the Department of Education would need to license its own foster homes for placement of deaf children from out of town rather than using those licensed by the Department of Health and Social Services. If the Department of Education could license its own homes it could demand special standards. Mr. Thomas said that this could be done in cooperation with the Department of Health and Social Services and that it is possible to be more selective in the matter of foster homes when special standards are demanded. He said that there could be es- tablished a different level of payment for foster homes for the handicapped child depending on the level of handicap and that this sliding scale may already exist with the Department of Health and Social Services. Reps. Chance and Specking said that they thought the task force should check on standards for foster homes. At present children sent in from the villages are referred in by their home school district, BIA or SOS. The referring agency is responsible for finding foster homes and there is no monitoring of the home. Rep. Chance asked Dr. Beirne if there are available federal grant programs that could be used in this program. Dr. Beirne said that Mr. Anttonin, among others, is working on such grants. Dr. Gage, who was attending the meeting as a representative of the director of the northwest regional deaf/blind center, said that he is presently looking for models of programs and that Alaska could focus for a year on criteria for evaluating foster homes and then ask for a grant. He feels that Alaska is in a good position for this type of thing. Rep. Chance asked how rural teachers could be given the necessary special education. Eva Kriger of the BIA said that BIA and SOS will be providing at least 1 week of on site training for all new teachers assigned to the bush. This program will be extended to 4 weeks if the funds are available. She said that she feels there is a need for prescriptive training and that this could be built into the pre-service training. Rep. Chance asked about the use of Johnson-O'Malley funds. Mr. Thomas said that these funds are available only for special programs and not for build- ing but that they could be used for training of prescriptive teachers. 40% of the funds in the state presently go to the boarding home pro- gram. These funds are available upon justification by the Depart- ment of Education which is submitted a needs list by the requesting agency. Ms. Kriger asked Ms. Brabanski if the PHS provides glasses and hearing aids and was told that they are provided for school age children when indicated. She said that the hearing aids cost $350 each on the open market and that PHS pays $225 each with its discount. Their budget is limited to $3,000 per year in this area and another $3,000 for repairs. This meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m. ----------------------- Page 104----------------------- TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The most practical school for the deaf would be a state-operated residential school. this is because such an institution would be stabel and be able to accumulate experience over the years in handling, teaching and training deaf children of verying cultures as is the case in Alaska. Alaska is unique in this respect. You have deaf children from native villages as well as Anchorage and the military bases. Segregating these children is not only illegal and immoral, but also expensive, as such a practice calls for dual school systems. A state-opearted residential school properly designed and planned to benfit thewse children will in the long run prove to be the most efficient, not only in terms of operating expenses, but also in terms of the abilities of its graduates to live and work in society, rather than becoming wards of welfare. It is very much true that we reap what we sow. It is imperative that we sow the right kinds of seeeds and develop the best school system for the deaf that is practicable. Right now, Alaska has several methods of educating its deaf children. One is to send them to state schools in other states, particulary Washington and Utah. Not only is this very expensive in terms of money and human feelings, it also means the money leaves the State of Alaska wher it is urgently needed and forever lost in terms of reclamation through income taxes, property taxes, etc. Also many of the children develop a culture alien to Alaska, and lose whatever abilities they may have in order to be able to function in their native villages. Many of them, therefore, remain in the states where they received their education - not only because of the developed culture, but also because that is where they had developed friendships. A discouragingly large number of those who do return to Alaska ----------------------- Page 105----------------------- feel lost here, so end up on Fourth Avenue in Anchorage or Second Avenue in Fairbanks. There is another method - that of special education classes in the various communities. In concept this seems to be a logical system - the trouble is that in reality, the boroughs regulate these classes to the role of step- daughters, and move them around from school to school as space dictates. The special education administrators are not able to fully run their own ship, but are on the bottom of the educational totem pole. Aside from this problem, there is also the one of housing and feeding the native children from the villages. A foster home sounds ideal, but in reality has proven disappointing because most of the foster parents are more interested in the money ($150 per month per child) that in the children. A good way to evaluate the efficiency of a system is to look at its results. If a bridge engineer builds a bridge only to have it collapse, the wreckage is there for all to view and comment on. By contrast, it is much more difficult for a hearing person to judge the results of a school for the deaf. Everyone knows somebody goofed whena bridge collapses, but not many people are able to look at a deaf persona and judge the performance of his school. The reason is, it takes either a deaf person or a real friend of the deaf to be able to judge whether or not a deaf child has been taught to the best of that child's abilities. I have met deaf children who had been adjudged somewhat retarded by the teachers and administrators of my own school. He was so angry over this taht he went on to a public high school despite his difficulties in lipreading and on to a State University on a football scholarship. He is now a teacher of the deaf in the states. this is the situation we have in these borough-operated special education classes for the deaf. All these chilren are being under-educated due to ----------------------- Page 106----------------------- difficulties in planning, teaching, and administering. Right now I know of only one good teacher in the Anchorage special education classes of the deaf. I sincerely hope there are good teachers in the other schools. I am not desirous of injuring anybody's reputation, but somebody has to stand up for those disadvantaged children. Those children have only one opportunity to be educated and it is extremely important that they be given that opportunity. The teachers have already had thir opportunity to learn how to educate deaf children. If a teacher cannot do this, he certainly still has an excellent opportunity to work for Sears or the Highway Department. By contrast, if a deaf child misses out on an educational opportunity, what kind of opportunities does that childd have, other than going on welfare or entering the ARCA workshop? It is my sincere belief that the only way to overcome these problems is to establish a state-operated school for the deaf. A study should be made of all the other state schools for the deaf, to learn the best methods of operation, education, and placement of graduates. it must of necessity have a solid porgram from first grade to high school in order to best benefit the children. the school should be designed to fit the child, not the teacher! I realize that it may take time to fund and build this school. so in the meantime, the state may consider taking control of the various borough- operated special education classes in order to give them the funding, direction, standards, and planning they need to become more efficient and practical. It would be well to program these classes in view of transfering theme to the new state school when it becomes available. In the long run, not only the deaf children but also the State of Alaska will receive the greatest benefits from the "Alaska State School for the Deaf." Sincerely, Doug Bullard ----------------------- Page 107----------------- UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT Date: August 7, 1970 Memorandum To: Superintendents, Education Program Admin Supervisor Socail Workers From: Area pupil Personnel Specialist Subject: Management Responsibilities of Education and social Services for special Education Programs. Forms A yearly survey form will be distributed by the Juneau Area Office (Education) through each agency for the purpose of assessing all new handicapping conditions as determined by teacher records and observa- tions. this form will be attached to the Snellen Eye Chart form which is used yearly for eye screening results. Both of the returned froms will be used by JAO for referrals and data collection pertinent to re- mediation of defects and federal appropriations for special education classes. the forms should reach agencies by September 1 each year. they should be returned through agencies to JAO by October 15, otherwise, a measur- able amount of follow-up cannot be anticipated. When the data is in and compiled, copies are to be forwarded to the agency Program Administrator and Social Services supervisor. These statistics may be used for Title I Project planning. Evaluations Guidelines for Programs of Special Education in Alaska, a State Dept. of Educational manual, outlines requirements for evaluations in Alaska. State and Bureau Schools, due to lack of professional personnel, both ----------------------- Page 108---------------------- experience difficulty in meeting this requirement. The Bureau has obtained contractual services when possible with the Child Study Center. USPHS Mental Hygiene Unit provided some services during 169-1970 school year. Agency education divisions are responsible to initiate and follow through on evaluations for excepetional children their areas. However, prior to engaging any group for contractual services related to evaluations, preplanning should be done by both Education and Social Services with the Pupil Personnel Specialist, JAO. This includes small group evalua- tions where the contractor goes to the villages and large group evalua- tions where the village children are transported to the contractor. For large group evaluations with a contracting group the pre-work is a high priority operation. All special education candidates' names should be cross-checked by Social Service for past medical-social histories and services with the following agencies: 1. MCH - Juneau 2. PHS - Local service unit, Anchorage Medical Center 3. MH - Clinic - In appropriate region 4. ACCA - Anchorage 5. ARCA and other appropriate private agencies 6. DPW - District Office The program administrator should request any pertinent cumulative floder data needed from teachers for the contractors. ----------------------- Page 109---------------------- When this information is accumulated, priority grouping should occur. The Pupil Personnel Specialist should assist in these decisions with Education and Social Services before the project and again following the projects for placement decisions. SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS Title I Projects are written by the Agency and become operational upon notice of funding in the fall. Student placement arrangements are to be made by Social Services depending on the availability of space and the child's specific needs. all necessary changes following initial class placement including interagency transfers must be handled through Education and Social Services with JAO approval. Responsibil- ities for cases involving social problems and/or foster home placements, parental consents and student travel in relation to evaluations are vested in social Services. Data collection and total supervision of the special education program are responsibilities of the Program adminis- trator. Out-of-State placements for special education are made through Agency Area Social Services and the Area Pupil Personnel Specialist. Children for these programs, usually deaf, blind or deaf/blind, are evaluated by PHS Service units, locally or in Anchorage the Education Program Administrator, aware of any new special education programs originating in he area, shall apprise social Services of these new resources as they become available. ----------------------- Page 110----------------------- {refer to original/see PDF} ----------------------- Page 111----------------------- UNTITED STATES GOVERMENT Date: October 8, 1970 Memorandum TO: Superintendents - All Agencies Attention: Education & Social Services From: Area Director Subject: Procedures for Special Education Planning and Placement This memo supplements the attached Management Responsibilites Memo of 7/7/70. These procedures will be followed when working with handicapped children in need of placement away from home for educa- tional reasons. It is important with increasing numbers of children being placed to assure consistent state-wide coordination. In the simplest form the procedures allow that the Division of Education is responsible for arranging the best educational opportunity possible for the children and the Division of Social Services is responsible for seeing that the social needs of the children, including placement, are met. It is a team effort. 1. Case Finding All staff should be alert for children who appear to be in need of consideration for placement. Teachers, nurses, social workers, school boards, and parents should be kept advised of the avail- ability of special education services and the vital importance of early childhood referrals. Candidates for special education will be referred to the Agency Education Program Administrator if they are from communities with BIA schools. Others will be referred by the local school administrator to the Special Education Coordinator in the State Department of Education. 2. Evaluations The Agency Education Program Administrator will arrange for appropriate evaluation procedures. In most cases this involves arrangement with the Alaska Department of Public Health and/or U.S. Public Health for evaluation of the physical and mental status of the chil. Prior to arranging evaluations, clearance should be made with the appropriate agencies for any earlier activities. A sample form for this purposse is attached to these instructions. Parental consent must be obtained prior to travel for evaluation procedures. Social studies and contacts with the family regarding the effect of separation of the child should be requested from the Agency social Services. ----------------------- Page 112----------------------- 3. Educational Planning the Agencey Education Program Administrator will confer with the Area Pupil Personnel Specialist to develop an educational plan for the child as near home as possible. Social Services should be asked to manage foster home or institutional placement once available slots are procured If placement anywhere outside the Agency is indicated the case should be referred to the Area Pupil Personnel Specialist who will determeing the best educational placement available. Area Social Services will assist in regard to the social planning needed. Area will send the referral back to the Agency with recommendations and the Agency will consult with the parents and school boards as to whether to accept the recommended plan. 4. Placement the Agency Education Administrator and the Social Services Supervisor will coordinate the plans for movement and placement of the child by means of written referrals, including complete social, medical, and educational information. Social Services will transfer all Socail Case Records to the receiving BIA Agency Social Services if placement is within Alaska. If placement is outside the state all records will be kept in the home Agency. Transportation will be paid by Social Services. if the family wishes to move to a location, such as Anchorage in order to obtain special education for their chilren Social Services has responsibility for assisting with the arrangement and cost. 5. On-going Responsibilities When children return home during holidays the arrangement will be determined by the Agency Social Services. Return home at the end of the school year or if placement is terminated will be arranged by Social Services. Changing of education placement will be determined by the Agency Education Administrator with the help of the Area Pupil Personnel Specialist. Any change in the educational placement must be shared with the parents and they must agree to the new plan. ----------------------- Page 113----------------------- When children return home, except for holiday visits, case records are transferred to the home Agency immediately, including a progress summary showing the educational adjustments, the social adjustments, medical information and recommendations During the summer, arrangements for the continuation of the Educational Plan is the responsibility of the Education Program Administrator and the Area Pupil Personnel Specialist. Recommended Contents of Referral Package 1. social Service Child Data Card 2. Teacher Evaluation 3. Educational History (including cumulative school records) 4. Medical Evaluation 5. Psychological Evaluation 6. Social Study 7. parental consent for medical care and placement 8. Other Agencies concerned {Signed by Area Director} Attachments ----------------------- Page 114---------------------- UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS Juneau Area Office Box 3-8000 Juneau, AK 99801 March 2, 1972 Mrs. Genie Chance Chairman of Welfare and Education committee House of Representative Juneau, Alaska 99801 Dear Mrs. Chance: During the February 15th hearing held by the House of Welfare and Education Committee regarding Special Education needs of Alaska learners, testimony presented included statements about the Bureau of Indian Affairs programs. The Bureau's procedures for Special Education planning and placement are defined in a policy statement dated October 8, 1970, copy attached. The Bureau all appropriate resources available to us, pre- ferring of course to place students as close to home as possible. the Anchorage school district programs for the deaf have been utilized whenever spaces were open. Placement outside the State has been a necessity for some children when no resources were available in Alaska. The earliest possible identification and remediation of special education needs is our objective. to provide hearing aids and glasses, where PHS and ADH had found need for such, we were able in fiscal year 1971 to allocate $2,697 for eye glases and $2,600 for hearing aides. Use of these funds was channeled through PHS, and ADH, since it is they who write the prescripitions. Also, because glasses can be obtained through PHS more reasonably the needs of more individuals could be met. At the present time the Bureau operates seven self-contained classes fo the mult-sensory handicapped and fifty cluster groups. cluster groups are small numbers (2-5) of individuals, within the regular classrooms, using special material and instructed by teachers having speical education training. Each class and cluster group has a Native education aid to assist the learner. Administrators, teachers and aids receive on-site or regional training throughout the school year. ----------------------- Page 115----------------------- Mrs. Earline Smith, Education Specialist in this office, has the most intimate knowledge of our Special Education programs. She has been in the field provididng assistance to the programs almost continuously since January. I have een in touch with her regard- ing the information provided in this letter and upon her return approximately April 1st, shou could give more details if you felt they would be helpful. The Bureau commeds the House Welfare and Education Committee for their in-depth study of the whole area of meeting the special needs of Alaskan learners. Sincereyl yours, (Mrs.) Eva M. Kriger Elementary Curriculum Specialist Attachment ----------------------- Page 116-----------------------] PROPOSED STATE PLAN FOR EDUCATION THE HEARING IMPAIRED FOR ALASKA Written for the Department of Education by The Task Force on Education of the Deaf and Hard Hearing Members: Helen D Beirne, Ph.D. Marianne Brabanski C. Vernon Humble Earline Smith Keith Tolzin margaret H. Wood Dale Reeves Shirley J. Carmen, Chairman Special Credit is Due: Keith Andersen, Ex-Chairman John Doyle, Ed.D., Deceased ----------------------- Page 117----------------------- Index Page 1. Introduction i 2. Statement of Philosophy 1 3. Definitions 2 4. Process 6 5. Flow Chart Insert 6. Educational Options 9 7. Specific Recommendations 14 8. Educational Mobility 16 9. Housing 18 10. Educational Staffing Pattern 20 11. Appendix A 21 ----------------------- Page 118----------------------- The task Force on the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing was organized on February 23, 1971 when commissionwer cliff Hartman appointed a group of eight people representing the State Department of Education, State-Operated Schools, local school districts, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Public Health Service and private agencies. the present Commissioner of Education, Dr. Marshall Lind, appraised the value of the com- mittee and recommended they continue their planning. this ad hoc Task Force team was charged with the respon- sibility of developing a plan for the education of the hearing impaired. The committee has met many times since its appointment and has developed the plan which is presented hereafter. as memebers of the committee, we express our appreciation to the Commissioner of Education for the opportunity to work together in the development of this plan. It is our sincere hope that the theoretical programs which will benefit all hearing impaired people in the "Great Land". ----------------------- Page 119----------------------- STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY In order that each hearing impaired individual may secure for himself knowledge, competencies, attitudes and values necess.ary for the realization of his full potential as a healthy, productive and respected citizen: 1. All diagnostic, treatment and educational decisions must be made on the basis of the functional ability of the individual - educationally, socially, physically and psychologically. 2. All placement and/or treatment decisions must be made with the knowledgeable consent of the person and/or his guardian. 3. All decisions regarding the treatment, education and/or placement of any hearing impaired person must be made by an inter-disciplinary group of trained, professional persons after consideration of all relevant information. 4. Hearing impaired persons must receive well-coordinated services characterized by continuity and integrated programs regardless of agencies involved. 5. Educational programs must have a sound academic curric- ulum that has continuity and is systematic. 6. Program options must be developed which facilitate in- dividual differences. 7. Children will be evaluated at least yearly in order to determine their readiness for other program options. 8. All children should be educated at that place nearest their home where adequate services can be provided. 1 ----------------------- Page 120----------------------- Definitions In the general proposal, starting on page 5, the following terminology is utilized: Screening committe: A proposed group of no less than five people from the cen- tralized program representing the fields of audiology, education of the deaf and special education who are charged with the respon- sibility of assuring that all information pertaining to persons referred for educational placement is available and in an accept- able format to be utilized by the Placement Committee. the Com- mittee will obtain a realease of information form properly signed by that person with leagal custody and/or responsibility. Educational Placement Committee: A proposed group of no less than seven people from the cen- tralized program, as well as representatives from all available agencies who are providing assistance to the individual under consideration. CDP - Communicative Disorders Program: An office which presently exists within the Division of Public health, Department of Health and Social Services, which is charged with indentifying and assuring that services are provided for individuals with communicative disorders within the State of Alaska. CLA - Center for Learner Assistance: A presently proposed program by the State Department of ----------------------- Page 121----------------------- Definitions: Education which is a functionally-oriented program which provides diagnosis, prescriptions nad follow-up for persons with hearing impairments. Placement Options: the placement options are possible approaches to handling children and adults with varying degrees of hearing loss with emphasis on their functional abilities. Diagnostic classroom: Provides a functional analysis of the individual's abilities. This classroom would be used when additional information is needed. An educational option would be invoked based on the recommendation of diagnostic and/or resource teacher. Functional Definitions: The following statement represents the rationale for these functional definitions: "Let us adopt as our guiding principles for educational placement and for therepy, the basic idea that will always look at the child and the way the child functions and responds to environmental sound, rather that merely the type of audiogram he may present." 1 Functions as if Mildly through Moderately Impaired: Individuals who have naturally acqired ability to use speech and language, but need special educational treatment, on either a ____________ 1 E.W. Johnson, Ph.D., "Let's Look at the Child Not the Audiogram". The Volta Review, Reprint No. 883, The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the deaf, Inc., Washington, D.C., 1967 ----------------------- Page 122----------------------- Definitions: Part-time or a full-time basis. Many of these persons will benefit from amplification. these individuals will generally understand conversation at a distance of three to five feet; may miss as much as 50 percent of class discussion if voices are faint or speaker is not in line of vision; may exhibit slight speech anomalies if hearing loss is of high frequency type; may exhibit limited vocab- ulary. with early identification, amplification (if applicable) and early educational intervention, these individuals should be able to function successfully, both academically and socially, in a hearing environment. Functions as if Moderately through Severely Impaired: Some of these individuals may have limited naturally-acquired speech and language while others will be without speech. Conver- sation must be loud to be understood and there is great difficulty in group and classroom discussion; will very likely be deficient in language usage; will have evidence of limited vocabulary; will probably have defective speech. with amplification and appropriate educational placement, some may develop the communication skills necessary in order to function successfully (academically and socially) in a hearing environment. Functions as if Severely through Profoundly Impaired: These individuals have not developed speech and language. Some of these persons will learn to communicate orally on a very limited basis. Individuals who function and though profoundly impaired may hear some loud sounds; or may hear some environmental noises, or may have no response whatever to sound; do not rely on ----------------------- Page 123----------------------- Definitions: Hearing as primary channel for communication. They will need a special class or school; some will be able to function in some reg- ular educational settings but most will complete their formal education in a special program. ----------------------- Page 124----------------------- Process for the Education of the Hearing Impaired (See flow chart) In agreement with the Department of Health and Social Services, the Public Health Service and the Department of Education, for high-risk populations were selected and arranged in the following priorities. 1. Native Children 2. Kindergarten through 3rd Grade 3. Congregated Preschool Children 4. Adults Initial audiometric screening of these different groups will be conducted by Public Health Nurses, Audiologists, Hearing and Speech Aides, Audiometrists and School Nurses. Those individuals failing the screening test will be reported to the Communicative Disorders Program. This information will be transmitted, after coding and keypunching, by the Centrel Office of the Communicative Disorders Program in Juneau to the Office of Systems Development, Public Health Service in Anchorage. The coded information is been forwarded to the computer located at Elmendorf Air Force Base. Individuals who fail the screening will be more thoroughly evaluated by pure- tone audiometry including air and bone conduction thresholds with appropriate masking. Referral for audiometric evaluation of suspected hearing loss may also be made by any concerned person. This generally includes parents, individuals, theachers, social workers, physicians or friends. Requests should be made to Public Health Nurses, School Nurses, Hearing and Speech Aides, Audiometrists or Audiologists. The audiograms are sent to the Communicative Disorders Program's (CDP) Central Office (Pouch H, Juneau, Alaska 99801) for interpretation and recommendations unless the tests have been performed by Audiologists. The Audiologists make their own recommendations and interpretation of the audiogram, retaining their own copy, and sent it to the CDP for distribution and inclusion in the data processing system. Copies of each audiogram are distributed to various agencies or persons such as the following: 6 ----------------------- Page 125----------------------- Physician - for treatment and use in diagnosis Public Health Nurse - for referral and to educate teachers Crippled children's Service - for information in order to acqurire funds for transportation Communicative Disorders Program - for a cross-check on the data processing system Audiologists - for follow up Schools - for the children's cumulative records Agencies by Request - academic follow-up Some of the audiograms will require a re-test, on a date logged into the computer for periodic follow up. The follow-up information desired by the audiologist and the frequency of that information is determined by the testing agency. The Screening Committee receives the print-out listing the children by village, severity of hearing loss and other relative information. the read-out is perused by the Screening Committee to determine the need for verification and/or further information. It is the responsibility of the Committee to insure complete diagnosis by either the involved agencies, a diagnostic center, the CLA or other professional personnel, or a combination of these. this process allows the Educational Placement Committee to take into considera- tion all factors - educational, psychological, physical and social - in order to determine the most appropriate educational placement for the individual. the Placement committee, after considering all factors, recommends to all involved agencies the placement of choise for each person considered. They will also specify alternate placement choices. It is expected that all agencies and/or individuals will do all within their power to adhere to the recommendations of the Placement Committee. the individual will then be place in an educational program by that agency which has the prime responsibility. 7 ----------------------- Page 126----------------------- The agency with prime responsibility will annually provide the Placement Committee with an educational report and other information as needed by them to plan and make recommendations for future program placements of the individual. the placement Committee will provide upon request, program evaluations, support, consultive services and program planning in order to assist any educational and/or placement agencey. ----------------------- Page 127----------------------- {Refer to original chart/PDF version ..' ,r-' , ----------------------- Page 128----------------------- EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS It is desirable that all hearing impaired individuals ultimately be able to function successfully in regular classroom settings both academically and socially; However,this will not be feasible for some individuals. Consequently, the educational options provide a variety of programs which can move those persons who are capable toward total integration into a hearing educational setting and which avoids labeling an individual and placing him in one program for his entire academic life. The most desirable educational program is dependent on the individual's social and psychological adjustment, communicative skills and academic achievement, evaluted often enough to determine his readiness for additional experiences or a change in program. possible educational options are presented below: PRESCHOOL OPTIONS: 1. Regular Preschool program: This is the most optimal educational alternative available to the preschool child. It consists of a fully integrated program wherein a hearing impaired child receives instruction in the classroom along with hearing children. 2. Home Preschool Program: his alternative provides help for the parents and child in their home setting by a certified teacher of the hearing impaired providing special instruction which must include some of the following: speech, speechreading, language, signing, fingerspelling, auditory training. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. 3. Preschool Services in Clinic: This alternative provides abililative services for the parents and children in a clinic on a scheduled basis by a certified teacher of the hearing impaired, providing special instruction which must include some of the following: speech, speechreading, language, signing, fingerspelling, auditory 9 ----------------------- Page 129----------------------- (Preschool Options, cont.) training. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. 4. Preschool class in Regular School: this alternative provides classes, taught by a certified teacher of the hearing impaired, within a regular school so kindergarten integration either partially or tatally can be a part of the child's program. This class wuld provide an academic program plus special instruction which must include some of the following: speech, speechreading, language, signing, fingerspelling, auditory training. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. 5. Preschool Program in Day School: this alternative would provide a separate school with a certified teacher of the hearing impaired presenting an academic program plus special instruction which must include some of the following: speech, speechreading, language, signing, fingerspelling, auditory training. this is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. Students would be placed in foster homes in the area. An on-going in-service training program for foster parents wuld be an integral part of the program. 6. Preschool Program in Residential School: this alternative would provide a separate school with dormitory facilities. Certified teachers of the hearing impaired would provide an academic program plus special instruction which must include some of the following: speech, language, speechreading, signing, finger- spelling, auditory training. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. Dormitory parents provide supervision during periods of time when the students are not attending classes. SCHOOL AGE OPTIONS: 1. Regular classroom: This is the most optimal educational alternative available. It consists of a fully integrated program wherein a hearing impaired person receives instruction in a classroom along with hearing students. 10 ----------------------- Page 130----------------------- (School-Age Options, cont.) 2. Regular Classroom with Assistance from a School Speech and Hearing Therapist: This alternative makes available all the resources and advantages of the regular classroom, however, the student is released from the classroom , as necessary, for special treatment by a speech and hearing therapist in the school. 3. Regular Classroom with Assistance from a Clinic: This alternative makes available all the resources and advantages of the regular classroom, however, the student is released from the classroom, as necessary for special treatment at a speech and hearing clinic. 4. Regular Classroom with Assistance from a Resource Teacher: This alternative makes available a resource teacher who provides specific supplementary academic assistance based upon the child's needs. 5. Regular Classroom with Assistance Provided the Teacher by an Area Resource Person (ARP) through the Center for Learner Assistance (CLA): This alternative could replace or supplement Options 1, 2, 3, 4, and/or 5 if it were implemented as recommened by the Planning Commi ttee for a Diagnostic and Evaluation Center. 6. Self-Contained Classroom for Those Who Function as though Hard of Hearing (in a Hearing School): This alternative makes available a certified teacher of the hearing impaired to provide an academic foundation as well as special instruction which must include language, speech, speechreading, auditory training in readiness for regular classroom integration. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. 7. Self-Contained Classroom for Those Who Function as though Deaf with Partial Academic and Total Non-Academic Integration into a Hearing Classroom: This alternative makes available a certified teacher of the hearing impaired to provide an acadenic program plus special instruction which must include speech, language, speech- reading, signing, fingerspelling and auditory training. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. 11 ----------------------- Page 131----------------------- (School age Options, cont.) It also provides tbe child with an opportunity to function with hearing children in non-academic activities as we11 as academic classes where he is functioning at the integrated grade level. 8. Self-contained Classroom for Those Who Function as though Deaf with Non-Academic Integration: This alternative makes available a certified teacher of the hearing impaired to provide an academic program plus special instruction which must include speech, language, speachreading, signing, fingerspelling and auditory training. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. It also provideS the child with an opportunity to function with hearing children in social areas i.e., physical education, lunch and recess in preparation for future academic integration. 9. Self-Contained Classroom for those who Function as though Deaf with no Integration: this alternative makes available a certified teacher of the hearing impaired to provide an academic program, as well as special instruction which must include speech, language, speechreading, signing, fingerspelling and auditory training in preparation for integrated experiences in the hearing school. This is not to be costrued to mean taht the program is limited to these areas of education. 10. Residential School for Those Who Function as though Deaf: this alternative would provide a separate school with dormitory facilities. Certified teachers of the hearing impaired would provide an academic program plus special instruction which must include speech, language, speechreading, signing, fingerspelling and 12 ----------------------- Page 132----------------------- (School-Age Options, cont.) auditory training. This is not to be construed to mean that the program is limited to these areas of education. Dormitory, Cottage and/or foster parents provide supervision during periods of time when the students are not attending classes. This is the least desirable option and not supported by the Task Force at this Time. ADULT OPTIONS: 1. Vocational Education: This alternative provides vocational training for entry level occupational skill for students who desire this type of experience. 2. College: This alternative may be a regular community college, a university program, Gallaudet College for the Deaf, or the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, depending on the individual's academic achievement and desire. 3. Vocational Rehabilitation: Any person who has a hearing impairment is eligible for vocational rehabilitation services. These services include diagnosis, physical restoration, education, training and relocation. 4. Sheltered Workshop: This facility provides work experience and work training for severely handicapped individuals. Stay Home: This option is occasionally invoked when the individual, parent or guardian choses not to enroll the student in the recommended program; rather, they choose to have them enrolled in their home school. (May apply to preschool, school-age and/or adult) . Additional Options: Additional options can be developed as the programs evolve and the need for other program options become evident. 13 ----------------------- Page 133----------------------- SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ~, ( The Task Force on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing recommends that planning efforts be directed toward the organization, design and construction of a centrally located complex that would provide assessment, instruction, training and necessary supportive services to the state's students who function as if profoundly deaf. The Anchorage Borough School District is presently serving 44 students in their program for the deaf, of which 27 are out-of-district pupils. The Communica- tive Disorders Program and u.S. Public Health Service have identified thus far an additional 66 deaf children who are also in need of a centralized educational program. Presently enrolled in Anchorage Borough 44 Others who have been identified 66 Out of state - BIA 5 Out of state - SOS 8 Out of State - DSOE Total number of deaf students out of state 18 Total 128 Preschool in Private Facility 13 Total 141 Because of this apparent need for specialized education for a population that is widely spread out geographically, it is recommended that a centralized program for the deaf be developed that can service students at all educational levels from pre-school through high school, providing academic as well as vocational preparation. At the present time approximately 18 hearing impaired children are being educated in out-of-state schools for the deaf. It costs approximately $5,000 per student. Not only must the actual dollars and cents being spent be considered but the cost in terms of human resources and human dignity be carefully analyzed. Many Alaskan deaf students are not successful in their out-of-state school placements. The great distance from home, the cultural differences, the lack of understanding the school staff members have for the Alaskan Natives produce many detrimental emotional and social side effects which can easily be documented. 14 ----------------------- Page 134----------------------- (Specific Recommendations Cont.) This program should be developed in Anchorage Because: 1. It insures enough students per class (maximum pupil-teacher ratio 6:1) so that all levels of education from pre-school through high school can be fully developed. 2. It aids in the provision and continuity of a consistent and strong academic and vocational curriculum. 3. It provides availability of educational options. (See page 8) 4. It provides accessibility of supportive services and agencies. (See Appendix A) 5. It provides accessibility to a variety of educa- tional options which increase the possibility of successful partial integration and supplementary services until the child is ready for a full-time integrated home-school placement. 6. It provides a higher quality of education than can be brought to the isolated deaf child in the rural areas. 7. It provides a facility closer to the child's home that will afford him the needed structure in his life academically, as well as, socially and emotionally. 15 ----------------------- Page 135----------------------- EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY Although the educational program for the deaf is developed at a centralized location, the ultimate goal for the educational transition of the student remains the same. That is; the potential of the student is to be developed to permit him to be educated in his home school, "if possible." The continuity and inter-relation- ship of the total state program for the hearing impaired allows for the proper mobility and transition of a student to and from the var- ious educational options. It also allows for those students who are unable to function at the various educational options other than the centralized program. Home School <--------> Satelite Center <--------> Centralized Program Transition Center in for Children who a Regular School Function as if Deaf In order to insure the educational success of a student, a . yearly evaluation or re-evaluation of the student's educational achievement, vocational abilities, and social skills must be com- pleted. This permits a continuous Movement of the student in the complete educational program design and requires continued evalu- ation by the professional staff. Therefore, supportive services such as prescriptive teachers, psychologists, and others should be developed to provide the student who leaves the centralized program the specialized and individual- ized educational assistance he requires for continued integration beyond the centralized program. The centralized program would also serve as the resource 16 ----------------------- Page 136----------------------- center for such persons as the prescriptive teacher. This would also permit the centralized program to assume the responsibility as the primary evaluation center to permit the proper type of contra-lateral mobility of students within the total program. 17 ----------------------- Page 137----------------------- HOUSING Because of the many emotional, educational, vocational and social implications of deafness, the deaf child should, wherever possible, remain with his own family (assuming the Family cares for the child). Unfortunately because of the dearth of local educational resources equipped to deal with the profoundly deaf child, it becomes essential to develop a centralized educational programe In Alaska this will, in many instances, be far removed from the child's home area and will necessitate the development of housing arrangements to accommodate the child while he is benefiting from the educational program. This Task Force recognizes the need for alternative types of living arrangements which may better meet the needs of a variety of children, that is foster homes, group homes, campus cottages and possibly apartments for older youth in preparation for moving into independent living. From a realistic standpdint, the Task Force is also aware that initially at least not all types of living arrangements may be feasible from an economic standpoint. In light of this the major priority for housing will undoubtedly be foster home accommodations. This will require the addition of one staff person in the centralized program to coordinate, locate and super- vise foster home placements for the deaf child. Not only should these homes meet accepted standards for foster homes certified by the state, but in addition special concern should be evidenced relative to the ability of the foster parents to meet a particular child's needs whether it be emotional, social, ect. It is also imperative that a training program be established for foster parents 18 ----------------------- Page 138----------------------- Housing to assure a continuity of philosophy, concepts and practices of communication from the school setting to the living situation. Not only must the "parents" understand how to communicate but must be able to recognize incipient behavior and emotional problems; to understand the basic human needs applicable to all human beings; the importance of recreational and social outlets and, most impor- tant of all, to be ab~e to provide the warmth, understanding, objectivity and controls needed by all children. A second priority would be the development of group homes large enough to accommodate six to eight students. The selection of these group house parents should be made using the same criteria as outlined above for foster parents. By the same token, they should receive appropriate training in working with the deaf child in the after-school hours. The third priority might be the establishment of small apart- ments for the older youth to provide them training in the problems of independent living they will soon be faced with. Included in this concept is the need for training of these young people in budgeting their money, learning how to deal with utility deposits, preparation of their own meals, taking care of their own laundry needs, etc. without such training, many of these young adults, after leaving the school program, may encounter real difficulties in attempting to move into independent living. 19 ----------------------- Page 139----------------------- EDUCATIONAL STAFFING PATTERN The optimum educational program would include the following: EDUCATIONAL for approximately 14 classrooms 1 Program Coordinator 14 Teachers of the Deaf 1 Home-Ec. Teacher 1 P.E. Teacher 1 Art Teacher 1 Shop Teacher 3 Supervising Teachers for each grade section (i.e. Jr. High) which can be chosen from the 14 Teachers. 1 Educator for: Parent Education Foster Parent Education Related Personnel Cottage personnel Community Education Minimum of 2 Prescriptive Teachers SUPPORTIVE 1 Psychologist 1 Social Worker 1 Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 1 Librarian 1 Visual Aid Specialist 1 Equipment Engineer 1 Audiologist Additional services should be contracted through local facilities. 20 ----------------------- Page 140----------------------- APPENDIX A ALASKA CRIPPLED CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION P.O. Box 1961 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 ALASKA TREATMENT CENTER 3710 East 20th Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99504 BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS Koloa Building 1659 C Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501 CHILD STUDY CENTER MacKay Building 338 Denali Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501 COMMUNICATIVE DISORDERS PROGRAM Department of Health and Social Services 525 East 4th Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99501 FAMILY EDUCATION PROGRAM 3710 East 20th Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99504 GREATER ANCHORAGE BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 670 Fireweed Lane Anchorage, Alaska 99503 STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Pouch F Juneau, Alaska 99801 UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA 2651 Providence Avenue Anchorage, Alaska 99501 VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION Department of Education MacKay Building 338 Denali Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501 21 ----------------------- Page 141-------------------- 1 February 1972 9 February 1972 11 February 1972 16 February 1972 There was a series of four hearing held with the committee by the Department of health and Social Services for purposes of con- sidering the Department's budget requests for 1973. These meetings were on February 1, 9, 11, and 16. The meeting on February 1 was attended by committee members chance, coletta and Whittaker. Printed material was distributed by Commissioner McGinnis showing the comparison between the amounts and in each of the budget request areas. The department also has a supplemental request in for $6,637,100 for funding of presently ex- isting underfunded programs. the increase in requests from 1972 to 1973 is $3,867,700 (9.8%). In response to questioning Mr. McGinnis said that the program of childrens and family services is not a direct grant program - that the state develops programs under federal cri- teria and is then reimbursed by the federal government. He said that there had been talk of setting a dollor limit on how much a state could receive but that there turned out to be no truth in this. He further stated that Alaska has not been taking full advantage of this program and has been paying a greater percentage in the field of social services than other states. Mr Adams then addressed the committee as to the budget request of the Division of Corrections. This division is requesting $9,304,500 which is an increase of $840,000 over last year's budget authorization. the majority of this increase will go toward funding 39 approved new positions including 17 in probation and parole, 1 in the Anchorage halfway House, 20 in institutions- 10 of which will go to McLaughlin Youth Center in Anchorage, and 1 research assistant. Some of the increase will provide for smoe expansion of programs and picking up of some programs previously federally funded. The departmenthas access to $3 million under title IV which will be used to increase the social service aspects of the Division of Corrections. The remainder of the increase includes pay raises, maintenance of equipment, etc. Mr Adams said that the focus and emphasis of the budget has been placed in the area of field services which includes probation and parole. Of these, 5 are clerical positions, 6 are already existing positions formerly federally funded and 6 are actually new positions. the division receives approximately 100 new probation and parole cases per year. the President's Crime Commission recommended a caseload of 35; the Alaska Officer usually averages a caseload of 50, though in December the average was 79. In small areas a probation and parole officer will handle both adults and juveniles; in larger areas like Anchorage they can specialize. In response to questioning about the volunteer probation program, Mr. Adams said that this has been very successful, that the success ration is much better than with the regular program and that the program has been expanded to Fairbanks. He said that the volunteers don't replace the trained staff members by that the volunteers can provide greatly increased services by way of being able to spend much more time ----------------------- Page 142----------------------- -2- with each person. Next to address the committee was Henry Harmon of the Office of Aging. He said that the original budget request had been $208,200 and had been reduced to $202,200. He had just received work that the state would be granted $301,485 by the federal govern- ment, with no matching funds required, for the purpose of developing community projects for the aging. The state can get $200,000 for administration if desired with a matching figure of $66,000 required. 6,687 or 2.28% of the population in the state is 65 years of age or over. Mr. Harmon said that he felt the key to the program was in having a program specialist who could go from one community to another helping communities to develop and set up their programs. Charles McLain, administrative officer of the Division of Mental Health, spoke next. He said that the only new program in the division's budget included the opening of a rehabilitation pro- gram unit at the Harborview Hospital in Valdez and a chemical depend- ancy unit at API for alcoholics and drug abusers who ask for help. It had been hoped to fund this last item through federal and bor- ough funds but that no one is sure right now how it will be done. In response to questioning, Mr. McLain said that Haven Acres is a facility in Oregon where the state has had 70 acutely retarded per- sons, mainly children, and that some of the children have recently been brought back to the state and put in Hope Cottage in Anchorage. He said that the large increase in requested funds for the community centers is due to the fact that federal grant monies have been de- creasing and that there was no increased authorization from the state for the current year. The Division of Mental Health has asked for $83,000 in the current department supplemental request. Commissioner McGinnis said that the state needs to review the entire range of mental health services and that the state psy- chiatrists have been overloaded. One man is responsible at this time for running API and providing leadership for mental health planning in the state. In order to alleviate this problem the department is actively recruiting to fill the position of director of mental health - a position which has been filled 2 1/2 years out of the past 15. The problem here is that it will require offering a higher salary than is included in the normal pay scale allowance and that possibly a special arrangement could be made whereby the person could be allowed to do some private practicing in addition to his state job, thereby enabling him to make some extra money and to keep up with his field. Mr. McGinnis said requests for help in the field of mental health are beginning to come in from bush areas and that a new look is required at assistance being given to existing community health centers and in developing new ones. A new look is required in the area of peo- ple in the custody of the state, such as those in jails, as to what the responsibilities of the state are to provide treatment and rehab- ilitation. There was discussion between Rep. Chance and Commissioner McGinnis with regard to methods of obtaining information needed to make up the department's budget. Mr. McGinnis said that the budget deadline for submission was in November but that rate hearings were not held until February. Rep. Chance said that the statute provided ----------------------- Page 143----------------------- -3- means by which pertinent data could be obtained via paperwork and be on hand when the budget requests were decided on and that a physical confrontation at a rate hearing was not necessary and that the provision for rate hearings was only left in the statute as a compromise measure to satisfy the previous Commissioner of the department. This meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m. On February 9th the meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Committee members present were Reps. Chance, Moore, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. This was a continuation of hearing the Department of Health and Social Services budget. Mr. Sullivan of the Office of Comprehensive Health Planning told the committee about his budget requests. He said that his bud- get was divided into areas - comprehensive health planning which is asking for $150,000 for maintainance level operation, and facilities- which comes under the Hill Burton Hospital Construction Program - which has budgeted for $76,000. The latter is an increase due to the fact that more federal monies have become available and the state has matched with more. In response to questioning Mr. Sullivan said that his office is not as far along with health planning as it would like to be. There is a planning office in Anchorage already feder- ally funded, one in Southeastern is in the process of being formed which hopes to be federally funded, designated agencies exist in Fair- banks and the Yukon area, there is an agency in Norton Sound that will ask to be recognized as a designated agency, Kenai is planning an agency and materials have been sent to Kodiak though no technical assistance has been requested at this point. He said that there is a possibility that more federal money will become available and this would help the state programs get going sooner and faster. In response to questioning as to how it is decided where comprehensive health planning agency funding will go, Mr. Sullivan said that there are federal specifications for spending these B agency funds and that there is only a limited amount of these funds available to be used for larger agencies that serve areas and not small local agencies. The Anchorage agency received $33,000 in federal funds and the rest from their borough. He said that there is a possibility that the regional native corporations will ask to be recognized as comprehen- sive health planning agencies. As to why the state does not request funding for areas that need health planning facilities he said that the governor's program doesn't allow enough money to do this. He said that the state gives only technical assistance to these agencies. The question was raised about a conflict over using money in the revenue sharing bill designated for hospital beds for health planning. Commissioner McGinnis said that this money is not designated strictly for hospital beds but for health purposes geared to hospital beds and that the only place this is being done is in Anchorage. Next to testify was Glen Wilcox, director for the state alcoholism program. The programs request last year was $654,300 and this year is $2,080,000 for grants to local communities and $353,000 for administration and consultation. Mr. Wilcox said that ----------------------- Page 144----------------------- -4- there is a new policy more local involvement, financially and otherwise. Last year $341,000 in non-matchable funds from local community contributions were received, $236,000 in local con- tributions of matcheable funds which when matched total $944,000, totaling $1,285,167 received through local efforts. The state's share was $520,000 which becomes $2,080,000 when matched. $200,000 was taken out of the budget by the governor which would mean having to reduce programs but does not affect federal matching funds. Mr. Wilcox, in response to questioning about treatment for alcoholic women, send that the tendency is for these programs to be co-educa- tional. He said that there is a new program at the University of Alaska called the Alcoholism and Addiction Studies Center which the division would fund for a basic staff including a director and sec- retary and will help with training where needed. An advisory board for the center will be appointed soon and will work under the pro- vost of the university. He said that there is decreasing emphasis on sending people out of state for training. He said that the Center is in the process of recruiting for a director but that it might be necessary to hire an interim director until one is found. The Center is also in the process of locating funding sources. In re- sponse to questioning, Mr. Wilcox said that the Aleut League had made application to the board of directors for a second year of funding for its program and that it seemed likely that this would be done. A packet of material on how to apply has been sent to all Native organizations in the state. This does require 10% participa- tion by the receiving group though this does not necessarily have to be in cash. The state would not be able to fund these Native applica- tions if they are not federally funded. Next the Division of Family and Children's Services' budget was presented. The amount requested is $43,604,000 and $10,628,000 will be received in federal funds for the food stamp program. The Aid For Dependent Children program as of December in- cluded 10,476 individuals and 3,250 families. These figures do not reflect the BIA caseload. There is a 25% increase each year. Unem- ployment in the state is now at 15%. BIA gives short term help to around 30,000 individuals per year and 9,000 families. These figures might be misleading, however, since BIA gives aid for only one month at a time and an eligible person must re-apply each month for contin- uing aid. BIA spends $2 to $3 million per year and give help on an emergency basis only. State cases in the Aleutian Chain are handled out of Anchorage and a worker goes out ever 3 to 4 months. In response to questioning about human service aids having trouble obtaining travel funds, Commissioner McGinnis said he would look into this. All of the 18 or 19 individuals who were trained as human service aids are still in the program. In order to get into the program must pass a test but little emphasis is placed on formal education and practical experience in related fields is considered. Human services aids are located in the villages they serve and are at a range 9 on the pay scale whereas social workers are at range 11. In response to questioning it was stated that the state has approximately 700 child- ren in its care at this time - 150 in institutions and 550 in foster homes, either individual or group. There is a great problem in lo- cating suitable foster homes and the only counseling available for foster home parents and foster children is by the caseworker. Counsel- ----------------------- Page 145----------------------- -5- use does lead to a more stable foster home situation with less turnover and less damage to the child. There is a request in the division's current budget for people who would be able to provide more counseling services - 2 to be located in Anchorage and 1 in Fairbanks. Over 50% of the total foster children are located in Anchorage. There is also a request in for an institutional super- visor to be located in Anchorage who would work on program and li- censing. In regard to social worker case load it was stated that the federal government at one time recommended a maximum load of 60 cases per work but that there are now no federal limits. The average case load in Alaska is 250 to 260 per worker including adult categories. Case loads are separated into juvenile and adult categories only in Anchorage. Home service aids carry some of the caseload and this is included in the 250-260 figure. There are approximately 80 social workers in the state including human service aids, but not including eligibility workers or clerical staff. Re- garding the difference between eligibility workers and case workers it was stated that the federal government requires separation of the two - eligibility workers do the paper work and the social worker goes out in the field. The eligibility worker doesn't need the same qualifications as the case worker and doesn't provide counseling but only interviews a person at his first visit to the agency. Additional personnel requested for the Anchorage office include: 1 case worker, 3 eligibility workers, 2 adoption workers, 3 marriage coun- seling workers, 1 to work in child supervision and 3 to work in foster care. Mr. McGinnis spoke on the food stamp program saying that it is not recognized as the major program that it is and that his department has submitted a special memorandum and report to the governor on the food stamp program status. $500,000 has been cut from the state food stamp program. Mr. McGinnis further said that his department had had a meeting with postal officials on the topic of selling food stamps in post office. This would save several thou- sand dollars for the state and would make the stamps available in far more locations than they presently are. It would be necessary to institute quality control programs to meet federal requirements for sale of food stamps. This would involve periodic checking of eligi- bility. $918,000 is needed for the food stamp program for 1972- 73 (30% of which would be federal funds) and the governor has auth- orized $408,000. At this point the meeting was adjourned to be continued. The third in this series of meeting was held on February 11th. Members present were Reps. Chance, Naughton, Moore and Specking. It was decided that HB 504 dealing with the Department of Health and Social Services supplemental request would be considered before con- tinuing with the bedget. Mr. Lang presented an overview of the supp- lemental request as follows: Public health - continuing service for the medical cost of the crippled children's program. Mental health - personnel services, partially to offset a large turnover and partially for a shift differential which went into effect recently. Division of Corrections: to offset cuts in requested overtime, some for shift differential. All overtime requested last year was cut out of the budget and 24-hour institutions need 24-hour personnel. ----------------------- Page 146----------------------- -6- Family and Children's Services: spread over most of the programs in the division and administration. The majority is in personnel services and $27,500 for administrative travel. Adult public assistance: Primarily due to underfunding in grants and for con- tractural nursing home care. AFDC: Grants, general relief, gen- eral medical relief - all related to caseload increase as the finance committee had cut the budget back to maintainance level. Food stamps: $24,000 for travel and the rest for personnel services. General relief: Rent, food, clothing. The general relief medical request is based on last yearts actual figures and projected increase. Child welfare services: $168,000 for the voluntary placement program (foster care) and $130,000 for full cost of care for institution- alized children. The voluntary placement program has been carried on in a very limited way under general relief. The supplemental is asking for money to implement the program for the final 6 months of the fiscal year. The biggest increase is in the area of general relief medical. Spending in this area has exceeded authorizations by over $100,000 at present. General relief medical is a seasonal thing and more is needed in the winter and early spring due to lack of seasonal work at those times. The actual expenditure in the area last year was $4,656,300. Commissioner McGinnis said that medical costs are paid with regard as to usual and reasonable charge but that medical costs are rising at least as fast here as elsewhere. He fur- ther said that the adoption of the Medicaid program is being consider- ed and that this would set fees and fix ceilings on costs. Federal price freeze guidelines have been set which limit further medical increases to 6%. It response to questioning as to whether fee schedmles and controls could be set under present statute, Mr. McGinnis said that this could be done through adjusting an existing fee sched- ule from another state, such as California, for Alaskan prices and use it that way. It was asked if someone could check bills coming in for payment to see if the medical treatment was applicable to the diagnosis. It was replied that some bills are checked now but that the state receives from 15,000 to 20,000 medical bills per year. It was suggested that a dollar limit be set and that all bills over that amount be checked. It was stated that doctors have discovered that they can get their patients declared medically indi- gent and get paid at once and that some doctors are taking advantage of this. The same standards are used for determining eligibility for medical relief as for general relief and that a check is first made to determine if the applicant is eligible for some other type of medical relief such as private insurance, public health service, veterans benefits, etc. It was said that sometimes doctors charge more if they know the state rather than an individual is paying the bill and that someone who is medically knowledgeable should do the initial screening in an attempt to keep doctors from padding bills. Commiss- ioner McGinnis said that this could be done and that the state has a doctor who screens dental bills before they are approved for payment. The state would have to change its regulations or statutes with re- ference to how much could be paid, change eligibility requirements or institute restrictive fee schedules. The use of Medicaid would save the state $3.8 million per year. Alaska and Arizona are the only states in the country without Medicaid. The Public Health Serv- ice now spends around $25 million per year in the state and the feel- ing is that this should become a state responsibility. ----------------------- Page 147----------------------- -7- Commissioner McGinnis said that the Public Health Service has asked for a review of all Indian groups in Region 10 with regard to health care responsibility. There was a discussion of levels of care needed in nursing homes and was stated that nursing home care has increased to $24 to $28 per day. Glenmore Nursing Home in Anchorage costs more because it offers a higher level of care and that patients can be moved out of the hospital sooner if they can get into Glenmore. The department negotiates contracts with Glenmore and Ridgeview and pays full cost of care to the other nursing homes in the state. The question was asked whether the amount asked for food stamps in the supplemental was adequate and it was stated that the program fluctuates during the year due to seasonal employment. Eligibility for food stamps is usually determined and rechecked every three months. Funding is being asked to buy safes to keep the stamps in as required by federal law. One safe is needed for each of the 20 districts. The safes have been bought but they have been bought with funds that have to be replaced. Budget and management disallowed the supplemental request for safes because they are included in next year's budget. Three new positions are being re- quested in the food stamp program. Commissioner McGinnins stated that the food stamp program is not adequately staffed and funded, that the federal government makes regulations and restrictions that the state cannot control and the state would like to get to a posi- tion where the program isn't operating in a constant state of em- ergency. He further said that he would like to get enough funding so that the program would not need a supplemental next year. Be- ginning April 1 food stamps will be sold in Anchorage post offices, other post offices will be used later and possibly all Alaskan post office eventually will be used for food stamp sales. It was mentioned that there might be special problems in some small areas where the post master is also the grocery store owner. Making the stamps avail- able in post offices would save some travel by food stamp personnel though they would still need to travel to check on eligibility_ 14 new positions (including some temporary) had been asked in the supplemental which had been decreased by budget and management to 7. Rep. Naughton made a motion that the bill be amended to show a request for food stamp operations of $500,000 and that totals be changed appropriately. Rep. Specking objected. The amend- ment was adopted. Rep. Naughton moved that the bill as amended pass. Rep. Specking objected and indicated no recommendation on the bill. Reps. Chance and Naughton recommended do pass and the bill passed. This meeting was adjourned to be continued. The fourth and final in this series of budget hearings was held on February 16th and focussed on the division of family and children's services. Mr. Harris stated that the department has asked all of the district offices to send in statistics showing case- load per worker and that this information will be passed on to the committee when received. In response to questioning about adequate travel funds for human service aids which serve rural villages, it was ----------------------- Page 148----------------------- -8- stated that these funds are currently part of the administrative travel allowance for the Bethel district office which is broken down by the Bethel district for travel needs in that district. The present departmental budget did not include input from the districts. Mr. Harris further stated that travel funds have not been cut and human service aids have not been told to reduce their travel. He told the committee that the human service aids live in 19 different villages and that each aid has about 3 other villages which it is responsible for. The aids work out schedules which allow them to visit each village approximately twice a month except in case of emergency. Most of the travel is done by boat and snow machine. The machines are owned by the aids themselves for which they are reimbursed by the department at the rate of 25¢ per mile which covers the high cost of fuel in the bush and maintainance of the machines. At this point it was stated that many of the problems that come to the attention of the committee involving the department seem to be due to lack of communication. The question was asked as to how long it takes for the department to answer TWXs directed to specific questions. The department said that there had been a problem with one person in the department who was not answering these promptly but that this has been remedied and that TWXs are now usually answered within 24 hours. This policy of answering within 24 hours has been instituted within the last 2 or 3 weeks. There was discussion of the time lag encountered by welfare recipients in receiving their checks. The department said that the main problem was encountered after the basic action form was initiated bY the social worker in getting the form from the department through the key punch system. It takes approximately 36 hours to process the application from fiscal to data processing. The administration depart- ment had aimed for a turnaround period of 10 days but it has not been able to meet this. It frequently takes longer than 30 days for a re- cipient to receive his initial check after filling out a basic action form and there have been reports received of problems in receiving subsequent checks. When a recipient changes his address and this in- formation is not received by the department before the checks are mailed out the check is automatically returned to Juneau. Commissioner McGinnis said that the department is reluctant to let checks go back to the local office or case worker and that it feels this would be bad auditing policy. The point was made that no one can cash the check but the person to whom it made out and that if the check were sent to the case worker the recipient could get it much sooner. It was further stated that much of the moving is done within an area when a recipient is evicted, etc. and that the case worker is the initial contact when there are problems with receiving a check. The department said that caseworkers know the deadline for notifica- tion of change of address and that the department plans to send this information out with the next batch of checks to the recipients them- selves. If a TWX is sent in to the department notifying of an add- ress change before the checks are sent out from Juneau the check will be re-addressed and mailed to the new address. It was stated that since most of the time lag in receiving checks under these circumstances is due to the checks returning to Juneau and having to be remailed perhaps the checks for the Anchorage area could be handled out of An- chorage instead of Juneau. Commissioner McGinnis said that these checks should be handled by a responsible agency and not by several ----------------------- Page 149----------------------- -9- individuals. He said that it was conceivable that checks for Anchor- age area recipients could be mailed from Anchorage and show an An- chorage return address and that he doesn't want social workers to have control of the checks. The question then was asked as to why recipients are encountering delays of up to 60 days in receiving day care checks. The department replied that for a period of 30 days in October and November the Department of Administration was closing out its fiscal year records and did not send out current checks during this time. It was further stated that this was probably not so much a lack of concern as a lack of maching capability in the Department of Administration and that this type of problem arose only at certain times of the year. Commissioner McGinnis said that his department's responsi- bilities are growing rapidly and that there is a rising unemployment rate and caseload at this time. The department has recently developed $20 million of additional federal programs of services without a concurrent increase in data processing machinery and capability. It is felt by the department that it shouldn't just add more personnel but that it should have more computer capability in either the Depart- ment of Administration or the Department of Health and Social Services. He stated that if Medicaid is initiated this will require more sophis- ticated machinery and possibly an understnading could be reached that would allow this machinery to also be used to handle Department of Health and Social Services work. In response to questioning about the programs previously mentioned, Commissioner McGinnis said that these are new, expanded, different and more programs designed to improve and extend social services. The question was asked about whether new services have been or are being initiated to aid juvenile runaways and their families. The answer was made that this type of service was included in some contracts now out but that there was no program specifically designed to deal with this problem. Commenting further on the $20 million of new federal prog- rams developed, Commissioner McGinnis stated that there had been a possibility that Title IV funds would have a ceiling placed on how much of them a state could receive. As a result of this the depart- ment was engaged in intensive activity aimed at setting up new programs in a hurry and submitting them in skeletal form; the department is now in the process of filling out the details of the programs which consist of some 30 to 40 major programs with cities, boroughs, insti- tutions, etc. The department at this time is working hard to get the contracts in final form and operable in the precise detail re- quired by federal guidelines. The department will be the channel for these programs with emphasis on local administration and control. Some contracts for services to juvenile runaways are being developed at present in Ketchikan and Juneau. A $1 million program is being developed in Fairbanks to expand and improve social services. The department will investigate the status of services to runaways and let the committee know. In response to questioning about staff development comm- unity workshops for those dealing with runaways, Commissioner Mc Ginnis said that there are funds available but that planning has not begun yet. The person who dealt with the department's staff develop- ment died in December and has not yet been replaced. ----------------------- Page 150----------------------- -10- It was stated that a person in child protection is working in Fair- banks to set up training sessions for social workers and other in- volved personnel and that the runaway problem will be included. After the Fairbanks session one will be set up in Anchorage. $14,000 in staff development funds is being used in this regard. It was pointed out that this type of workshop should include more than just the district representative - that all those who come in contact with the problems of child abuse and runaways should be involved - school counselors, social workers, court personnel, police, etc. Requests have been coming in to the department from rural areas for child protection workers. Human service aids and village health aids might often be the initial contact in cases of child abuse and should be included in training programs. This would cut down on needs for new personnel in the field. Jim McLain made a presentation to the committee on the possibility of the department establishing a children's bureau. He said that $250,000 in demonstration funds is available from Region X and is being considered for allocation to Alaska. It has been pro- posed to use these funds to demonstrate the feasibility of a chil- dren's bureau as a separate entity in the department including all forms of children's services. The comment was made that care would have to be taken to keep this from being just another channel for services. Commissioner McGinnis made the comment that the department thinks program planning has to be more closely related to real pro- gram need. Mr. Harris said that the division has asked for $475,900 in travel funds in the current budget. $74,000 of this is for the alcoholism program; the remainder is for travel for administration, aging, WIN, general assistance, disabled, family program unit, but does not include the child care staff at Alcantra. This request is an increase of $374,900 over last year; this increase is due to travel involved with administrating 60 to 80 services contracts for this year and the new allowance for alcoholism programs. In response to questioning about the WIN program, Mr. Harris said that the individual is evaluated by a caseworker as to the person's availability and desireability of job training and is next referred to a counselor at the Department of Labor. It was pointed out that reports have been received of women in Anchorage who wanted to be trained in the field of social services only to be told that the only options open to them were positions as beauticians or barbers & Mr. Harris said that the determination is made by the Department of Labor and that training is limited to the programs avail- able. He further stated, in response to questioning, that the de- partment does not work very closely with the Department of Labor in setting up training programs. He said that there are other labor programs available besides WIN and that trainees can take other courses available outside of WIN. It was pointed out that there are home service programs available at Anchorage Community College leading to an associate degree. Mr. Harris said that theoretically WIN trainees could take these courses but that it would depend on the amount of courses available and how long it would take to get through the course of study. ----------------------- Page 151----------------------- -11- Commissioner McGinnis told the committee that a report is being submitted to the governor regarding the department's need for more funds in some areas such as the food stamp program, and that it was hoped that the governor's commitment could be obtained to help strengthen existing weak spots in social services delivery sys- tems. This meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m. ----------------------- Page 152----------------------- {REFERENCES UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS SPECIAL EDUCATION CLEARANCE FORM/SEE ORIGINAL} ----------------------- Page 153----------------------- 17 February 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Members presents were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker Under consideration was the budget for State Operated Schools for fiscal year 1973. Stanley Friese, superintendent of SOS, first addressed the committee with regard to the problems in SOS schools in Southeast Alaska. He said that due to the unhappiness evidenced over the plan to move the area administrator from Ketchikan to Metlakatla SOS has recently been taking a fresh look at their administrative organization. The area served by SOS is broken down into 22 areas with an area ad- ministrator in each; SOS has decided to try and chance their admin- istration to fit in with the 10 AFN districts in which SOS has schools. SOS has a total of 777 students in Southeastern. Of these 479 (61%) are at Metlakatla and Annette Island, 39% are in Thorne Bay and the surrounding area, with 13% in Thorne Bay itself. With the cutback in administravel funds for this year it is probably that the area administrator will be able to visit each area 2 to 3 times per year. The pupil-teacher ration in Southeastern is low - some- times as low as 1:6 - with the average being 1:14. Annette and Met- lakatla are the districts which present the most problems at this point. The problem in Metlakatla is due to lack of preparation and planning to prepare the community for the opening this fall of a high school based on the open classroom concept. It was felt by SOS that locating the area administrator in the area might help to solve this problem. Mr. Friese stated that there is a capable per- son located in each of the 13 logging camps served by SOS. If four teachers were eliminated in areas with very low pupil-teacher ratios $56,000 would be saved which could be used to provide a full time director of curriculum, a full time nurse, a full time reading specialist and more area travel. Mr. Borganof the Alaska Loggers Association spoke on the same topic as Mr. Friese, saying that there had been no objection to the moving of the area administrator from Thorne Bay to Ketchikan but that there was objection to moving him from Ketchikan to Metla- katla. Mr. Borgan said that the schools in the' logging camps require more and closer supervision. Mr. Friese stated that there had been an area administra- tor located in Metlakatla until two years ago and that Metlakatla felt that it had had no input into the decision to move the admin- istrator to Ketchikan. Mr. Borgan said that the members of his asso- ciation would want assurances of frequent visits by the administra- tor to the logging camps and that it would be harder to get out of Metlakatla than Ketchikan due to weather and travel restrictions. The possibility was mentioned that maybe Metlakatla already has enought admin- istrators due to the fact that it has the most students and the other areas might feel neglected. Other schools in the area are afraid that the administrator might be so involved in getting the new Met- ----------------------- Page 154----------------------- lakatla school going that he wouldn't have enough time for the other schools in the area. Mr. Friese said that SOS is in the process of actively recruiting to fill the position of area administrator at Angoon where the present administrator has given notice of intention to leave. He also said that SOS thinks the best way to solve the whole problem in Southeastern would be to leave Mr. Hill as area administrator in Ketchikan to handle that area and outlying areas and to put someone in Metlakatla who would function as an area ad- ministrator but would be responsible only for Metlakatla and Annette. Committee members agreed that this would solve the problem. Mr. Breimo, associate superintendent of SOS, told the committee that the area administrator concept was begun on 1967 when an administrator was put in Metlakatla. Later an administrator was added at Thorne Bay. Last year the administrator was moved from Thorne Bay to Ketchikan and the administrator at Metlakatla was eliminated - in effect combining two administrative positions. If the position of administrator is now reinstated at Metlakatla this will go a long way toward solving the present problem. At this point the SOS budget was discussed by Mr. Friese, Mr. Breimo and Mr. LaDocas, assistant to Mr. Breimo. SOS feels that its top problem is in the area of business services and fiscal responsibilities. Some services previously operated by the Depart- ment of Education had not been completely planned for during the period of transition and had not been entirely prepared for at the time of complete take over from the department. A simplified form of the SOS buaget document was distributed to the committee showing priorities and costs in 15 different areas. Approximately 70% of the budget is in the area of personnel services which includes salaries of all employees. The four categories of budgeting are rural schools, military schools, resident tuition and the central office in Anchorage. Classified personnel include, for example, such non- certificated personnel as cooks, bus drivers, teachers aids, etc. The governor had wondered what the effect of the land claims settle- ment and take over of BIA schools would be on the budget, and was told by SOS that there would be no change and that rural schools would continue to be funded as in the past as long as no revenue was being received from the lands. SOS had requested last summer that the Division of Buildings be transferred from the Department of Public Works back to the Department of Education. Division of Buildings asked for $2,300,000 to do necessary maintainance work on SOS schools but did not request that it be included in the SOS budget, so the Division will continue to do SOS maintainance work for the next year under the Department of Public Works. Ccontracted services include such things as electricity for schools, rents, utilities. SOS asked for $40,209,500 in this category and was granted $34,734,000 by the governor's review committee. At this point SOS has to reduce its budget and go back to the review committee and show it what programs will have to be cut under the governor's budget allowance and which programs cannot be cut and will have to have additional funds. The review committee cut $33 million from the category of teacher sal- aries in spite of the fact that part of this is a previously negotiated item. ----------------------- Page 155---------------------- SOS had wanted to make many of its temporary positions into permanent positions this year - most of them part time - so that these employees would not have to re-apply for the position each year and so that they would be able to receive benefits not available to temporary employees. In response to questioning as to whether the governor's committee had specified which positions to eliminate, SOS said that cuts has been made in personnel services and in order to meet this cut 258 positions would have to be eliminated including 49 new teachers, 33 new teacher aids and all other new positions re- quested including permanent part time and new temporary positions. In this category $1,278,000 is in jeopardy, with $438,500 for new positions and $839,708 in currently filled positions. In answering questions about SOS teachers it was said that 202 (39%) of the teachers are at the maximum pay range, 115 (22.68%) are at a masters level or above and the average pay is $14,500 per year. The foregoing figures are for rural schools. For military schools III teachers are at master level or above (23.27%) and 217 are at maximum pay level with the average pay being $13,500. The maximum pay range is $21,745 per year which is for someone with 12 years experience and other qualifications. The budget under con- sideration includes a 5.5% pay raise for teachers. This includes the normal step raise for those who qualify for it plus a 3.5% pay increase over and above the step raise. The mediation board had recommended an 11% raise and the board granted 3.5%. 39% of the teachers are already at their maximum step level and will not have a step increase this year which means that the 5.5% step raise in- cluded in the budget is actually higher that what will be used in this category and the excess will go toward covering the 3.5% pay increase. Mr. Breimo said that teacher pay nogotiations hadn't been comp completed when the budget was made up and that negotiations should be held a year in advance. Mr. Friese said that it is planned to get started on negotiations in the near future and that at least one round should be completed before March 17. $35,000 was negotiated for extracurricular activities for rural schools and the governor's committee didn't allow any of it. Negotiations for teacher travel to and from duty stations was $60,000; the governor's committee allowed $23,700. The budget request this year was a $4 million increase over last year and allowed for maintaining at last year's level plus a 5% increase overall. Mr. La Docas said that SOS tries to budget by program but the administra- tion makes cuts and allowances by item. If SOS could count on getting foundation funds and PL 874 funds each year it would have a stable amount each year on which to base its budget. At present, when its PL 874 funds go up the state reduces what it will allow. If more funds than expected from PL 874 funds come in the excess goes to the gen- eral fund and the SOS allowance is reduced by the amount of the ex- cess. Rep. Chance stated that it seemed obvious that SOS needed to establish fiscal procedures to deal with the practice of line iteming. In response to questioning about whether a process has been set up for next year to make specific requests, it Was stated that SOS would start at the grassroots level getting input from teachers, etc. and work on up to the top. SOS is currently in the process of renogiat- ing its negotiated package. This must be done before March 17th or the agreement will expire and a new one would have to be developed. ----------------------- Page 156----------------------- Mr. Friese said that the present negotiation agreement sets out pro- cedures for negotiation including time frames. At this point Jim Henry, coordinator of federal projects, discussed distribution of Title I federal funds, giving examples of what criteria are used in determining eligibility for receipt of these funds. The primary criterion is that of degree of impoverish- ment and the problem is that no matter how this is determined, some- one is left out. BIA schools are all automatically 100% eligible for these funds under federal law. Some SOS schools are eligible and some are not. A poverty index is established by taking into consideration such things as income of parents if known, receipt of aid to dependent children, welfare payments, unemployment, free school lunches, health and housing statistics and anything else that is directly relevant to poverty situations. The criteria now being used by SOS are aid to dependent children and BIA welfare. ----------------------- Page 157----------------------- 18 February 1972 The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. First to be considered was HB 473 relating to school attendance areas. Rep. Chance asked that section (b) be amended to read, "Pupils may be required to attend schools in other dis- districts when the judgment of the commissioner" the best interest of the student "(instead of state) "will be served." Rep. Whittaker asked unanimous approval of the amendment. Rep. Specking objected. The amendment was adopted. Rep. Whittaker asked that the bill as amended pass unanimously. Rep. Specking objected. The bill passed with Reps. Chance, Moses and Whittaker recommending do pass and Rep. Specking indicating no recommendation. Next to be considered was SB 126 allowing the Professional Teaching Practices Commission to appoint an executive secretary. Nat Cole, Director Administrative Services, Department of Education, testified on the bill. He said that the department favors and recommends passage of the bill. He submitted a fiscal note to mem- bers of the committee and dictated some changes to be made due to the fact that the note was a year old. In response to questioning Mr. Cole said that there are no published standards for teachers that he knows of and that the commission is now in its third year of operation. Continuing to answer questions, Mr. Cole said that the salary listed on the fiscal note is intended as a maximum one and was set by the author of the bill. The position needs a highly qualified person who will have to sit in on negotiation and arbi- tration proceedings. It might be possible to find someone for less but that probably it will have to be someone with educational, labor and possibly legal background and that will entail paying a salary commensurate with those qualifications. There have been 3 to 4 com- complaints filed per year with the commission since its inception and has held grievance hearings for teachers and administration. Mr. Cole went on to say that he feels a full time person is necessary as the commission has had to use existing staff personnel in this position in the past and that it could function more effectively if a full time person were available. The commission was not given ade- quate staff when created. The recommended maximum salary of $32,000 per year includes $2200 per month plus the 17% state benefits. It is contemplated that the position will be financed through raising the teaching certification fee from $10 to $35. The commission was originally funded by means of raising the certification fee from $5 to $10. Approximately 2000 certificates are issued each year, and the state has the authority to set certification fees.' Bob Cooksey of NEA Alaska testified on the bill. He said that the commission originally got off the ground as primarirly a volunteer organization consisting of professional people and getting off to a slow start but that its work load has grown greatly. He said that he has recently spoken to the chairman of the commission who ----------------------- Page 158----------------------- feels it is imperative to have a full time person in the position in order to get the job done that the commission was established to do. The commission has had many requests for help with problems this year. The executive secretary would have to track down reports of problems, handle correspondence, set hearings, etc. and would offer stability and continuity and would also deal with follow up work. The commission has checked on and made recommendations re- garding the teacher training programs at the University of Alaska and Alaska Methodist University. Mr. Cooksey also said that the commission has adopted NEA's code of ethics to use as guidelines. The commission deals with problems above and beyond what can be handled locally, some of which go on to court. In response to questioning, Mr. Cooksey said that the commission could handle such problems as the one that exists between SOS and DOEA and that this might be a better solution than publicizing it. The question was raised as to whether the commission would or should handle prob- lems normally taken care of by school boards. Mr. Cooksey said that while anyone could take a complaint to the commission, an at- tempt was normally made to handle them at a lower level first. Bill Overstreet of the School Board Association said that the association has no position on the bill and that he agrees with what has been said. He said that the commission could deal with problems now sometimes erroneously submitted to the legis- lature for solving. Mr. Cooksey said that the commission is now part of the Department of Edcuation's budget and that it is beneficial to the public as well as the profession, that its use has resulted in savings in legal expenses and that it could conceivably at some time use some financial assistance from the state. Rep. Whittaker said that he favors the bill but would like to hold it until the committee receives copies of the standards and regulations of the commission. Mr. Cole made the point that he is not advocating placement of the commission within the department. At 2:10 p.m. the meeting was recessed until 11 a.m. Monday, 2/21, when it will reconvene in Committee Room 5. ----------------------- Page 159----------------------- 21 February 1972 The House Health, Welfare and Education reconvened at 12:03 p.m. Members presents were Repso Chance, Colletta, Specking and Whittaker. Under consideration was Senate Bill 126. Rep. Whittaker began by addressing questions concerning the duties and past activities of the Professional Teaching Practices Commission to Jeff Jeffers, representative of the Alaska State Department of Education on the Commission. In response to his questions, Rep. Whittaker was told that: 1. The Commission had addressed itself to the area of teacher training in the summer for certification purposes; 2. No recommendations for teacher certification require- ments had been made by the Commission, but the requirements had been reviewed; 3. While the issuance or denial of teaching certificates had been considered by the Commission in certain instances, no de- cisions of the Department of Education have been reversed by the Commission. Discussion ensued on the new position of executive secretary, which Senate Bill 126 establishes for the Commission. A question about the maximum salary level (Range 26, step B) specified in the bill was raised by Rep. Whittaker. Rep. Chance responded that the salary range was identified in the legislation as a maximum level and that the person hired as executive secretary would not necessarily be paid at that range. She asked the Department of Education repre- sentatives present what the department's procedures for recruiting for this position would be. Rep. Chance clarified her question by asking if the department would recruit for the position at the max- imum pay range. Commissioner Lind responded that the department would probably not start recruiting for the position at the maximum pay range, but that he did not feel it was wise to place constraints on the department in regard to the upper level that might be paid. Mr. Van Hout of NEA Alaska added that the responsibility for the select- ion of the executive secretary would be the Commission's. Rep. Specking noted the present statutory provision that designates that the operation of the Commission are paid for by cer- tification fees. He added that no he had no reservations in signing the bill do pass but that he feared that the state would be asked to fund the Commission's operations next year. Rep. Specking then moved do pass on Senate Bill 126 and asked for unanimous consent. There were no objections. The meeting was adjourned at 12:35 p.m. ----------------------- Page 160----------------------- 23 February 1972 This meeting of the House HWE Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. First under consideration was HCR 38 providing for the appropriation of funds for the Legis- lative Council subcommittee on higher education for purposes of paying for consultant services necessary to assure a complete and comprehensive follow up report on the implementation of the sub- committee's report, together' with any new recommendations that may be necessary. Gene Guess, a member of the subcommittee, spoke to the committee in favor of the resolution. In giving some background Rep. Guess told the committee that the subcommittee was formed last July and that shortly thereafter it interviewed several potential consultants. The firm of McLean and Associates was hired because the subcommittee liked McLean's idea of bringing administrators in from other universities which had problems similar to those of Alaskan universities. The result of the subcommittee's work was the report which was unanimously adopted and has been issued. The subcommittee was involved in working out consortium agreements between University of Alaska - AMU and Sitka Community College Sheldon Jackson; these agreements are to be overseen by the Legis- lative Council. The funds being asked for will be used to finance McLean and Associates for another year and to oversee the consor- tium agreements. Rep. Guess said that he believes the legislature has initiated something that will do a great deal of good and that it shouldn't stop now. In response to questioning, Rep Guess said that the reason the funds were being requested in this manner is due to the fact that the Finance Committee has taken the position that the body should pass on the request before it is included in the supplemental request. The question was asked whether private institutions such as AMU and Sheldon Jackson would abide by the decisions and recommendations of McLean and Associates. It was pointed out that the consultant is making its suggestions to the Legislative Council and that the recommendations and direction to the univer- sities would come from the state and not the consultant. It was further stated that the consortium agreements provide for dual use' of facilities and that there is state money involved. Senator Merdes, chairman of the subcommittee, said that the consultant had been valuable in helping the members of the subcommittee to know how to ask intelligent questions and to find answers to the questions they had so as to be able to respond to the universities. Rep. Guess said that the legislature had put money into AMU last year and would probably be asked to do so again and should understand the ramifications of this action. Rep. Specking asked a unanimous do pass vote on the resolution. Rep. Colletta asked if the consortium agreements were an offshoot of the subcommitteets studies. Senator Merdes and Rep. Guess replied that the consortium ideas had predated the subcommittee but that they had not been previously reduced to wRiting and that they were not being enforced. This resolution passed with all members present recommending do pass. Senator Merdes spoke to the committee about CSSB 236 am, ----------------------- Page 161----------------------- -2- which he sponsored, providing for an act establishing a food service and nutrition education program for children; and providing for state participation in similar federal programs. He said that he appre- ciated the Committee's considering the bill so soon after receiving it. He went on to say that studies have shown that children of families at all income levels are being poorly nourished. There is a federal bill under consideration in the U.S. Congress which will provide for universal free school lunches and nutrition education in the schools. If this bill is passed at the federal level it would be optional at the state level. At present it is necessary to establish eligibility through poverty criteria before a child can receive a free lunch. The bill suggests that school districts establish nutrition education programs and eliminates the poverty test for free food. It was felt that it would be best to get the bill through and use it as a 3-year pilot program; there is a good chance that the program will be totally federally funded including equipment. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 19 to 1. At this point Nat Cole of the Department of Education distributed fis- cal materials to the committee. Commissioner Lind made some comments regarding the proposed legislation. He said that the department strongly supports the bill and supports the addition by the Senate that would make adoption of the program permissive and at the option of individual school districts. He gave as reasons for his support of the bill the facts that (1) the problem of districts having to determine eligibility for free lunches and breakfasts would be elim- inated, and (2) the nutrition education program would be of great value and would fulfill a need that present nutrition education is not. Commissioner Lind further said that he would like Alaska to be one of the pilot states; Massachusetts has already passed similar legislation. He feels that the value of hot lunch programs is very high and that free lunches should be provided in the bush where many schools do not now receive them at all. He said that in the past people had been thinking only in terms of Type A lunches which re- quire full kitchen equipment but that recently Nome has had success with serving frozen pre-cooked lunches which require less equipment and personnel. At this point Margaret Dawes, food service coordina- tor for the Department of Education, spoke to the committee, first giving some statistics relating to food service to schools in the state. Of 91,000 school children in the state 76,000 receive some food services and over 15,000 receive none at all. The average cost last year per lunch was 72¢. Of this amount the state contri- buted 5¢ and the federal government 26¢. If the lunch was received by a child who could not pay the federal government paid the differ- ence and in other cases the difference is paid by the recipient of the lunch. The foregoing figures apply to Type A lunches. Of SOS schools in the state 75 have Type A lunches, 47 have Type B lunches and 26 have no food services. If the federal legislation passes 10 areas would be chosen as pilot programs and would be federally funded at 100% of cost. It is felt that Alaska would be strongly considered if interest were indicated. In response to questioning about the components of Type B lunches, Ms. Dawes said that it includes lesser amounts of food than Type A but that the quality is the same. ----------------------- Page 162----------------------- -3- Type A lunches include much perishable food; Type B use more canned and other types of non-perishable food. Type B programs receive no federal funds and are used only in SOS schools. These programs are funded by the state. Type A programs receive, for example, turkey, ground beef, chicken, butter, fruit, vegetables, beans and dry milk (used only for cooking). Fresh milk is also provided. There was a dis- cussion of problems involved with the acceptance or non-acceptance of school lunches by students. Ms. Dawes said that she felt that nutrition education programs would help children realize the import­ ance of eating properly and that acceptance depends on how the pro- gram is handled by the districts. Rep. Colletta said that he had recently had a survey of two schools performed in Anchorage that showed a large percentage of the food served in school lunches was being thrown away by the children. In response to questioning, Ms. Dawes said that a great many problems had been encountered in ini- tiating the school breakfast program, that people had said that it was the parents' responsibility to provide breakfast for their child- ren but that the program is working very well and that there has been noticeable improvement in the quality of school work of child- ren who previously had not been receiving breakfast or who had been receiving inadequate nutrition. It was pointed out that there is a program in Juneau involving homemakers and bome health aids going into the home to educate parents about nutrition and working through the school nurse. When the national bill goes through participating states will have to provide matching funds. Regarding the question of what would happen if a program were set up where recipients could voluntarily pay for lunches if they so desired, it was pointed out that this type of program would not be eligible for federal funding. Mr. Cole said that he felt there was a section in the bill which did not make it clear whether this legislation would be in effect whether or not the federal bill passes and that if the federal bill doesn't pass the state would have to fund the whole program. He explained that the general fund money included in the fiscal note is the 20% that the state would have to pay as its share of the fed- eral program if it goes into effect. It was explained that of the 72¢ cost per lunch 48% is for food, 43% for labor and 9% for other costs. Commissioner Lind said that $1.00 per child will be made available for the nutrition education program - half from the state and half from the federal government. In response to a question regarding the extent of departmental influence on school curriculum, Commissioner Lind said that the department exercises very little influence outside of setting criteria for high school graduation and that curriculum is a local option. He further stated that he doesn't like the idea of the state dictating curriculum content. Rep. Whitt- aker made the point that maybe people at the local level would like to see the state in a position of leadership and not one of regula- tion. Commissioner Lind said that the state is hoping to move in this direction and that the food waste factor is not present in sig- nificant amounts in rural areas where real hunger often exists. The question was posed as to whether free lunches are really needed in the state. Ms. Dawes responded that 36% of the school lunches distributed in the state are now free and that there are over 15,000 children att- ----------------------- Page 163----------------------- -4- ending either SOS schools or some rural district schools where lunches are not available at all. Ms. Dawes said, in response to questioning, that she has no statistics showing the relationship between amount of protein in the diet and level of achievement in school. When asked which areas have no food programs, Ms. Dawes said that these are mostly on-base schools where the need is not as great as it is in the rural areas. Roberta Alward, president of DOEA, who was in the audience, said that she knows of some rural teachers who provide breakfasts for students who otherwise wouldn't have one, especially in the lower Yukon, Nome and Kotzebue areas. She said that it has been difficult to implement nutrition education programs in bush areas and that in some cases the programs have already been written up but that funds are not available. These types of programs serve a special need in areas that are now in the process of changing from a situation in which the people live off the land to one where they buy their food from the store and do not know how to choose a bal- anced diet. Ms. Dawes said that there are 20 SOS schools which receive no state funds for food services. Rep. Naughton asked for unanimous passage of the bill and said that he would like to see a real effort made to get food service programs into the SOS schools which presently have none. Reps. Colletta and Specking indicated no recommendation with all other committee members present signing do pass. During this meeting several committee members received telegrams which were overwhelmingly in support of this bill. The meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m. ----------------------- Page 164--------------------- {Page 64-65 reference Budget comparison/analysis January 1972, see original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 165----------------------- ----------------------- Page 166----------------------- COMMENTS BY FREDERICK McGINNIS, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES BEFORE THE HOUSE HEALTH, WELFARE & EDUCATION COMMITTEE February 1, 1972 - 1:30 PM Mr. Chairman, Representatives: The Department of Health and Social Services has been requested to appear before you to review the Department budget for FY 1973 as presented by Governor Egan. A brief introductory statement will be given, after which time I will request the division directors or separat office heads to present their budget segments. The format developed includes a short for- mal presentation with time allotted for questions and answers. Discussion of the supplemental Request for FY 1972 will be deferred until tomorrow when the Divisions of Family and Chilren Services and Mental Health will be in attendance. As you are all well aware, by this time, the State has adopted a new ap- proach to budget preparation and presentation beginning with the FY 1973 budget. This has resulted in problems which are inherent with any system change. The problems are not insurmountable, but you will perhaps have ----------------------- Page 167----------------------- some of the same difficulties in relating the previous budget format to the new. To assist you in this effort I am providing you with a Budget. You will note that the bottom of page 2 of the handout compares FY 1972 and FY 1973 funding for the Department with some attention given to the supplemental appropriation and the sources of funding. This is necessary to indicate the relatively small increase in State General Funds in the FY1973 budget request. It has been learned the $400,000 item noted under General Administration Total on page 1 of the analysis and designated "H&W move" reflects funds added to the budget during the Governor's Budget Review process for re- location and related costs in Juneau of the Department during FY 1973. The building currently occupied is scheduled to be razed during the summer of 1972 to allow the construction of the State Court Building. Since the $400,000 does not reflect in any way the present expenditure pattern, the amount has not been included in the Administration and Support, De- partment of Health and Social Services Budget Request Unit. At this time, I would also like to point out that the request of the De- partment for FY 1973 is in line with the "maintenance leel with no supple- mental request" concept guidance given by the Governor. Two major factors as indicated must be taken into consideration when comparing the FY 1972 authorized budget with the FY 1973 Request in light of the "maintenance level" statement. ----------------------- Page 168----------------------- 1. The Department has a Supplemental Appropriation Request of $6,637,100 pending. These funds have been requested to fund existing programs at their current level which were underfunded for estimated case- loads, uti1izatiop, or unrealistic vacancy and turnover reductions; and 2. There has been an increase of $20,535,100 for Purchase of Social Services under the Social Security Act, Titles IV and XVI. This amount is made up of Federal and Program and Receipts. Thus, the Department of Health & Social Services shows an increase of State General Funds from FY 1972 to FY1973, considering the FY 1972 Supplemental Request as part of this year's total of $3,867,700. This reflects an increase of 9.8%. The information as to where these in- creases occur in the budget request will be given as the division or separate office director has made his presentation. As a final note, the Department has recently entered into a contract with the Department of Administration to operate the Pioneers' Homes. Legislation which would transfer the responsibility to this Department is pending before this Legislature. The budget as presently constituted does not reflect funding within this Department for operation of the Pioneers' Homes. ----------------------- Page 169----------------------- STATE OF ALASKA MEMORANDUM TO: The Honorable William A. Egan Governor of Alaska Date: February 28, 1972 From: Frederick McGinnis, Commissioner Subject: Supplemental Appropriation Department of Health & Social Services Fiscal Year 1972 Earlier I indicated to you that the Department was in position to reduce the supplemental request for FY 72 by a substantial amount. In line with that conversation, we reduced the supplemental request by $1,198,000. In addition, we have further reduced it by $800,000 so that the total supplemental request is currently $4,914,200 as reflected in the attached proposed redraft of bill submitted to the House Finance committee in line with their request. This report is for information only FM: smb Attachment ----------------------- Page 170---------------------- Original sponsor: Rules committee by Offered: Request of the Governor Referred: IN THE HOUSE cs FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 504 IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA SEVENTH LEGISLATURE A BILL For an Act entitled: "an Act making supplemental appropriations to the Department of Health and Social Services; and pro- viding for an effective date." BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: * Section 1. the sum of $4,914,200 is appropriated to the Department of Health and Social Services for estimated unfunded operating costs for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, to be allocated according to the following schedule: Public Health $147,700 Mental Health 83,500 Corrections 300,000 Family Services 4,383,000 Adult Public Assistance 1,001,600 Food Stamps 500,000 General Relief 140,400 General Relief-Medical 2,343,700 Child Welfare Services- Juvenile Code 298,300 Funding General Fund 4,357,600 Federal Program Receipts 556,600 ______________ $4,914,200 * Sec. 2. This Act takes effect on the day after its passage and approval or on the day it becomes law without approval. ----------------------- Page 171----------------------- {Page 171-172 refer to Page 169-170, referenced same memo} ----------------------- Page 172----------------------- ----------------------- Page 173----------------------- STATE {STAMPED RECEIVED MAR 09, 1972, OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER} OF ALASKA MEMORANDUM Date: March 6, 1972 Subject: February 16, 1972 Request for Information of Scheduling of Child TO: The Honorable Genie Chance Protection Workshop House of Representatives Alask State Legislature Thru: Frederick McGinnis Division of Health and Social Services Thur: Stanley P Harris, Director Division of Family and Children Services By: Brenda Higgins Child Protection Supervisor Division of Family and Chilren Services In reply to you inquiry, I would like to advise you that I am planning a March 16 and 17 Child Protection Workshop in conjunction with the GAAB Health Department. The workshop will be held in Anchorage and will be atteended by district representatives and social wokers from our South Central and Northern Regions. Also in Attendance will be public health nurses, teachers, school counselors, court representatives and some law enforcement officers from the Anchorage area. We have invited health aides from the remote areas, but their attendance has not yet been confirmed. A second Child Protection workshop will be held in Anchorage during June, when Dr. Henry Kemp from the University of Colorado Medical School will be keynoting. Depending upon the needs and interests expressed in the March workshop, I hope to plan follow-up training sessions in the individual districts and throughout the coming months. I have already received requests from Ketchikan and Bethel for such sessions. SPH/BH/jrt ----------------------- Page 174----------------------- 24 February 1972 This meeting was called to order at 1:45 p.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moses, Naughton and Specking. Considered first was HB 467 providing financial incentives to dis- tricts who want to investigate the adoption of the extended school year. Language that had been requested for the committee substi- tute from the department has been received and it was thought best to consider this bill first so as to avoid confusion between the extended school year and the community school concept. Rep. Naughton asked unanimous adoption of the committee substitute. There were no objections and the committee substitute was adopted with Reps. Chance, Moses and Naughton recommending do pass and Reps. Colletta" and Specking recommending no recommendation. Next to be considered was HB 695 applying to community school funding. Bill Overstreet of the School Board Association spoke in favor of the bill. He said that the bill is patterned after existing statute in Florida and reflects the idea that schools should be used for varying programs and people. Mr. Overstreet introduced Larry Horyna, director of the Northwest Center for Community Education, University of Oregon, who was in Juneau at the invitation of the legislature to testify on this bill. Mr. Horyna told the committee that he is responsible for the development of the community school idea in states included in the northwest region which is one of 14 regional divisions. He said that he has received requests for information on the community school concept from several Alaska communities. Five states in the last three years have adopted legislation for community schools - Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Utah and Minnesota. 10 other states are presently considering legislation. There is a bill at the federal level pro- viding for the Community School Development Act of 1972 which, if passed, would provide a good relationship with state level legisla- tion. The federal legislation contains two things not normally contained in state legislation: provision for massive training for community school directors and dissemination of information to inter- ested areas. He pointed out that each community has its own unique resources and problems and that people will respond to the idea if they understand that the schools belong to them. In the Flint, Michigan program all the schools in the district are used as comm- unity schools and each school has a community school director re- sponsible for the operation of the community school. The community school concept provides the framework for a wide variety of programs - adult education, senior citizen programs, after school enrichment programs for children, etc. Many of these programs already exist in isolated form. Mr. Horyna went on to list some of the major ingredients of the community school idea: 1. The concept is based on a projection of what is possi- ble through maximum use of physical facilities of schools which are adaptable to many community uses. Schools are now used 30% of ----------------------- Page 175----------------------- -2- the time by approximately 40% of the population. Other under-used school facilities would include such things as school busses. 2. The community school idea focuses on a large scale effort to get people involved and gives neighborhoods and small communities a role in self determination at their own level of interest and need. 3. One of the basic tents of the community school concept is to provide cooperation between community services which already exist and to bring the programs offered closer to the peo- ple. That is, decentralization. Schools are an obvious means of implementing delivery of services. 4. The program is not just tagged onto the formal educa- tion program of the school. An attempt is made to provide successful ed- ucation experiences for children and adults. In response to questioning regarding the operation of community schools in other states where it has been adopted, Mr. Horyna said that Michigan has very restrictive legislation and would like to change it. He said that the legislation being adopted seems to be improving and that none of the legislation is more than 3 years old and that, therefore, it is difficult to see prob- lem areas at this point. When asked if any states have taken more than 2 years for implementation of the program, he said that he is not sure that even the second year for training is necessary. Regarding training programs for community school directors in other states he said that university programs are being developed in some areas which would lead to a degree in community education and that sometimes short-term intensive training programs are necessary. He said that he does not feel that a director needs to be a certifi- cated teacher but thinks that he should have a degree due to the fact that teachers and administrators are degree conscious and the director has to be able to relate to teachers and gain acceptance. People with experience in social work, sociology, recreation, etc. can adapt and work in the program and shouldn't have to be certifi- cated. Regarding the question of who should pick the director, Mr. Horyna said that this decision should be made locally as it is a localized program. In 85% of existing programs directors have been chosen from the existing school system. A director should, ideally, come from the community in which he is hired and understand the comm- unity and its problems. Next to testify before the committee were Terry Kelly and Joe Miguel, community school directors in Juneau. They said that the local program was begun with an attempt being made to bring adults into the schools. This involved a lot of footwork, speaking to agencies and people, getting suggestions as to classes desired. There is now an evening program operating for adults using all the area schools. It had originally been planned to hire 5 directors, but this was cut back to 2. Kelly and Miguel said that they found many parents who had been turned off by their own education exper- ience and didn't want to go back to school and wouldn't even talk to teachers about problems their children were encountering in sChool. It was felt that if these parents could be enthused this ----------------------- Page 176----------------------- -3- would transmit itself to the children. Some parents are now bring- ing their children to the evening classes with them and have involved their children in after-school activities. The Juneau program now is in its second trimester and has 27-28 classes. Enrollment has more than doubled since the first session. The program has been able to use some vocational education funds which previously hadn't been utilized; there were 5 vocational ed type programs in the first session and are more now. The University of Alaska has cooperated well with the program and sent an instructor down to conduct a mining course. It is hoped that the community college can be in- volved to a greater extent. The program is not involved in degree courses and doesn't offer courses already offered by community college or the U of A. Classes are not formal - no tests, grades, required attendence - people learn what they want to learn. The only requirement tied to the vocational education funds is that 36 hours of instruction be given per class. There have been a few volunteers in the program but not many. These consist of some teachers and some community people. People pay for courses and an attempt is made to get at least 10 people enrolled in a course in order that a good instructor will be attracted. Some instructors will teach a course even if there are not 10 students and accept the resulting low compensation. It is felt that the lack of volun- teers is due to the lack of a permanent location and that when a director is assigned permanently to a specific area and has a perman- ent location there will be more volunteers. The present system is utilizing 2 directors to cover the whole area and the program is not as localized as envisioned. Some teachers originally opposed to the program are now teaching within it. Mr. Horyna commented that this problem of few volunteers has happened in her programs where the directors cover several school attendence areas and that it is true that volunteers increase when this problem is alleviated. In response to the question as to why the decision was made for the two directors to cover the whole area rather than each of them being responsible for one school, Mr. Overstreet replied that he was superintendent at the time. He said that it had been hoped that there could be a director at each school but that there had not been enough funds. Faced with the decision as to how to use the two directors he felt there were problems involved either way and that he had made the decision to go ahead with the program as it is now being run. He further said that a survey of the comm- unity made last year showed an almost complete consensus of opinion in favor of the community school concept and making full use of the schools. The Juneau program now includes 3 after-school programs in which the parents are encourage to participate. These include ballet, guitar and roller skating. There was very little partici- pation by children in the evening programs in the fall session, but there has been a great increase recently and some students are beginning to attend the classes on their own. A question was asked about how the home school coordinator fit into the community school program. There were home school coor- dinators and counselors present at the meeting, and they spoke at this time. John Martin told the committee that he deals with ----------------------- Page 177----------------------- -4- junior high age people and that his work involves bringing the school home to families which for some reason cannot get to the school and representing the family in the school. Mary McClinton, who works with children in the Juneau Childrens· Home, said that she sees the home-school program as a coordinating factor which involves the counselor working with the entire family instead of problems being dealt with by several agencies. Ms. McClinton said that she tutors children and that she participated in the 6-week training program with the community school directors. She said that she is currently working on a program which would allow the whole family to come to the school to participate in the comm- unity school program and which would provide care for pre-school children. Sandra Samaniego, who works with Capital and Harborview Schools, said that one of her jobs is helping children who are often truant from school and that she envisions her job as that of school representative in the home and home representative in the school. Commissioner Lind of the Department of Education addressed the committee in support of the bill. He said that for too long the assumption has been made that education stops when a person is through with his formal schooling. He said that separate funding should be provided for the program to get it underway and that he has run into the argument that the community school program is taking away needed supplies from the regular school program. He said that he would like to have someone on his staff with experience In community schools and that local advisory groups are necessary to ensure adequate input on the local level. He said that he would not like to specify a formula for the advisory groups and that they should be composed by local option. Mr. Lind said that he has re- servations about the necessity of requiring that a community school director be certificated and that he feels this too should be at local option. The department will issue department regulations and/ or guidelines regarding recognition of advisory groups. Community schools would be funded through the supplemental appropriation por- tion of the foundation program and special legislation would be needed to include SOS schools. The point was raised that perhaps community schools should be inserted into the foundation program as a regularly-funded program instead of being funded through supp- lementals. In response to questioning, Commissioner Lind said that The scale of the present foundation program would not be adequate for funding special education programs such as education of the deaf where a high pupil teacher ratio is necessary and that such programs should be funded under the special education provisions of the foundation program. He went on to say that the department would pre- fer that community schools be funded under the foundation program, and that he feels supplemental programs should apply to programs which are truly supplemental in nature. The question was raised about having school districts do a study of the community school con- cept with their own funds and opinions expressed that districts don't seem to have the money for this. Commissioner Lind said that the department would make a suggestion for change of the bud- geting cycle provisions of the bill. He went on to say that he feels that a great deal of the strength of the community school program lies in the school counselor program which involves going into the home. ----------------------- Page 178----------------------- -5- Mr. Overstreet said that he assumed that advisory councils were an integral part of the community school program and that he would agree with leaving the question of certification of direct- ors to local option. Roberta Alward, president of DOEA, spoke to the problem of implementing community school programs in SOS schools. She said that a pilot project is currently in operation in Alakaket which has 170 people in the community. She said that the education plan was developed by the community which now includes an audio-visual center and a library is in the planning stage. She said that she felt one of the most valuable aspects has been that it is training people how to get things that are needed in the community. Sela- wik has an informal program using existing buildings. She said that these programs need funding sources and that for them to be successful the leader must be from the village with the teachers supplying aid only as requested. Mr. Horyna said that it is true that this type of program is more naturally developed in small communities and that the break- ing down of large cities into small areas such as school attend- ance areas tends to instill a sense of community not normally felt. Commissioner Lind said that the department would provide suggested language to the committee on problems such as funding, advisory boards, how SOS schools can be included - whether SOS should be inserted into the foundation act and whether or not an annual report was necessary. A question was asked regarding the 300 pupil requirement which would effectively eliminate many small communities from parti- cipation in the program. Commissioner Lind said that the depart- ment would address itself to this problem also and will submit sev- eral options in this area. He then said that the time frame of the program should be moved forward to allow sufficient time for working out planning. Mr. Overstreet said that he wouldn't want to see a valuable program delayed for the advantage of bureaucratic paper shuffling and that perhaps the paper shuffling should be streamlined. Commissioner Lind said that the department would sub- mit its recommendations on this point. The meeting was adjourned at 4 p.m. ----------------------- Page 179----------------------- -2- Charles Ferguson, dean of student services and acting provost for southeastern, testified to the committee. He said that this appro- priation is intended to replace funds taken from the consortium agreement with AMU to purchase AMU's library holdings. If replaced, the funds would be put back in the U of A's library construction fund. During discussion of this issue it was stated that the amount paid for the holdings was determined by the amount AMU needed and that the university was not in favor of doing this. Rep. Colletta said that the legislature had turned down an appropriation request for AMU last session and that buying AMU's library holdings was a way of giving AMU funds anyhow. The statement was made by Rep. Chance that the consortium library is a community library, open to the public. The question was raised if it would be possible to get the attorney general to testify to this bill. At this point it was decided to postpone action on this bill and to invite other administrators to testify. The meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m, after a discussion by committee members of the upcoming trip to Anchorage March 10th for the higher education hearings. ----------------------- Page 180----------------------- {Refer to original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 181----------------------- {Refer to original/pdf version of fiscal note} ----------------------- Page 182----------------------- 25 February 1972 This meeting of the House HWE Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moses and Specking. The purpose of the meeting was to consider leg- islation supported and not supported by the Alaska State Hospital Association. James R. Burns, Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the association, addressed the committee on the topic. He dis- tributed to committee members a position paper in regard to legis- lation which is attached hereto. In commenting specifically on items of legislation, Mr. Burns made the following points. SB 69 and HB 97 are supported as they would establish a constant age of majority and that hospitals have had problems with the presently existing variance in ages of consent regarding consent to medical treatment and establishing financial liability. The association supports CSSB 272 and the fact that the commissioner of the Depart- ment of Health and Social Services will be able, under this legis- lation, to designate reportable diseases at the time a problem ex- ists. HB 647 which provides for a minimum payment of $50,000 to an organized borough or a city for operation of health services or facilities would graatly help the hospital operating in an area with small population which has trouble supporting a hospital without charging exorbitant rates. HB 655 for construction of medical clin- ics in rural Alaska will support the paramedics and nurses in the state. The association supports the concept of medical malpract legislation but does not support HB 445 in its present form. The association does not support the concept of Medicaid as it feels that problems encountered in other states between hospitals and funding agencies detract from its possible effectiveness. Object- qions to HB 358 center around the fact that the way things stand now Blue Cross pays a specific percentage of a covered individual's hospital bill and comes in at the,end of the year to audit the hos- pital's books and pays them a flat 6% over costs. The association supports proposed legislation which will require a certificate of need in order for new hospitals or health facilities to be built. Mr. Burns said that these recommendations were passed unanimously by the association. The question was asked whether the commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services doesn't already have the right to issue certificiates of need. Mr. Burns said that the attorney general has been asked for an opinion as there is some question at this point. He also said that hospitals constructed with private funds have an advantage over those that are state and federally funded as they can be built much more rapidly without having to wait for funding requests, etc. to go through. In response to questioning as to what standards the commissioner would use to base decisions for certificates of need, Mr. Burns said that the commissioner sub- mits the question to either a local health advisory councilor CHAC and receives recommendations from them. He said that standards now exist in the statutes but there is a question whether they apply to privately funded institutions. ----------------------- Page 183----------------------- -2- In response to further questioning, Mr. Burns said that Blue Cross now constitutes a high percentage of the business in the state. Regarding the associations position against Medicaid, the point was made that a study done by the state shows that the adop- tion of Medicaid would result in a savings of millions of dollars each year by the state. Mr. Ogden said that he wished the Medical Association would be involved by the department in the conducting of studies. Mr. Burns said that the association would like to see legislation introduced which would limit the liability of non-profit hos- pitals to $10,000. It feels that hospitals are a public utility and shouldn't be open to lawsuits and that hospitals are have prob- lems in getting negligence and liability insurance coverage and this would be easier if it could be shown that there was a limit to liability. During discussion of this idea the point was made that this type of limitation would probably be declared unconstitutional and that perhaps some other solution could be found such as pooling of insurance coverage or self-coverage by the hospitals. Clem Clark, president of the Seward hospital association, said that he doesn't understand why premium cost is so high when the incidence of suit is low. Mr. Ogden said that state physicians had tried to get group insurance but found the insurance companies were not interested be- cause there was not a large enough premium guaranteed by such a small number of physicians.in the state. Mr. Clark said he felt that there should be closer regulation of insurance companies and that they should be forced to show why there are charging such high prices. Mr. Ogden said that the medical association has been studying the problem of medical liability for years and that next year it is planned to present a program to the legislature calling for arbitra- tion in the courts instead of presenting the issue to juries as is now done. Mr. Burns said that the setting of a liability limit in Massachusetts hasn't reduced premium costs but has showed a continua- tion of the market. Hospitals are now usually covered to the extent of $300,000 to $600,000 per case and limited to $1 million coverage per year. This meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m. ----------------------- Page 184----------------------- {stamped by Alaska State Hospital Association} ALASKA STATE HOSPITAL aSSOCIATION 1135 w. 8TH , Suite 3 PHONE 277-3922 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 February 25, 1972 Dear Legislator: the membership of the Alaska State Hospital Association, at its mid-year meeting, developed this position paper in regard to legislation. We respectfully submit it to you in hopes that it will be helpful to you in your consideration. 1) SB 48 and HB 140 - COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH PLANNING: We support the proposed changes in the organization of the Comprehensive Health Advisory Council. 2) SB 69 and HB 97 - AGE OF mAJORITY: there is too much con- fusion oas to the legal ages of consent. We endorse estab- lishing the age of 18 as the age of majority and responsibil- ity. 3) CSSB 272 -INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We endorse the proposal to authorize the Department of Health and Social Services to determine the reportable diseases that are significant. 4) SB279 - BONDS - HILL-Burton HOSPITAL CONSTRUCTION: We heartily support the issuance of general obligation bonds for matching the federal Hill-Burton funds. 5) HB 224 - COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAMS: We endorse the concept of community service programs, espcially the local control aspects of such programs. 6) HB 292 - COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS: We endorse state- shared funding of local mental health centers. 7) HB 647 - STATE AID FOR HEALTH CARE FACILITES: We support the payment of a minimum of $50,000 to an organized borough or a city for operation of health services or facilities. Alaska has the problem of trying to provide health care services to a population that is scattered over a great area. these nec- essary services cannot be self-supporting and still charge reasonable rates, particularly in the case of smaller facil- ities with high core costs and low utilization. 8) HB 655 - MEDICAL CLINICS -RURAL ALASKA: WE support con- struction of medical clinics in rural Alaska. ----------------------- Page 185----------------------- Legislator February 25, 1972 Page 2 9) HB 445 - MEDICAL MALPRACTICE: We endorse the concept of this legislation and would appreciate the opportunity of working with the legislature on such legislation. 10) SB 56 - MEDICAL aSSISTANCE FOR NEEDY PERSONS: The very dis- mal experiences of other states with cutbacks in funding, changes in program, constant feuding between state agencies and health care providers, and the resultant bitterness, makes us extremely leery of Medicaid. We currently have a good working relationship with the Department of Health and Social Services in the provision of health care for the medically indigent. Therefore, we oppose this legislation until such time as a study has been carried out that assures we will have a workable program. We, therefore, endorse the concept of SB 60, which would provide funds for such a study. We pledge our active support to such a study and request that our representative be given active roles in such a study. 11) HB 358 - UNIFORMITY OF HOSPITAL RATES: We oppose this legis- lation which is directed at the long-standing, working re- lationship between hospitals and Blue Cross. Hospitals enjoy guaranteed payment and volume business from Blue Cross. It is merely normal business practice to offer reduced rates in such arrangements. Such arrangements could be available to any other carrier on a negotiated basis. This is legislation strikes at one of the basic fundamentals of commerce and should not become law. 12) HB 551 - DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN BODIES: We support the section relating to dispostion of a fetus/infant by a hospital or physician upon proper request of parents. 13) PENDING - HEALTH CARE CERTIFICATES OF NEED: We endorse a draft of proposed legislation that will be submited to you by CHAC. This legislation requires that a "Certificate of Need" be required for construction, modification, or altering of health care facilities, in order to prevent unneccessary duplication of such services. Respectfully submitted with our thanks for the difficult work you do for our great state. Signed, Signed, Mary L. Roberts, President James R. Burns, Chairman Legislative Committee ----------------------- Page 186----------------------- MEMORANDUM THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF JUNEAU CAPITAL OF aLASKA 155 SOUTH SEWARD ST. JUNEAU ALASKA 99801 DATE: February 7, 1972 File No: Subject: Limitation of Liability To: Jim Burns, Hospital Administrator From: Billy G. Berrier, Attorney The limitations of liability in New Jersey and Massachusettes relate to non-profit corporations and would therefore not be adequate to cover both hospitals organized as non-profit corporations and municipal hospitals. Apparently, New Jersey and Massachusetts still retain the common law immunity from action of governmental subdivisions which Alaska no longer has. I have therefore prepared suggested language for a limitation of liability section in Alaska which would include both of these. The sugested language would be as follows: "09.65.110. Limitation of Liability for Negligence of Hospitals. A hospital as defined as AS 18.20.130 (1), its agents or employees which renders care to an injured or sick person shall not be liable to such person who suffers damages from the negligence of such hospital, its agents or employees in an amount exceeding $10,000 together with the interest and cost of suit as a result of any one accident." This section appears adequate to me but I would appreciate your comments and if possible the comments of other members of the hospital association and/or their attorneys prior to submission. I hope that these comments can be received soon together with the answers to your questionnaire so that we may be able to present the proposed legislation to the legislature as soon as possible in this session. BGB:pk {Signed by Jim Burns} ----------------------- Page 187----------------------- 28 February 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 10:00 a.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. Rep. Chance reported to the committee on Department of Education recommendations regarding educating the profoundly deaf, a copy of which will be distributed to all members. The department suggests that initially utilzation be made of the existing pro- gram in Anchorage. If this were done the department estimates that the cost would be $239,680 in 1971-72 and $365,040 in 1972-73, or a cost of $3,687 per pupil per year. The department is now spending $6,000 to $7,000 per pupil per year for those sent out of the state for treatment. A committee bill will be drafted and introduced providing for appripriation of funds to the department for this purpose. With regard to the possibility of changing the Foundation Act to apply for funding special education, it was found that the very low pupil-teacher ration needed in educating the deaf would raise costs to an unrealistic level as that low pupil-teacher ratio is not needed for all special education. The committee considered House Bill 669, "An Act relating to state aid for retirement of school construction debt; and provid- ing for an effective date". Rep. Wright, principle sponsor of the bill, testified before the committee that due to inadvertant inclu- sion of erroneous language the state was now able to subtract tobacco tax funds due a district twice from the amount the state should owe school districts as their share of district debt service. Bob Thomas of the Department of Education explained this to the committee as follows: The total debt service of a district is taken as the base figure from which the tobacco tax is subtracted. The resulting figure is divided in half - this being the amount the state is supposed to pay the district. However, under the present statute the state now subtracts the tobacco tax from the next year and divides the result in half again, and pays this amount to the district. In effect, part of the debt service is being paid by the tobacco tax. Mr. Thomas said that his department supports the bill because of the fact that what was originally understood by the department and local governments was that the tobacco tax would be deducted once. When the present statute came about the department thought there had been a mistake and subtracted the tobacco tax once and paid half the resulting amount. When amending legislation last year didn't change the formula the state started using the formula in the statute which involved deduct- ing the tobacco tax twice and halving the resulting amount each time. The department now has $3 million in its budget, which is $625,000 less than needed, though the department is not planning to ask for a supplemental. Rep. Whittaker asked unanimous consent that the bill pass and there were no objections. The bill was given a "do pass" recommendation. Next to be considered by HB 992, which would make a supple- mental appropriation to the University of Alaska of $350,000. ----------------------- Page 188----------------------- 29 February 1972 This meeting of the House HWE Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Naughton, Moore, Specking and Whittaker. First under consideration was HB 661, relating to minority culture education. Rep. Willard Bowman, primary sponsor of the bill, was first to testify in favor of the bill. He said that as former director of the Human Rights Commission he recognizes the need for minority culture education and that this type of education will aid communities in understanding minorities in the community. The pro- gram will not be required but money will be available for those dis- tricts which wish to participate. Some high schools in Anchorage have instituted Native and black studies, but this is not in a hap­ hazard manner and is not part of the regular education system. Rep. Bowman said that he would like to see the state get involved in cross-Cultural education. He said, in response to questioning, that he didn't know why the section on vocational education had been chosen as the vehicle for the minority education program. The question was raised as to why the state is being asked to participate. Rep. Bow- man said that school districts have not done this on their own for the reason that it is not an established program and those who do teach minority culture courses are those who are already very inter- ested in the field and have offered the courses. He said that he felt the program should begin at a very early level; it is not now being offered below jr. high level. The program should be deeply ingrained in the educational system and not a special field of study. The point was raised of the department telling districts what to teach. Rep. Bowman answered that the department tells districts what to teach in many other areas and what guidelines it must follow to re- ceive revenue sharing. The comment was made that what the bill does, in essence, is to tell districts that if they offer minority culture' education they will be eligible for one unit of foundation program funds. The district is to come up with its own program and if it is substantial the district will receive funds on the basis of num- ber of students involved in the program. The program is needed to help whites to understand the cultures of minority groups included in the existing multi-racial society. The question was raised of making a new Subsection (e) under the foundation fund statute re- garding making minority culture education a separate category and us- ing the same PTR and with regular education. Rep. Bowman said that he would have no objection. The comment was made that this program was actually closer to vocational education in concept that that a lower pupil-teacher ration would probably be necessary in some areas i.e. Native languages are harder to teach and learn for whites than western languages. The question was raised as to the definition of minorities and Rep. Bowman said that generally federal and state de- finitions include dark-skinned races as minority races in the U.S. There is not a state definition of minorities in the Human Rights Commission statutes. The point was made that Natives are not in the minority in many Alaskan school districts and that it would be helpful to hear testimony from school boards regarding projected costs of the education program and changing pupil-teacher ratios. ----------------------- Page 189----------------------- -2- Rep. Bowman said that European and other cultures are well covered in school history courses and that Black, American-Indian, Alaskan Native, etc. are not. He said that he feels it is important to not get hung up on the definition of minority but rather to look at the minority influence on the culture. Rep. Moore said that in his home village of Emmonak people are wanting to educate the young peo- ple in Native culture, arts, etc. which are now being lost and that they want local high schools so that children don't have to leave the village for their education. Next to testify in favor of the bill was Allen Compton re- presenting the Anchorage Self-Help Welfare Rights Organization, a vol- unteer group consisting mainly of women from allover the state and of many cultural backgrounds. The organization is strongly in favor of the bill. He said that the need for minority culture education is not being met and at least one-fifth of the state's population is either indiginous minorities or blacks - with a rich cultural heri- tage - who are now wanting to renew and/or learn their cultures. The specifics of minority cultures are not well-known to whites, and prejudice against minorites in this country is largely based on the lack of understanding of cultural differences. Mr. Compton said that he feels this can be corrected. He said that there is increasing interaction between cultural groups in this country due to such things as people moving to urban areas, etc. He said that the state ought to make a strong commitment to dealing with the problem and learn from what is happening in other states. He told the committee that he has been in contact with the League of Women Voters and that it will be sending a letter of support to the committee. Next to testify was George Charles, a citizen participation coordinator from Bethel. He said that the University of Alaska offers courses in other cultures but not much in Alaskan Native culture except in such things as Native sewing and dancing. Students are now forced from one culture to another with little or no preparation by having to leave home to attend high school. He said that he would like to see a student exchange program between rural and urban areas of the state. Chris McNeal, educational coordinator for the Tlingit- Haida Central Council, presented testimony in favor of the bill. His first point dealt with problems and needs in elementary and secondary education with regard to white and minority students. He said that people should take the wide view of how the minority culture education program fits into the total education program and social and economic patterns of the state. Minorities demonstrably have many more social and economic problems - alcoholism, health prob- lems, poor education - than whites, and this keeps them from overcom- ing their other problems. Education is in the center of the problem and is not doing its job. There is a low awareness in urban schools of the presence of Native students and their cultural problems, and this is a major cause of the high drop out rate encountered. As to why financial incentives should be provided, Mr. McNeal said that Native students are well aware of the dominant culture and what it consists of but that a gap exists in knowing their own culture and in whites' awareness of Native culture. ----------------------- Page 190----------------------- -3- Mr. McNeal pointed out that Natives have a high drop out rate and poor education record. He said that of 266 students funded by BIA for college, 12 actually graduated. In speaking of the bill itself, he said that he thinks it is a good idea and that it is not actually telling school districts what to do but is initiating a reward sys- tem - districts will receive funding if they make the choice to include minority culture study in their systems. He questioned whether the results will be what is intended, whether there will be good accountability and measuring devices. He said that he considers this a weak point of the bill. He feels that the program should be well integrated in the educational system - i.e., Alaskan Native history didn't occur in a vacuum but in relation to other cultures and events. He would like to see Alaskan Natives succeed in the education system; this would benefit the whole state and would payoff in the long run in the form of fewer long range welfare and special programs being needed if people are not failure oriented from their initial educa- tion experiences. A good job should be done in early education stages, and this bill would be a good start toward a more relevant education system. Regarding implementation of the program, Mr. McNeal said that evaluation of text books being used is crucialo More preference should be given to Native teachers in the school system; this might entail a need for a special intern-type programs. He said that this would not be an easy thing to do but that it is obviously appropriate. There is a need for more counseling in the area of cultural problems and education problems. There is an existing problem of students bouncing around between school systems in some areas and a method is needed of keeping track of those students with no required attendance site. There is a need in the area of looking into how Native prob- lems fit into the overall problems of the state. In response to a question regarding accountability of the program and whether other special programs meet guidelines, Bob Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Department of Education, said that programs have to meet either federal or state standards regarding either eligibility of individuals to participate or defining the program itself. There are also stand- ards for teacher training and qualification. He said that the minor- ity culture education program would have to have the same approval and monitoring by the department that vocation education and other special education programs do. Mr. McNeal said that the program should be accountable to the people directly concerned and minorities should be deeply involved in setting up the program. The question was asked about areas and standards of accountability presently built into the basic foundation program. Mr. Thomas said that there is not much of this in the general education section but is in the special educa- tion section. General education is left to local definition. Roberta Alward, president of District One Education Asso- ciation, testified in favor of the concept of the bill. She said that bush area teachers feel badly neglected and that this results in lack of good education and high drop out rates. An interim cultural prog- ram has been developed by 15 SOS bush teachers, with an evaluation system built in, which aims to allow students to survive in their environment and in collision with other cultures. The first step ----------------------- Page 191----------------------- -4- would be appreciation of his own culture. Typical scenes would be filmed in villages and urban areas and military bases. These tapes then would be exchanged and are available to SOS and BIA schools through the satelite and PERCY programs. This method would allow students to see the similarities that exist in solving basic problems in various cultures. Not much material is available for this program and most would have to be developed. The program would include phy- sical student exchange, vocational information regarding opportuni- ties available in urban areas and what training is necessary for various occupations, learning how to run small businesses, etc. The group has applied for $10,000 in planning grants from the federal HEW Department. Ms. Alward said that the high drop out rate is due primarily to lack of strong self identity. In response to questioning, she said that the program is written but not funded; it has started out in a few areas without money. Funds have been applied for which will be available under a federal minority culture education bill. The application has been made by DOEA and it is hoped that it can be ad- ministered through AFN. The question was raised about whether bush teachers would accept or resist this program. Ms. Alward said that the program would use teachers already committed to the idea as the core for training other teachers as part of the cultural orientation program. In response to questioning as to how time would be found for these programs, Ms. Alward said that this would not be a separate program but would be integrated as part of the total education system; needed subjects will not be neglected. The question was then asked whether there are now non-relevant studies in existing bush education and whether irrelevant subjects be substituted without spending more money. Ms. Alward said that most materials now used in bush education are lrrelevant and that money is needed for planning and starting any new program. Acceptance of a program doesn't guarantee a shifting of emphasis - this needs educating of the people in the village that the new program is as valuable and relevant as the old program. The people need to be involved. The comment was made that the DOEA pro- gram could be made available to district schools as well. Districts are not yet started on a program, and Anchorage is the largest Native community in the state. Ms. Alward said that the program would help city students have more sympathy for Native students when they come to the city. Bob Van Houte, of NEA Alaska, said that he supports the bill and the DOEA program. He made the following points: 1. There would have to be some type of program approval by the department. 2. This shouldn't be a segregated program; the program must be integrated at the early primary level. 3. Regarding the low pupil-teacher ratio - this is necessary because of the expense of the program. It will eventually fuse with the regular program but there needs to be fund- ing for a period of transfer. Bob Thomas presented the department's view. He distributed a pamphlet which presents the departments tentative position on race and culture, quoting the last paragraph, "The Department of Ed- ucation encourages teaching in a manner such that the contribution of each race and each culture is identified and understood; but it does not encourage the teaching of "White history", "Black History", or "Indian History", which might reflect racist overtones." He said it would be difficult or impossible to break the program down into ----------------------- Page 192----------------------- -5- instructional units if it is integrated fully into the education program. He said it would be hard to determine full time equivalents in minority cultural courses and that the department doesn't have teachers for approvable strong programs and diversity of programs. Good Alaska history texts do not exist due to the fact that authori- ties don't agree on what Alaska history consitts of, so there will be difficulty in developing materials. He said that he felt the only valid approach is to start off with the village people and that they should decide what to teach and who is to teach it. He said that Title I federal funds could be used for cross-cultural programs. The department supports financial incentives for cross-cultural programs and feels that they should start at the local level and not be admin- istered and evaluated through the department. There is not enough qualified staff to do this. The program should cover BIA, SOS, etc. schools as well as district schools. He said that he would rather see the program funded through supplemental funding than through the foundation act, and that the program should be referred to as a prior- ity supplemental program. He said that other supplemental programs include such things as teacher training, preschool programs, summer schools, counseling, vocational training, community schools, reme- dial reading, etc. - whatever needs are not being met in districts that are felt to be priority programs. The question was brought up of making minority cultural training a requirement for teaching in Alaska. Mr. Thomas said that the department is moving in this area of program approval and that this is part of the rationale behind setting up the teacher bush orientation program at the U of A. He said this program has met with a great deal of success but should be extended to district teachers. In response to questioning, Mr. Van Houte said that he is opposed to including the program under a supplemental request as finance committees tend to regard supplemental programs as of secondary importance to basic programs. He said that maybe the department could be supplied with additional funds for man- power and consultants to develop the minority culture education pro- gram within the foundation program. The question was raised regarding creating a new section in the foundation program for minority culture education and how levels would be established. Mr. Thomas said that funding would be needed for planning incentives and for implementa- tion. He said that he would like the department's Division of In- structional Services to have time to look at the problems involved and come back to the committee with its suggestions. Action on this bill was postponed. Next to be considered was HB 664 which provides for imple- mentation of grievance procedures for teachers. Bob Van Houte spoke in favor of the bill. He said that procedures were not adequately outlined last year. He said that the bill makes possible adjudica- tion of differences of interpretation and application of district policies. It would provide a means of dealing with cases that now often go to court. Bill Overstreet, of the Alaska Association of School Boards, spoke in opposition to the bill saying that it is not needed and is an infringement on the rights and duties of elected school boards. He said that there are generally several levels of appeal on the districts level and that most problems are resolved at the lowest level of appeal. ----------------------- Page 193----------------------- -6- Mr. Overstreet went on to say that school districts are set up to serve the public and the public wishes and the role of teachers in influencing policy is only one of a member of the public. School boards should interpret their own policy. The point was made from committee that shcool boards are already required by statute to ne- gotiate and that the bill simply specifies how this is to be done. The bill doesn't say that policy will be negotiated - only misinter- pretation or misapplication of policy will be negotiated. Concern was expressed over the establishment and interpretation of policy by the same body. It was stated that a schoolboard would not be abrogating its responsibility to the public by allowing a disinter- ested to become involved in arbitration proceedings; school boards delegate responsibility in other areas, such as when they sign con- tracts which can be submitted to arbitration if necessary. Mr. Van Houte said, in response to questioning, that teachers must follow district policy unless specifically aggrieved. Walt Ward, of the Kenai Peninsula School District, spoke against the bill. He said that the bill will add to education costs without improving the quality of education for the student. He said that he would rather go to the courts than use arbitration procedures. The point was made that arbitration is the final step in a grievance procedure, and Mr. Ward said that his district has a grievance proce- dure and doesn't want arbitration. He said in response to questioning that in his district the school board had won in the majority of grie- vances brought. The question was raised as to the fairness of school boards establishing and interpretating policy and deciding in grievance matters and the fact that teachers don't have access to an impartial tribunal until they get past the school board level. Rep. Specking made a motion to remove (4) dealing with arbitration from the bill. Rep. Whittaker objected and questioned teachers giving away their right to go to court. Mr. Van Houte said that teachers don't have the money that school districts have to go to court with, that the teachers'association doesn't have the money and that arbitration is less expensive. The motion by Rep. Specking was defeated. Bob Thomas presented the Department of Education's position on the bill. He said that the department is closely divided. There is concern within the department that arbitration doesn't establish continuity of precedent as courts do, but only deals with individual cases. He said that he doesn't know if a real need exists for arbi- tration. Mr. Overstreet said that the need hasn't existed in Juneau for the past 8 years. Mr. Van Houte said that in some cases teachers have felt that appeal would be futile and chose to leave the district. He said that teachers are hesitant to appeal because they feel shut out in the final stages. Rep. Specking made a motion to table the bill. The motion was defeated. ----------------------- Page 194----------------------- -7- Rep. Moore made a motion that the bill be passed out of committee with a do pass recommendation. Rep. Specking objected. Reps. Chance, Moore and Whittaker voted in favor of passing out the bill. The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m. ----------------------- Page 195----------------------- 3 March 1972 This meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Vice-chairman Naughton. Members present were Reps. Colletta, Moore, Moses, Specking and Whittaker. First to be considered by the committee was House Joint Resolution 84 (opposing the closing of the U.S. Public Health Serv- ice Hospital in Seattle, Washington). Rep. Haugen, sponsor of the resililution, testified in favor of the resolution. He said that it is the same resolution that was passed by both houses last year, but that the Public Health Service is again thinking of closing the hos- pital. This decision would affect all fisherman in the state - approximately 12,000. Several fishermen's organizations have in- dicated support for the resolution to Rep. Haugen. Rep. Colletta moved for unanimous do pass recommendation of the resolutions and there were no objections. HB 667 was considered next (An act providing for the issu- ance of general obligation bonds in the amount of $50,000,000 for the purpose of paying the cost of construction of basic elementary school facilities and tO replace elementary school facilities pre- sently operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior or the State Operated Schools of Alaska; and providing for an effective date). Rep. Degnan, primary sponsor of the bill, testiYied. He said that the principle purpose of the bill is to get funds for construction of elementary schools in the state. Many existing schools need upgrading or replacement. Rep. Degnan distributed copies of the estimated funds needed for replacement of BIA schools. He said that he had requested this information just for schools but that the BIA had included dormitories, quarters, etc. in their estimate and that the figures would have to be broken down to reflect actual school construction cost needs. Another approach will probably be used to fund the dorms, etc. He said that there is an obvious necessity for a good educational foundation at the ele- mentary and secondary level and that this is difficult to acquire without adequate facilities. In response to questioning, Rep. Deg- nan made the following points: 1. the figure of $50 million was arrived at through estimating the need throughout the state for replacing elementary schools now existing and building new schools. 2. Little federal money comes to the state for building and reno- vating BIA schools and the state should come in and help in this area of need. 3. The determination to replace or repair a build- ing would be made on an individual case basis. In some cases per- haps only an extra classroom would be needed. Bob Van Houte of NEA Alaska commented that when BIA schools are turned over to the state no financial transaction is involved and that the state simply gains title to the school. Rep. Degnan pointed out that the state plans to eventually take over all the BIA schools in the state. The question was raised regarding the state's present agreement with BIA to take over its schools on a scheduled basis. Rep. Degnan said that the schedule was flexible and that the need for building still exists. In response to the question of how many· ----------------------- Page 196----------------------- -2- schools are covered by the bill Rep. Degnan distributed materials regarding SOS projectionsin this area. Nat Cole of the Department of Education said that state takeover of BIA schools also has somewhat to do with villages expressing the desire for the state to do this. When asked why no BIA schools have been taken over by the state Mr. Cole responded: 1. Some school facilities are not up to state standards. 2. The decision at the local level. 3. The need for planning and budgeting time. Mr. Van Houte said that there are problems with new districts being formed since the settling of the Native land claims. In response to questioning, Rep. Degnan said that the BIA is moving very slowly to improve schools which do not now meet state standards so that they can be taken over by the state. Mr. Cole said that the state wouldn't upgrade BIA schools when plan- ning for this is in the immediate BIA budget as the state would then lose the money involved. Rep. Degnan said that BIA has had a very low commitment for construction funds. The question was raised whether some villages which had decided to stay with BIA schools might not change their minds if offered a new school by SOS. Mr. Van Houte said that the BIA currently has about $400 million of buildings na- tionally that need construction funds and is lucky to get $10 to $15 million per year. He said that congress will be unwilling to pro- vide more school construction funds for Alaska since the land claims settlement has gone through. The question was raised that if BIA wants to get rid of its schools in the state wouldn't it be willing to bring them up to state standards. Mr. Van Houte said that it wasn't necessarily a matter of BIA wanting to get out of the respon- sibility of maintaining its schools but is more a problem of getting Congress to appropriate funds. Many BIA schools in the state are beyond the point where they can be upgraded. Mr. Van Houte further said that in many places in the state funds are needed just to pro- vide for existing needs. The question was asked regarding the ratio of SOS and BIA schools which are in poor condition, but no one pres- ent had that information. Mr. Cole said that the Department of Educa- tion doesn't have sufficient information to speak to the bill in terms of priorities, etc. and that SOS should address itself to this topic. Lee Hayes of SOS testified on the bill at this point. He distributed materials to the committee regarding requests, categories and priorities for SOS schools as of February 22, 1972. He said that requests total approximately $62 million and include figures for the BIA schools in the state. In response to questioning about finding other methods for providing for school needs, Mr. Hayes said that for the past 4 years SOS has been using the concept of relocatable classrooms at a cost approximately half of regular construction. He said that what had primarily been used were 10'x40' units which can be put together in 2, 3 or 4 sections. These units, delivered to Northway over the highway and assembled, cost $25,000 to $26,000 per classroom. The question was raised regarding problems encountered in Healy Valley with Alaska-built relocatables not being as good as those from outside and not withstanding the high-density usage re- quired of classrooms. Mr. Hayes said that this is true. He further stated that the figures distributed are based on construction, not relocatables. He said that the cost of relocatables as quoted pre- viously does not include furniture, etc. but does include furnace, carpeting, bethrooms, and is of wood frame construction over steel framing. The life expectancy of relocatables is approximately the same as that of stick construction in bush areas. ----------------------- Page 197----------------------- -3- The question was raised of having people in the villages put together simple prefabricated structures under supervisior for schools. Mr. Hayes said that the state has participated in this type of program but that it is not the primary type of construction being used. The suggestion was made that the local advisory council be consulted and that local participation be solicitated rather than SOS having to go through the traditional methods involving architect-bidding-Division of Buildings, etc. This was considered to be wasteful of money. Mr. Hayes said that he would be happy to take this suggestion back to his administration and board and would present recommendations to the committee within a reasonable length of time. The SOS figures sub- mitted don't include sewer and water facilities, and since last July it has been necessary to comply with environmental conservation standards for water and sewage disposal. These standards are strin- gent and will add to school costs. The point was made from committee that these are not jnst environmental conservation standards but are basic good health standards as well and that innovative methods for dealing with sewage are available and are being used on the North Slope which are not especially expensive. Mr. Hayes said that SOS is looking into the possibility of using sewage lagoons. The ques- tion was raised of whether the Department of Environmental Conserva- tion can issue permits in special situations. Mr. Hayes said that SOS has been negotiating with the department in this area but doesn't have permission in writing for anything at this time. He said that some outhouses had been built as recently as last year but that this can no longer be done under the new environmental conservation regu- lations. The points were made from committee that it should be poss- ible to work out something simple and of low cost and that the local advisory councils should assist in solving the problem at the local level. Mr. Hayes said that attempts were being made to coordinate local and state efforts with federal efforts so that entire communi- ties would benefit from improvements made to village schools. Mr. Van Houte commented that the Department of Public Works can only be controlled by a legislative gody or legislative committee - not by SOS or the Department of Education - and that someone should look into the department's operations. Mr. Hayes said that the figures distributed are for at least a 5-year program and that BIA schools are listed as part of the total problem - not necessarily as a re- commendation that they be taken over by the state. He said that SOS has had additional requests since the figures were compiled. Rep. Moore made a motion for unanimous do pass recommendation from the committee. There were objections. Rep. Whittaker said that perhaps the committee should recommend to the Finance Committee that the amount in the bill is too low to solve the problem. Rep. Speck- ing commented that the bill provides for a bonding program and that with changing costs it is impossible to tell what will be adequate in the future. He agreed that the amount requested in the bill won't cover the need. The bill passed out of committee with a majority do pass recommendation - Reps. Colletta and Specking indicating no recommendation. Next under consideration was HB 640. Rep. Moore, principle sponsor of the bill, addressed the committee after distributing printed background materials. He said that the state has a consti- ----------------------- Page 198----------------------- -4- tutional obligation to education Alaskan children in their hometown. He said that he had recently made a trip to his home district and solicited opinions on the topic. He found that people don't want to have to send their children outside or to larger state cities for their education anymore. It is felt that the students are not mature enough to travel away from home for 4 years when they are through with the 8th grade, that this tends to break family ties, and that parents are very upset and worried that their children have no parental authority and care at this time. He gave some examples of numbers of children in various villages that have to be sent away to school. Students generally are not able to even go home at Christ- mas time due to lack of funds for travel,and that they become very homesick. Joseph Mike, who is from Kotlik and has 7 children of his own, spoke to the committee. He said that his oldest child is 14 years old and will soon have to be sent away to continue his educa- tion. He said that if a high school were built in St. Mary's he would send his children there so that he could visit them once a month or so by snowgo and that he wouldn't want to have to send them outside. Rep. Moore continued to ennumerate some of the problems encountered by children who have to go away for school and are faced with an alien environment - such as being exposed with no preparation to unfamiliar foods, alcohol and drugs. Parents don't want their children to leave home during the critical period of adolescence. He said that other villages than those listed in the bill qualify for high schools but that the bill would make a good start in those areas with more population. In response to question- ing, Rep. Moore said that he had worked with the Department of Edu- cation in preparing this bill and the backup information. He said that people now want local high schools rather than regional high schools. He said that the materials given by him to the committee was given to him by the department. The comment was made from comm- ittee that the reason for showing location and dollar amount on the bill itself was in order to show legislative intent. It was stated that the North Slope Borough is responsible for its own school con- struction. Rep. Moore said that he would be agreeable to leaving the bill open for further inclusions of high school sites. Mr. Cole said that the department has figures showing the state plan for potential sites for local high schools - some of which are on the bill and some which are not. He will make this information availa- ble to the committee. The suggestion was made that a committee sub- stitute be drafted including other communities. In response to questioning, Mr. Hayes said that the SOS figures only include those areas where SOS has jurisdiction and has been invited in and there is a difference of opinion as to priorities. He said that BIA is responsible for ongoing programs in its schools and the state is responsible for new programs begun. Mr. Cole said that the department's position is one of concern that a planned approach is necessary for alleviating the problems and that there are now many bills covering this area which results in some duplication. He said that the department is not now in the process of putting a statewide package together but has been dealing ----------------------- Page 199----------------------- -5- with the problem on a piecemeal basis. The question was asked whether this had something to do with the administration's policy of granting no capital improvements this year. Mr. Cole said it is due to an unsure department position on responsibility for de- termining school construction needs during the period of SOS trans- ition. The statement was made that this committee has substantive testimony from the commissioner of education last year regarding an overall plan for school problems. Mr. Cole said that the emphasis has shifted from the boarding hom concept to the local high school approach. He said that the department has been negotiating with BIA to reprogram it plans and take funds from the dormitory plan and put them toward local high schools. Dormitory costs are going up rapidly and extra money saved by building local high schools could be put into educational programming. Mr. Cole said that the depart- ment recognizes the need for cooperation among federal, state, BIA, SOS, etc. and that the possibility has been discussed of going for a legislative package for elementary and secondary education. Mr. Hayes said that only three of the requested schools in the bill are in SOS districts - Selawik, Togiak and New Stuyahok. In response to questioning, Mr. C ole said that there is no agreement existing that BIA will build secondary schools but that he thinks secondary schools for Barrow and Kotzebue are in the plann- ing stage, which means that it will be 1 to 2 years at a minimum before construction - depending on federal appropriation cycles. The point was raised as to whether it would be appropriate to include legisla- tive intent in the bill stating that building schools in BIA districts is BIA's responsibility. It was stated that regardless of responsi- bility, the state's children are not receiving the education to which they are entitled under the state's constitutional obligations. Mr. Cole said that there are no secondary facilities at any of the villages listed in the bill. He said that a state high school had been built in Tanacross where a BIA elementary school already exists. Mr. Hayes said that if the state puts a secondary school in a BIA area it is indicating its intent to take eventual responsibility for all education in the area. He said that the state secondary school at Tanacross was built 9 years before the state took over the BIA elementary school. Mr. Cole and Mr. Hayes, in discussing the state running educational programs in BIA areas, said that a position paper on this topic would probably be coming out soon. In response to questioning about plans for secondary education at St. Paul, Mr. Hayes indicated that a new school is being built there now which is large enough to accomodate a secondary program if the people want it. It was decided to postpone action on this bill. Reps. Moses and Whittaker were appointed as a subcommittee to come back to the committee within 5 days with suggestions for a committee sub- stitute. The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m. ----------------------- Page 200----------------------- 6 March 1972 This was a joint meeting with the Senate HWE Committee meeting with several state school superintendents. The meeting was chaired by Senator Thomas and was called to order at 9:40 a.m. House HWE Committee members present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. Commissioner Lind of the Depart- ment of Education introduced school superintendents present. The first topic of discussion was HB 5A4. Alton L. Hall, superintendent of Cordova schools, said that the foundation program as it exists is an exemplary program throughout the state. Some states have had to look for new ways of funding education due to successful challenging of the use of property taxes as the basis of education funding. Alaska already has solved this problem and it would be a mistake to change the program. Mr. Hall said that he is against tampering with the value of an instructional unit as it is not yet known just how much it is worth. John Hayward superintendent of the Kenai Borough School District, said that the bill would cause financial hardship for his school as it would bring transportation and debt service into the foundation act. He said that in his district the number of students bears no relation to the cost of transportation as there is Such a large area to be covered. It would be hard to find a single formula that would be fair for all districts. He said that he likes the concept of instructional units as now defind in the foundation act and that the exceptional problems of specific districts should be taken into account. The superintendent from Hoonah said that the inclusion of transportation and food services in the act would hurt his district. Bill Overstreet of the School Board Association said that it would not be enough to defeat HB 544 as it is noW the responsibil- ity of the state to provide transportation and debt service and pro- visions for funding in these areas must be met and provided for. On the subject of pre-elementary level education, Commiss- ioner Lind said that he had sent letters out to the districts several months ago regarding the possibility of using Title IVA social secur- ity monies in this field and that response from most districts was favorable as long as the quality of their kindergarten programs would be maintained and federal funding was available. In order for this to be done agreements would have to be worked out between districts and the Department of Health and Social Services, possibly with the state using its kindergarten money as its one-third or one-fourth and the federal funds bringing in three to fourstimes the amount in matching funds. As it now stands recipients of the program would be those who have received some sort of public assistance in other areas. He said that groundwork is now being done preparatory to the estab- lishment of a state office of early childhood education. He said that though permissive legislation was passed last year which would allow- development of preschool programs under the supervision of the Depart- ment of Education, no district is now using local or state funds ----------------------- Page 201----------------------- -2- for this type of program as the funds are not available. Rep. Chance asked how many districts represented are inter- ested in the extended school year concept and the incentive program outlined in HB 467. Superintendent of Juneau schools said that Juneau is interested but hasn't done much along those lines to date. Another superintendent said that his district is interested in alternatives to the standard school year such as a summer program including recrea- tional and creative programs to be attended on a voluntary basis. He said that there is interest at the local level in using school build- . ings year round but that funding is needed. Someone pointed out that,"Fhh a study completed last year showed overwhelming support including 80% favoring the 45/15 concept. Bob Thomas of the Department of Education reported to the group on hearings on HB 467 that have been held before the House HWE Committee and the fact that testimony has been favorable. He said that the committee had unanimously adopted a committee sub- stitute which changed the incentive amount from 10% to from 5% to 10% for the first three years to be reduced to 5% at the beginning of the fourth year and which changed the amount for planning from $25,000 max- imum, which was not felt to be enough for the larger districts, to an amount to be left to the discretion of the commissioner to be based on actual planning costs. Senator Thomas asked what the feeling was regarding a bill which has passed the house which would allow the commissioner of edu- cation to settle disputes between districts which arise over jurisdic- tional matters. Commissioner Lind said that his department would like to see the bill in its amended form and that he feels there has prob- ably been some misunderstanding of the intent of the bill which deals with disputes between districts and not within districts. He said that the problems intended to be solved by the bill involve those such as have arisen in Nenana, Cordova and Yakatat when districts which have previously taken students in from outside their district on a tuition basis have decided to no longer do this and a decision has to be made what to do about providing education for the students. Rep. Chance pointed out that the House HWE Committee had amended the bill to say that decisions in this regard should be made in the best inter- ests of the student rather than the best interests of the state and that the decisions of the commissioner can be appealed to the state board of education. Mr. Hayward brought up the topic of HB 664 providing for teacher grievance procedures. He said that he wants to protect man- agement perogatives and is fearful of legislation that would water down rights of school boards and management to run school districts. He said that he feels teachers' organizations are becoming more mili- tant and are most interested in more money and "power and wanting more voice in policy and procedure. In his opinion the bill would give more than should be given to teachers associations, especially the section defining grievances to include misinterpretation of policy, etc. and not just limiting them to contractual matters. He doesn't like the idea of binding arbitration and feels the present negitiation law is adequate and liberal and that the state should stay with advis- ory arbitration only. He said that small districts are especially unable to cope with the caliber of people NEA can bring in for arbi- ----------------------- Page 202----------------------- -3- tration. He said that if school boards consistently go against the recommendations of advisory arbitrators they will be under pressure at the local level. Mr. Hall agreed with Mr. Hayward's views and said that submitting to binding arbitration involves circumventing the will of the people. He said that in some states where binding arbitration is involved there has been a tendency for school boards going to early impasse and turning matters over to arbitration in order to save their dignity. Rep. Chance said that it appears obvious that most of those present have not read the bill thoroughly and should do so. Rep. Specking said that he agrees with the foregoing testimony and feels that if things go on in this direction there will be seen more public disenchantment in such areas as passage of bond issues, etc. It was pointed out that this bill is presently in House Judiciary Committee. Mr. Hall said that he is in favor of SB 236 providing for free lunch programs and nutrition education. Senator Thomas brought up SB 327 which he had introduced at the request of the superintendent of schools at Dillingham. This bill gives teachers the option of early retirement and would help alleviate the problem of the system becoming top heavy with older teachers at the top of the pay scale and less and less openings for young teachers due to lower turnover rates. Mr. Hayward spoke in favor of the bill. He said that he feels teachers have few other vocational options open to them and that teachers should be optimistic and enthusiastic about working with children. Teachers should be allowed to retire with compensa- tion when ready and give young teachers a chance. He feels the legislation should be permissive in order to allow older teachers to stay in teaching if they still want to. He said there is now a longevity factor built into the pay scale from which some funds could be drawn to support the early retirement program. He said that one probable result will be a more militant group of young teachers but that he considers this preferable to a group of teachers just waiting to get out of the profession. Mr. Van Houte of NEA Alaska said that he likes the 25 year retirement provision better than the 20 year and feels that the 25 year decision should rest with the teacher rather than the board. In response to questioning it was noted that teachers at this point will be retained on a year to year basis and will continue to accrue retirement benefits. Mr. Hall said that this bill will be of great benefit to small districts which often have to just let older teachers go whereas larger districts with more money can often use them in some other capacity such as consultants, etc. This forces small dis- tricts to often act more harshly than is desireable. Rep. Chance asked whether any other community than Juneau is moving in the direction of establishing community schools. The superintendent from Sitka said that the adult education division of the community college in his district uses district school facilities. He also expressed fear of possible confrontation arising between comm- ----------------------- Page 203----------------------- -4- unity schools and community colleges. Archie Demmert from Yakatat said that he has tried to create a community center using existing school facilities in order to help a community where there are not forms of entertainment to speak of and where people turn to alcohol a great deal. He said that he feels small communities should be encouraged to make school facilities available to the community under the supervision of a director so that teachers and principals don't have to donate their spare time. The superintendent from Nenana said that he feels the same way but expressed concern with the bills limiting participation to districts with 300 students. Rep. Chance said that the Department of Education is currently working on the problem and will be bringing recommendations back to the HWE Committee in the form of a formula for smaller districts. Mr. Overstreet said that decisions for actual financing of the program has not been worked out but that it probably will be part of the foundation program. Rep. Chance said that this will most likely be based on a percentage of a district's foundation entitlement. This meeting was adjourned at 10:20 a.m. ----------------------- Page 204----------------------- 7 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Memeers present were Reps. Chance, Moore, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. The topic under consideration was satellite telecommuni- cations. Rep. Chance gave a short introduction, saying that the topic had come up informally during a joint meeting of House and Senate HWE Committees and it had been decided to look into the sub- ject to find out what is being done in the field. First to speak was Gilien Stanley of the Geophysical Insti- tute, Uhiversity of Alaska - Fairbanks, and manager of the biophysi- cal portion of the satellite project in the state. He spoke to the topic of what the satellite is and does. The ATS (applications tech- nical satellite) currently has #1 and #3 in orbit, #2 and #4 malfunct- ioned and #5 in partially operational. Satellites such as these work by means of transponders which received signals from earth and re- transmit them to other areas. The projected life of ATS-l was origin- ally 2 years but is now in its 5th year of operation. It is at an altitude of 20,000 feet and is positioned roughly over Hawaii. It is visible to the naked eye allover Alaska and is drifting at a rate of around 3° per year. In response to questioning about the residual power of the satellite for transmitting, Mr. Stanley said that the satellite is powered by solar cells and transmits on full power for three hours per day and at half power all the time except when it cannot receive solar power - as when in the shadow of the earth or during an eclipse. Alaska has 6-1/2 hours per day on ATS-l. There is a one-third of aasecond time lapse in transmission. Bob Arnold, executive director of the Alaska Educational Broadcasting Commission and coordinator of satellite voice and video demonstrations in the state, spoke next on coordination of present satellite activities. He submitted written testimony, including a chart summarizing ATS-l projects in the state. Mr. Arnold said that his task is that of the governor's spokesman to NASA and that in this capacity he requests specific time on ATS-l for defined experiments and demonstrations. If requested times are not available he meets with Alaska's satellite project directors to negotiate changes in the state's request and then confirms new time requests with ATS-l program managers. Mr. Arnold is also a member of the Educational Tele- communications Consortium, established by the Alaska Educational Broadcasting Commission, and participates in policy making. He said that the project was developmd in September 1969. Glen Stanley and Dr. Jon Aase testified regarding the biomed- ical projects being handled through the satellite. Mr. Stanley spoke first saying that negotiations were begun 2 years ago with the Lister-Hill Biomedical Project to work on biomedical demonstra- tion projects for the satellite. $345,000 was received from Lister- Hill to install a series of stations to receive satellite communica- tions. An additional amount of money was granted to Lister-Hill to add an educational aspect to the program. This is an experimental project with the purpose of trying to find useful things that can be sent by satellite. 26 stations are involved and have been operating ----------------------- Page 205----------------------- -2- for about 6 months. Minimal maintenance is required for these stations. Dr. Jon Aase, a pediatrician and geneticist, spoke as consultant to the biomedical project. He said that he had helped in working out the content of the material that would be of benefit to health care in the state with an eye to finding what the satellite can do that other means of communications can't. This project is ex- perimental and gives only a few chances to tryout different ideas. He listed what he considers to be the successes of the program: 1. The program is used by the Public Health Service to reach villages and village health aides - this was the aspect he considered most successful. It enables remote areas to obtain immediate medical ass- istance and information and the people know that they can get help if necessary. 2. Experiments are being done with WAMI medical students which allowed them to be in contact with other medical stu- dents and teachers outside the state. 3. Training sessions for vill- age health aides in -patient care. Dr. Aase considered what he feels to be failures of the project: 1. The transmission of EKGs by satell- ite is feasible but of little interest to the medical community. 2. The first attempt at an educational program directed at doctors around the state did not have good publicity and only attracted 8 doc- tors. Dr. Aase then listed what the unmet needs of the project are: 1. Continuing the education of doctors who are geographically isolated and unable to continue their reducation. 2. Continuing education in the other health professions. 3. The need to spare the time of medical personnel in acquiring basic information which could be handled by less well trained personnel or computor. 4. Access to computers for medical information. There is now a delay factor of 2 days to 2 weeks. 5. Computer assistance in diagnostic and thera- peutic decisions. 6. The possibility of a 24-hour emergency network which allow those in outlying areas to reach assistance and be in touch with emergency systems used in larger areas. The question was raised as to whether any reticence had been encountered among people in the villages about describing medical symptoms over the satellite system. Dr. Aase said that people in bush areas are used to doing this over radio already and that in the satellite program there is the added benefit of all medical aides being able to hear medical broadcasets which refreshes their diagnostic training. In response to questioning about Alaska's satellite time, Dr. Aase said that the 6-1/2 hours allotted are mostly during the daylight hours and that when an emergency occurs outside the regular broadcasting time people can try to break in on other programs but that this doesn't always work. The satellite is turned off at the control stations when no programming is scheduled. Mr. Stanley spoke on the future of the program. He said that the current contract ends in June 1972 and that a new proposal is in the process of being written asking $75,000 in funding from Lister-Hill to last until December 1972 and expects to then be funded for another year. He said that he thinks the program will go L on and be federally funded for the foreseeable future. In response to questioning, Mr. Stanley said that 10 villages and the Tanana hospital are currently participating in the biomedical program. He said that the project is under pressure to move stations which are not being used but that he would like to see them left in place and ----------------------- Page 206----------------------- -3- an attempt made to find out why they are not used and find out what types of programming would appeal to these locations. Regarding using the satellite for facsimile transmission he said that it takes 6 min- utes per page and is very expensive. Bethel is not using its satellite receiver as the area already has telephone and teletype communication which are not limited to any particular time. Other transmitters not being used are those in Kodiak and Juneau. Rep. Naughton said that the Kodiak receiver would be used if stations were located in other villages in the area. Mr. Stanley said that the purpose of the project is not to provide service but to experiment and learn. Next to testify was Charles M. Northrip, director of media services at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks. He presented written testimony, on the topic of national public radio uses of the satellite. The satellite was first used for transmission of national radio programs by KUAC, the U of A's radio station, to transmit a program originating at KUAC featuring Rlaph Nader. This program was transmitted to the other states for rebroadcast there. Since late summer of 1971, "All Things Considered, a program from National Public Radio, has been carried by KUAC for its listeners in the Fair- banks area via the ATS-l satellite at the same time it is being broadcast from Washington'D.C. Mr. Northrip played a tape of this broadcast. He said that experiments are being done in the area of doubling speed of transmission and taping which could cut satellite use time and double, the amount of information received. He also made the point that Bethel could use its earth station to receive radio programs to be broadcast over its public radio station. In response to questio comparison of costs of satellite and radio communica- tions, Mr. Northrip said that in the case of radio costs are based on distance. With the satellite there are no transmission costs. He further said that a study has been made regarding putting AM radio stations around the state. Mr. Arnold said that the whole state could be covered by 20 public radio stations. When asked if these could be remote stations serviced by satellite, Mr. Arnold said that one of the questions in this area is the importance of regional news. Mr. Arnold also said that satellite cost is based on numbers of cir- cuits used and amount of time used. Harry Carter, Sue PittmaN and Walt Parker testified on the education project. Sue Pittman, Interim Director of the Action-Study Satellite Project spoke first. She said that education receivers are established in 21 sites which are located at schools. Medical receivers located in medical aides homes are also used to receive educational programming. Educational broadcasting is done for 2 hours per day - from 10 to 11 a.m. and 7 to 8 p.m. Alaska Standard Time. The morning hour is used for classroom and instructional pro- gramming. The evening hour is used for community programming. The morning hour was initially at half power which was found not to be satisfactory for children. There is now available half an hour of full power in the morning, but classroom programming is not now being done. The evening hour has been more sudcessful as it has al- ways been at full power. The programming includes such things as health education, teacher exchange, music, internal organization, etc. Program decisions are made on user need and desire. This project is supposed to be developing software but was started with too little knowledge and prior contact with the people to be served. ----------------------- Page 207----------------------- -4- Trial and erroris now being used to find the type of programming wanted by recipients. Funding for the education project runs out in June. The consortium will meet in Anchorage soon to discuss project funding. There will not be much audience for the program in the sum- mer months. Harry Carter, executive director of AFN and a member of the consortium, spoke next. He said that this is an experimental program put together without consulting the recipients and that is now in the process of trying to gain participation, support and enthusiasm for the program. There has been criticism from the Native leader- ship due to the way the program was put together. He spoke about the problem of funds possibly being taken from Native programs due to the land claims settlement and the possibility of termination of federal programs in the state. This would result in responsibilities being transferred to the state for funding. He said that he feels it is necessary to cooperate with the state to develop transporta- tion, communication, etc. systems. He said that communication should rely on whatever combination of systems will adequately serve existing needs. Walt Parker, evaluator for the Satellite Educational Broadcast Action Study, testified on the education project. He said that settlement of the land claims means a need for much learning in rural areas. Now in the study phase is how much program time can be effectively utilized in the villages and what size area programs should be directed at. Great differences exist among the 2-0 villages in the state and it is impossible to generalize about Native Alakka. An effort is being made to obtain as much f@edback as possible and to set up a continuing avaluation system. Program- ming will have to continually be changed to meet current needs. In response to questioning, Mr. Parker said that funding for the education project came from Title III under the elementary and secondary education funding act. He said that he thinks the reason it won't be refunded under this act is due to the fact that it is an ongoing experiment without a definite time limit. Mr. Arnold said that the NASA system can continue using the satellite through Decem- ber of this year if funding can be found. Software funding runs out June 30, 1972 for the education project. Federal MDTA funding has been granted in the sum of $300,000 for this purpose but has not yet been put to use, and since it is unknown at this point if the educa- tional project will be refunded it is possible that these funds will not be used. In response to questioning, it was stated that the next satellite will be of an entirely different frequency range and that existing receivers will not be compatible with it. Ken Greiser of the state Department of Education gave some details of funding the program. He said that several different fund- ing sources had been used. $16,500 of Title V elementary and Second- ary funds are being used to fund the operations of the consortium. Two Title III grants - $56,000 for1971 and $58,000 for 1972 - will run out in June 1972. $15,000 is available under the higher education act as training money primarily for teacher training and administered through BIA. $300,000 in MDTA funds has been granted for production of institutional materials. Title III money is available to the state which could go to the satellite project or something else. A proposal would have to be written to the Office of Education. ----------------------- Page 208----------------------- -5- Ms. Pittman said that the program had been given to understand that no more Title III grants would be made to the satellite project. Mr. Greiser said that renewal sites are being established throughout the country and that Alaska is supposed to get onto In response to questioning on this point, Commissioner Lind of the De- partment of Education explained this new concept in federal funding-- the designation of renewal sites for continued funding. Under this concept the U.S. commissioner of the Office of Education is able to take 15% off the top of his budget as discretional renewal funds which he can allot to special projects. The state has submitted four poss- ible sites - Anchorage, Ketchikan, Kodiak and Dillingham. This process involves pooling several small grants for the purpose of utilizing new methods, innovative approaches and means bulk rather than cate- gorical grants. In response to questioning Mr. Stanley said that new equipment for the medical program will be furnished when the new satellite goes up. Ms. Pittman stated, in response to questioning, that the second grant period ran from the middle of February through the end of June of this year and that this includes the project director, secretary, program evaluator, education audit, and an audiologist who is part of the handicapped component which is funded for $23,000. The amount needed to fund the project until December would depend on its level of activity. The audiologist does hearing tests and diag- nosis at program sites, makes informational presentations on hearing loss, noise pollution, etc. There was a question as to whether this was not duplicating what the Department of Health and Social Services is or should be doing. Ms. Pittman said that she did not feel that this involved duplication. She went on to say that there has been a problem with teacher acceptance of the classroom education program. Some who were enthusiastic at first were turned off by the poor qual- ity of reception. The reception is now better but there is not enough time before the end of the school year to find teachers interested in receiving the program. The question was brought up as to whether it might not be better to concentrate on the community development aspect of programming. Next to testify was Dr. Albert Horley, director of tele- communications policy for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.- He said the -reasons HEW is interested in the field of communications are 1. Rising social expectations of people for a wide range of public services and 2. Difficulties in providing these serv- ices due to limitations of resources tax base, etc. It was necessary to look to improved productivity to even maintain present levels of services much less being able to increase them. This involves accep- tance of new methods of delivery of total services and finding how to reallocate resources for delivery of services and how better to spend available funds. 85% of education funds are now spent on per- sonnel and 4% on materials. The department is now looking at the possibility and desireability of spending equal amounts on materials and support services. It is hoped that by having available very high quality materials that good quality services can be delivered even without highly trained personnell. The department intends to look into such things as career education and basic education, open ----------------------- Page 209----------------------- -6- universities and lifelong learning, teacher training, curriculum renewal, as well as early childhood education which has already been gone into. The department is looking at different types of communi- cation and working them into an effective whole system. In speaking of ATS-F programs, Dr. Horley said that interest began a year and a half ago at HEW. The ATS-F offers the opportunity for long range delivery of services. Frequency of transmission from this satellite has been moved to the bands allocated worldwide for satellites and those allocated in the US for education uses. This satellite enables use of low cost receiver stations - perhaps as low as $1,000 - capable of TV reception. A federal study was done of satellite use possi- bilities which found that some of the things possible would be wide range of TV usage, 2-way radio which could be used with compu- ters and for retrieval of stored information, 2-way TV, and multipal- audio distribution. The department would like better definition of existing problems and creative suggestions for solutions from Alaska. In response to questioning about difficulty of reception from ATS-F in some areas of Alaska that presently receive transmission from ATS-l, Dr. Horley said that it was true that there would be a problem due to the fact that it will be located over the eastern portion of the country but that it might be possible to shift its position some- time after the initial use period and that NASA has been approached on this. Sufficient demand might result in commercial satellite distri- bution. Mr. Arnold said that the Educational Broadcast Commission has been granted $35,000 with which to a needs assessment study. Mr. Northrip went on to conclude his prepared testimony dealing with the low cost of providing terminals to receive trans- missions from ATS-F and the fact that they will be able to receive television. He said that perhaps one solution to Alaska's communi- cations problems would be to have a separate satellite system for educational and public services uses in Alaska and the rest of the Pacific Basin, but that such a system would have to be wholly subsi- dized. It wouldn't do the state much good to tool up for the ATS-F and G experiments if the following domestic system can't provide adequate signals to the small terminals that will be utilized during these experimental periods. Fairchild is making the only domestic satellite of the caliber of ATS-F, which it also makes. Comsat will begin demonstrations in April using a 16 foot disk (smaller than FCC regulations allow) around the state receiving signals from Anchorage and Fairbanks, sending these signals to the satellite and having them bounced back to several village areas. In speaking of what could be done in the future, Mr. Stanley pointed out the following possibilities: 1. Remote medical teaching - a 2-way TV link could be set up between medical students and teachers outside the state. This could be used by the WAMI program. 2. The California-Oregon nevada group is interested in the same type of thing. There could be-trading between classes and facul- ty and trading of information via computers. ----------------------- Page 210----------------------- -7- 3. An Alaskan experimental medical network for continuing education of professional, para-professional and community people. 4. Checking on percentage of auroral interference. Bob Van Houte then spoke on the role of agencies in the program. He began with general comments on satellite communications. He said that a wide approach should be taken involving as many groups as possible. He said that a look should be taken at the gov- ernment's view of satellite and public broadcasting and the possibi- lity of the satellite being moved after the main experiments so that it can be used by Alaska. Work is going ahead on Canadian satellites and the Canadians are interested in joint satellite use with the U.S., expecially Alaska. Canada will initially have two systems with more capacity than originally needed, and Alaska should look into the possibility of cooperation in this area. Dr. Horley said that this has been under discussion at the federal level. There are problems to be worked out and no policy is set at this time. Mr. Van Houte said that he realizes there are political problems involved but that it is worthwhile to ask questions. He said satellite use would make resources in other states available to Alaska without duplicating whole libraries. Mr. Carter said that the consortium is trying to develop an overview of the whole system. Dr. Horley said that HEW is not planning to build a communications network for HEW but that it sees the growth of many communications means over the next 10 years. He said that the fear exists that this new means of communication will only serve entertainment needs if experimentation is not done now and if requirements are not set now. Dr. Lind, speak- ing of the role of the Department of Education, said that his depart- ment is concerned with the direction various types of communication are moving in, especially program development in rural areas of the state and the fact that this will definitely change the tone of educa- tion. There is not now a person on the staff in the department dealing with media and telecommunications. It is necessary to look at uti- lization of all types of media based on needs assessment and to know what schools are expected to do and then to look at what they are not doing. This problem is now being approached on a piecemeal basis, program by program, and there is much duplication among states in programming. The department is now conducting a statewide need assess- ment which is expected to be completed by December 1972. In response to questioning, Mr. Arnold said that he agrees with Dr. Linds state- ment that is necessary to know what is wanted. He said the broad- cast commission encourages development of stations and guidelines and that it would be useful if it were to be concerned with other forms of communication as well. The commission is developing a 5 year plan. This meeting was adjourned at 5 p.m. ----------------------- Page 211----------------------- satelite Telecommunications Hearings HOuse HWE 3/17/72 Harry Carter, Executive Directory, AFN Sue Pittman, Interim Directory, Action-Study Satellite Project * Ed Haden, Telecommunications Consultant, Office of the Governor Dr. Marshall Lind, Commissioner, Department of Education Bob Arnold, Alaska Educational Broadcasting Commission Charles Northrip, Director, Division of Media Services, U of A- FBX Bob Van Houte, Executive Director, Alaska Education Association Glen Stanley, Geophysical Institute, U of A FBX Walt Parker, Evaluator, Action-Study Satellite Project * Stowall Johnstone, Chairman, Alaska Educational Broadcasting Commission Robert Merrit, Geophysical Institute, U of A - Fairbanks * Dr. Adolph Koenig, US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Wash DC * Phil Rubin, Public Broadcasting Corporation, Washington D.C. * Al Feiner, Director, Lister-Hill Biomedical Project, Bethesda, Md. Dr. Alberty Horley, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, D.C. ? John Aase, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska ----------------------- Page 212----------------------- TESTIMONY OF CHARLES M.NORTHRIP BEFORE THE ALASKA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, WELFARE AND EDUCATION ON THE TOPIC OF SATELLITE TELECOMtAUNICATIONS My name is Charles M. Northrip. I am the director of Media Services at the University of Alaska. In that capacity I serve as general manager for the University's public radio and television stations and provide overall supervision to all other media activity on the campus, including the department of audio-visual communications. Formerly I served, as the first executive director of the Alaska Educational Broadcasting Commission, and prior to that as manager of the University of Alaska's FM educational radio station, KUAC. I am presently serving as a part-time consultant to the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare on the planning for Alaskan uses of the ATS-F satellite, and have been active in Alaskan satellite matters both before and after the formation of the Governor's Satellite Task Force in 1966. I've been an Alaskan since 1963. My bachelor's and master's degrees are from the University of Florida, and I hold a, Ph. D. in mass communications from Ohio University. In terms of present satellite activities within the State of Alaska, I serve on the Educational Telecommunications Consortium which provides policy guidance for the education portion of the current ATS-I experiments. As general manager of KUAC(FM) at the University, I provide direct supervision for the National Public Radio portion of the ATS-l experiment, and that's the portion of the experiment about which I've been asked to talk today. Educational radio uses of satellite communication were listed in Alaska's first proposal to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the use of ATS-l in 1969. I assisted in the writing of that proposal. In April of 1970, the first example of U. S. domestic radio networking was achieved through the ATS-I satellite when a broadcast originating at KUAC at the University of Alaska, featuring consumer advocate Ralph Nader, was transmitted to the lower 48 states for rebroad- cast there. Since the late summer of 1971, "All Things Considered," a program from National Public Radio, has been carried by KUAC for its listeners in the Fairbanks area via the ATS-l satellite. What's so unusual about a network radio program? In Alaska, a lot. Tele- phone lines, the usual method of distributing radio network programs are costly in Alaska; the quality of those telephone lines is low; and the rates for the use of them are tied to the distance they stretch between the network origination point and the using station. I'd like for you for a moment to listen to an old, weak, worn-out ATS-I satellite. Please note that distance means nothing to this satellite; rate-making according to distance would make no sense at all. Note also that the events you are about to hear were in the news last Friday, March 3, and that listeners in the Fairbanks area heard about those events on Friday, March 3, through this program-- not a day late, not an abbreviated version, but all of it as it happened. ----------------------- Page 213----------------------- Page 2 (ATC excerpt) It't not hi-fi, but it certainly is understandable. And that's the name of the game in a democracy--providing "the people" with the information necessary to make rational decisions. We have no audience figures on how many people are listening to "All Things Considered" in Fairbanks; we hope to have some soon. We'd also like to try doubling the transmission speed of the program from the east coast where it originates, recording that double speed, and then playing it back at regular speed. Thereby we'll cut our use of the satellite in half and allow other users more time on the satellite. The frequency response characteristics of this satellite and others which follow, allow us to try such an approach. Current AT&T and RCA telephone lines do not have that capability. The ATS-l and futrure satellites are made to order for this kind of radio networking. The satellite puts out a broad signal covering the entire State of Alaska, and indeed, this entire hemisphere. Any radio station which had the clearance to broadcast the program and which had the necessary receiving equip- ment could broadcast it. There's no need for local loops from local telephone companies or for the paying of multitudionous rate charges from various regional networking centers. It's just as easy also to transmit to the satellite as it is to receive from it, thereby enabling a complete intra-state or intra-regional network without all the complexities involved in doing the same thing over a terestrial system. I could tell hyou many more things about our use of "All Things Considered" and how I believ it is a forerunner of a much greater influx of public affairs information for the people of Alaska. I'd rather stop now, however, and allow you to ask questions abou the areas of the project in which you have the most interest. I'm also prepared to speak about planning for the ATS-F project, but I shall defer that to the appropriate time on the program. (Pause for questions and continutation of testimony.) ----------------------- Page 214----------------------- Page 3 TESTIMONY OF CHARLES M. NORTHRIP, CONTINUED Subject: ATS-F Planning The poor quality you heard on the ATS-l sample of the "All things con- sidered" program can become a thing of the past through the use of the ATS-F satellite. In addition, many more circuits for voice or audio service will be available. Currently the ATS-l is like a party line. There is one, perhaps two or three, voice circuits. Alaska has the use of only one. Therefore, any message being given by one part of the State is automatically heard by all receivers tuned to that frequencey anywhere in the State. No privacy can be afforded; only one conversation can be carried on at one time. With the ATS-F, ten to fifty such circuits will be available. Also television service for the first time will become practical from the satellite. the earth termincal cost to provide television signals via the ATS-l is in the neighborhood of $250,000. For the ATS-F, the same facility can be provided for $5,000 or less. There are figures as low as $298.98 (or there0 abouts), but I believe the $5,000 figure is fairly meaningful. It means that we'll be able to receive (and perhaps transmit) television for abou the same cost that we are now receiving and transmitting radio via the ATS-l What all this means is that a large number of earth terminals will be practical during the ATS-F and G (if Alaska is allowed to participate in the G experiments) are experimental satellites. What we must learn or decide is what the operational satellites will be which should follow the ATS-F and G experiments. Most applications for the U.S. domestic satellite system plan for less powerful satellites than iether the ATS_F or G, and therefore the earth terminals to receive signals from those satellites will cost much more that the $5,000 figure that I mentioned earlier. I've heard figures of $80,000 perhaps $100,000, for earth terminals. That kind of cost is fine for the lower 48 states, where an existing terrestrial network of video, microwave, and coaxial cable is available to ferry television signals from earth terminals to various regions. But we don't have such capabilities in Alaska. to dot our landscape with $80,000-$100,000 earth terminals appears to me to be a colossal waste, if indeed the same sorts of facilities can be provided through the use of a more powerful satellite like the ATS-F or G. the answer to this dilemma may be a separate satellite system for educational and public service uses in Alaska and elsewhere in the pacific Basin, but then taht system will have to be wholly susidized. One basic rule of communication rate- making is that the heavy traffic areas and the areas requiring simple and less complex services help keep the cost to other areas and for other services down. If we have a domestic commercial system taking care of telephone and main-line television service, what will happen when we want to add remote area coveage or statewide television coverage to the system? Will the system have to be scrapped in oder to build a ----------------------- Page 215----------------------- Page 4 more complex satellite into the picture, or will we have to pay for the high cost of additional terminals throughout the State? These are hard questions, but they must be asked and we and others must find answers to them It appears to me that it will not do the State much good to tool up for the ATS-F and G experiments if the following domestic system can't provide adequate signals to the small terminals that will be utilized during these experi- mental periods. I'm extremely enthusiastic about the ATS-F and G Programs. I believe they'll let us try some more adventuring in the telecommunications field like that that we've already engaged in using the ATS-l. such experimentation, I believe, has already enriched the lives of the Alaskans we serve, and I believe that further experimentation will certainly advance taht enrichment. I only hope that our use of the ATS-F and perhaps the ATS-G satellites won't be dead-end programs due to tan inadequate or out-of-date domestic system which may follow it. March 7,1972 ----------------------- Page 216----------------------- Testimony by Sue Pittman to House, Welfare and Educationa Committee, hearing on satellite telecommunication March 7, 1972 The education portion of the current ATS-l experiments receives its equipment and support through the Lister-Hill Biomedical project. My position as Project Director is funded with Title III Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds through Alaska State-Operated Schools. In addition, we have secured some Bureau of Indian Affairs funding to provide a community liaison officer for the project. OUr current funding, which extends through June 30, 1972 provides for the project director, a secretary, an audiologist and the services of a program evaluator and program producers. The audiologist is the "handicapped component" of the Title III money and the project con- tracts with Peggy Wood's Communicative Disorders program of Health and Social Services for his services in the northern region of the state. The policy making board for the education project is the Educational Telecommunication Consortium with Harry Carter as chairman. The Consortium includes representatives from Alaska. State-Operated Schools, the University of Alaska, the Alaska Library Association, the State Department of Education, the Alaska Educational Broadcasting Commission, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rural CAP, Dept of Health and Social Services, District One Education Association, Native Health Service, Sheldon Jackson College, and Alaska Education Association. The major activities of the education project since its be- ginnings last fall have fallen under one of two areas: 1) two hours per day of two-way radio programming via the satellite and 2) the diagnostic, and educational work in hearing problems by John Devens, the project audiologist. I'm providing you with copies of the March schedule to give you an idea of the various ways we have been programming. Ideally, the morning hour should have been heavily used for efforts in classroom programming--providing instructional material to be utilized by the teacher. Early efforts at classroom programs were not successful because the satellite was operating at half power, and children were not able to understand what was being said. At the request of participants we continued the story telling hour and the teachers-administrators internal communication in the morning and discontinued attempts at class- room programs. As of this month we have been able to obtain a half hour of full power during our morning slot; whether this will be in time to accomplish useful experiments in the classroom be- fore school is out remains to be seen. The evening hour has been much more successful. Even at half power reception was reasonably good and by moving to a later hour we have been able to use full power in the evening since February. Evening hours have included, health education programs, teacher idea exchanges, the local news hour with reports from various sites, Tanana Chiefs, Alaska Federation of Natives, and rctic Slope Native Association reports with their village sites. The education project puts a high premium on local input and user needs. One of the unique characteristics of the broadcasting" ----------------------- Page 217----------------------- -2- that we're doing is its two-way capability. As often as possible our programs have been based on things the audience expressed a need to hear. Our successes have most often been with programs that were either audience requests or were in fact things the audience felt a need to know. The price we pay for the two-way capability of the system is a sacrifice in listener ease. The programs can be heard only at the scho01 or the health aid's home. Consequently, program announcements on the radio of additions to the schedule or changes reach only a few potential audience members and we must depend on them to "spread the word." Mailed program schedules fight the well known problems of plane arrival, especially in winter weather. In general the audience has been willing to come to the programs they knew they wanted to hear and they've been enthusiastic about other programs that covered topics they hadn't asked about but were interested. The key purpose for this project had to do with "developing software." It seems to me that what we've come down to in developing software--be it sophisticated pre-recorded production or a simple question and answer session--is the fact that we have far too little access to audience input either in the form of direct suggestions or basic information about that audience. It is not possible to start programming off the top of onets head without giving some consideration to whether the potential audience feels any need or desire for the programming. It has taken the education project a long time through considerable trial and error to find those things which began to meet audience needs. We also had the factor of preselecting sites and in many cases the equipment was installed before the education project office was really functioning. Equipment arrived before we were able to tell them it was coming, let alone ask if they were interested. In some cases expectations developed that were far beyond any capabilities the project had to meet those expectations. The reception problems for what was supposed to have been the classroom hour have made it difficult to generate enthusiasm for planning instructional programs that might never be used. That doesn't mean we haven't had any successes but it does mean they haven't been as frequent or as consistent as we would have liked. There's a danger I think in assuming that the failures are always because of inadequacies on our part. I think the March schedule is the best yet--perhaps one way I can tell is that it has many programs that were generated not by my office so much as by user request on the part of either the audience or the program originator. I still know that each program may not have the audience it deserves for a variety of reasons including the fact that the local movie may be just too good to miss. But this is an experiment and there's always a tendency toward making it operational instead of experimental because the need for reliable, consistent communication to these areas is so great. If we are able to take what we're learning from this experiment combine it with additional planning-planning that takes place not a month in advance, but over a period of several months-and perhaps even advance production I think we can do a better job of serving with satellite communications. ----------------------- Page 218----------------------- -3- I know that if we ignore what we're learning now, assuming that we already know what's best for those remote sites, we'll fail to achieve a meaningful communication service. ----------------------- Page 219----------------------- HOUSE HEALTH, WELFARE AND EDUCATION COMMITTEE Suggested topics for hearing on satellite telecommunications March 7, 1972 I. What the satellite is and does. Bob Merritt II. Present activities A. Coordination Bob Arnold B. The bio-medical project glenn Stanley & Jon Aase 1. Funding 2. Successes and failures 3. Unmet Needs C. The education project Harry Carter, Sue Pittman & Walt Parker 1. Funding 2. Successes and failures 3. Unmet needs D. National Public Radio Charlie Northrip 1. Funding 2. Success and failures 3. Unmet needs III. Planning: ATS-F Dr. Al Horley A. Coordination, general problems, etc. Bob Arnold B. Education Project Bob Arnold & Charlie Northrip C. Medical Project Glenn Stanley IV. Roles of agencie (DOE, AERC, etc.) Marshall Lind, Harry Carter & Bob Van Houte {Noted if the hearings are running late, Dr. Horley & Bob Arnold should appear sooner in the hearings} ----------------------- Page 220----------------------- Testimony to the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee Alaska State Legislature March 2, 1972 Walter B. Parker Evaluator Satellite Educational Broadcast Action Study ----------------------- Page 221----------------------- In the interim evaluation report of the Action Study, dated January 12, 1972, it was determined that of the six needs outlined in the original study proposal, one was being met satisfactorily, three were partially fulfilled, one had not been undertaken at that time, and one could not be evaluated due to insufficient data. It was also pointed out that some of the project objectives were not particularly related to satellite communications, but were instead an expression of the general lack of any communications in the subject villages . and that these objectives would be filled by the provision of any adequate communications system such as a telephone. The Action Study has evolved into into a three branched program aimed at three distinctgroups, the teachers, the students, and the general community. Some success has been had in meeting the needs of the teachers and the general community, but due to technical problems direct intervention into the classrooms with programming directly to the students and involving the students has not been successful and indeed has hardly been attempted after the problemsof reception became. obvious. These problems are examined in detail in the interim evaluation report but in general result in a rejection by the students because of weak signals and a high signal to noise ratio Fortunately, we have been able to arrange for full power during the morning period and hope that this segment of the study will be able to achieve enough participation to evaluate whether direct radio broadcasting into the classroom is a valid ----------------------- Page 222----------------------- 2 educational concept for rural Alaska. The satellite communications is providing teachers with a means of communication and the Tanana Service Unit has found this to be of great value due to the inadequacies of their single side band radios, Other service units are using their regular school radios and have evidently no need for the satellite radio. The effort to provide teacher training courses via satellite radio is still in its infancy. This can develop into two complementary programs; one having the universities develop a curriculum of courses that can be offered to teachers over the radio, and the other being study sessions conducted by the rural teachers themselves in which various problems and techniques would be discussed and their common knowledge pooled. Community education programs continue to enjoy the most success measured in terms of listener response, WIth the great increase in learning requirements that will be engendered by the Natlve Claims Settlement Act in rural Alaska, this need' alone can serve as a justification for satellite education. The programs thus far have revealed a tremendous lack of knowledge in the villages about land claims rights, implementation procedures, and other aspects of the settlement. Programs dealing with the pragmatic aspects of the clains settlement have almost invariably found an enthtisiastic reception. ----------------------- Page 223----------------------- 3 The major problem that now faces those concerned with programs for educating rural Alaska is what type of education should be provided. I don't think that we are going to find the answer to this easily, but we are only going to find it by continuing projects such as the Action Study that concentrate on local input and that encourage a continuing dialogue with the villages and that can secure immediate responses to proposals and questions. Certainly, education for rural Alaska cannot be separated from other developments there. At present there is a great, emphasis on pragmatic practical applications and programs that have followed this technique and dealt with the present problems of the villages have been the most successful. Such programs will continue to be successful as long as village Alaska comtinues much as it is now with high unemployment, low per capita income, and in general a reliance upon a subsistence economy butressed by a seasonal incomes of varying levels of insufficiency. Yet, the technological society will probably continue to encroach upon the villages. It is more and More apparent that natural resource extraction in particular and industry in general can only succeed in our high cost economy when they put into practice labor saving techniques to the maximum degree, or when they are able to perpetuate a lOw wage economy A highly technological society requires two levels of workers, one level highly sophisticated and ----------------------- Page 224----------------------- 4 the other needing only enough knowledge to report whether a light is burning or a whistle blowing, The classic example is the automated bakeries in West Germany where the ovens are supervised by illiterate Spanish women whose main requirement is the ability to ride a bicycle back and forth in front of the ovens. They do not even have to know how to speak German since they can report a malfunction by pressing a button to notify the repairman, The analogy to our situation in Alaska would be totally automated fish processing plants, mining operations where the equipment operation is automated to a central control room, and similar situations in other industry. We already have the shape of the future revealed in the Prudhoe complex. which will require very little labor to operate when completed. So the question becomes - what level of needs do we wish to fulfill with our rural education system and its broadcast components? Some educators now say that the most practical education is the most theoretical one." There are others who say that we must train to occupations in order to reduce the massive unemployment in rural Alaska. We have over 200 villages in Alaska that range in population from 25 to 1000 people. It has been my experience that each of these villages has a unique set of needs and therefore must develop an educational system that suits those needs, Some of these will be common Within a group of villages, some needs will be common for all villages. The mix can only be determined by encouraging maximum local input to the educational system. ----------------------- Page 225----------------------- 5 The Action Study has attempted to secure this local input from all of its listeners from the start of the project and I think that this has been its chief strength. However, even within this emphasis on local progamming and determination of requirements there has still been a sense in rome villages that their needs are not receiving sufficient consideration. No matter how hard we try to achieve open end programming to rural Alaska this feeling will probably remain one of the chief problems to overcome simply because of the uniqueness of the needs of different villages and groups of villages. It is important to remember that we are involved in a study, not a program and that our objectives should be the short range objectives of a study and not the long range efforts of a continuing program. We want to find out what we should recommend for the next generation of satellites that will hopefully serve Alaska. The things we do not yet know and must secure an approximation of before we can make intelligent choices are: (1) how much programming can the villages absorb both in classroom education and community information; (2) the size of the areas that can be served by particular sets of programs; and, (3) the types of programs that will achieve the various goals that rural Alaska will establish for itself. We are beginning to get some ideas on the amount of program time that can be effectively utilized in the villages involved in the present study. We have ----------------------- Page 226----------------------- 6 come to realize that time in rural Alaska is just as precious a commodity as it is in the cities and that our various audiences, teachers, students, and other citizens have only so much time that they are able and willing to allot to educational broadcasting. Undoubtedly excellence of programming will increase the amount of time they are willing to allot but then the factor of how much can be absorbed must be considered. The other problem that arises is fitting broadcast times to the rhythm of village life both inside and outside the classroom. Movies, meals, parties, and sports distract just as easily in the villaggs as in the cities. The size of the area that can be served will of- course depend upon the type of program offered. Some programs may be of interest to all Alaska and may require little response thus could be broadcast to large numbers of villages at once. Other programs may involve intensive dialogue and be able-to accomodate only a few communities in an hour period. Luckily satellite broadcasting provides the type of flexibility that will make this kind of programming technically possible. There are two main factors that must be considered in working out program areas; the area to which a certain program is germane and the amount of response which will be engendered from the listeners. Subject matter and listener interest will always be hard to determine but we are beginning to discover what our audiences want. ----------------------- Page 227----------------------- 7 Responding to those wants is and will remain the most difficult problem. Satellite broadcasting only provides the means to communicate. There is no mix that will provide instant education. In every program series we introduce we will be attempting to induce some behavioral change in our villages. With the many pressures that will be introduced with the settlement of the Native claims we must exercise some caution in introducing too much change too fast. I think that the only reliable monitors we can utilize to tell us how fast we should procedd are the village councils and school advisory boards. The geatest thing about the satellite systems are that they gave us the capability of obtaining this kind of feedback, but we must make provision for it in the system and utilize it when we get it. None of us is wise enough to know now whether the next generation in rural Alaska will want to move into the mainstream of American society and secure the high paying jobs that are available there or whether they will want to remain on their newly won lands. They will probably want to do both and therefore the educational system must be prepared to train for both worlds. The vision which was offered at the Brookings conferences was that rural education should be rcestructured in order that Native Alaskans as well as non-Natives may be equipped to choose the life-style of their seeking. ----------------------- Page 228----------------------- 8 Satellite communications can be a large part of the program in making this goal obtainable and I for one keep this concept as the central theme in my evaluation of the various programs that are developed in the Action Study. ----------------------- Page 229----------------------- {Page 229 refers to Satelite Radio Schedule for March 1972, see original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 230---------------------- {Page 230 refers to Satelite Radio Broadcast Schedule - Week of March 6 - March 10, see original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 231----------------------- {Page 231 refers to Satellite Radio Broadcast Schedule - week of March 13 - March 17, see original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 232----------------------- {Page 232 refers to Satellite Radio Broadcast Schedule week of March 20 - March 24, see original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 233----------------------- {Page 233 referst ot Satellite Radio Broadcast Schedule - week of March 27 - March 27, see original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 234----------------------- Bob Arnold ATS-l Activities Coordination I am Bob Arnold, executive director of the Alasak Educational commission, and cooridnator of satellite voice and video demonstrations in the state. Management and operation of all ATS-l demonstrations employing satellites of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are in the hands of others (who will be speaking to you shortly), but my task is that of Governor Egan's spokesman to NASA. In this role I do the following things. - through the Governor, I request specific time on ATS-l for defined ex- periments and demonstrations. - if any of the times requested are not available, because Hawaii or NOAA or others are using such times, I meet with Alaska's satellite project directors to negotiate changes in our request. - I then telegraph ATS-l program manager with the new time request, and a telegram is received in return qpproving the time slots. I do have a second role regarding the satellite education project. The Broad- casting Commission established the Educational Telecommunications Consortium which, in turn, hired the project directors, in addition, I am a member of the Consortium, and as such participate in policy making. To illustrate the organizaions involved I have prepared a chart which is attached. ----------------------- Page 235----------------------- {Refer to original/pdf version for 'Summary ATS-l Projects chart} ----------------------- Page 236----------------------- James P. Barrett Directory of Public Information NPR-National Public Radio 888 Sixteenth Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20006 / 202-833-1230 Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Unique "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED -- WEEKLY EDITION" TO BE BROADCAST OVER Washington, D.C. --National Public Radio's "All Things Considered--Weekly Edition" takes an unprecedented approach to broadcast journalism in this unique compilation of special segments from the nightly "All Things Considered..." news series. Broadcast on _________, __________at___________(a.m./p.m), "All Things Considered...." goes beyond the traditional transmission of data or "hard" news. According to NPR Programming Director William Siemering, "it plows new ground in the field of investi- gative journalism and, at the same time, serves the individual with a more human view of his environment." "People will be valued and treated with respect by the program staff," Siemering adds. "The listener has a sense of reality, of authentic people sharing the human experience with emotional openness. The series also deals with the arts and humanities and other subjects not usually considered public affairs." "All Things Considered--Weekly Edition" provides short documentaries, interives with newsmakers, special background and analytical features, music, man-on-the-street opinion polling, listener phone-ins, and in-studio discussions with experts. -more- ----------------------- Page 237----------------------- NPR TO BROADCAST NEW SERIES, "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED--WEEKLY EDITION": add 1: Segments range from an interview with Leonard Bernstein shortly before the premier of his "Mass" to an on-the-spot talk with famed motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. From WMOT, the NPR affiliate in Murfreesbor, Tennessee, come an in-depth report on the newly emerging "Jesus freak" cult. Or, a segment featuring Josh Darsa interviewing an elderly blind man who survived a fall onto a subway track might be followed by a report from member station WAMC in Albany, New York, on the "Tiger Cages" used to detain prisoners in South Vietnam. "All Things Considered..." is also national in scope. "Even though NPR is headquartered in Washington, D.C., "NPR managing editor Robert Conley says, "we want to capture all the sounds, textures and voices of America to introduce people in different parts of the country to each other. We think a story ont the life of a lumberjack can be more accurately presented by KWSU (PUllman, Washington) reporter talking to a lumberjack in his own community than by someone from Washington, D.C. spending the day there." For this reason, approximately one-third of the daily material will originate from NPR affiliates located in 34 states. In addition to its own resources, NPR has arranged a daily 15 minute feed from the British Broadcasting Corporation, an exchange of materials with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation adn analytical/reportial contributions from Christian Science Monitor foreign Correspondents. "All Things Considered--Weekly edition" Also uses the information services of the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France Presse, the French news agency with correspondents -more- ----------------------- Page 238----------------------- NPR TO BROADCAST NEW SERIES, "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED--WEEKLY EDITION"; ADD 2: In such cities as Hanoi and Peking. The possibility of contributions from other European news agencies is currently beign explored. the nightly "All Things considered...," from which the "All Things Considered--Weekly Edition" is drawn, has been widely hearlded by the press. Dwight Newton, radio and television editor for the San Franscisco Examiner, refers to "All things Considered..." as "a truly rewarding experience in radio news," and continues, "I marvel at the program's broad scope, rich background material and immediate timeliness." Christian Science Monitor's television critic Alan Bunce calls "All things Considered..." "a digging kind of journalism largely missing from radio today." "All Things Considered..." is broadcast by NPR's 95 members over stations located in 34 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. -30- ----------------------- Page 239----------------------- 8 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Rep. Naughton, vice chairman of the committee. Rep. Moore was also present. The meet- ing was for purposes of considering and taking testimony, but not acting on, HB 637. Betty McKean, president of Mercy Crusade - Alaska branch, testified in favor of the bill. She said that the purpose of the bill is an attempt to attack the increasing problem of overpopulation of cats and dogs until some other method is found such as a pill or in- jection. The spay and neuter clinic is the only feasible method of controlling population at the present time. She said that she has received calls from persons in Kodiak asking that Kodiak be includ- ed as a spay clinic site. The present budget in Anchorage for animal control is $250,000, and $300,000 is being asked for next year. It costs $6 per animal to put it to sleep. The cost of this animal control costs each taxpayer in the Anchorage area $5 per year. The cost of the pilot program being asked for in the bill will cost each taxpayer in the state less than half a cent per year. The $50,000 being asked for in the bill will fund the operations of the one-year pilot program. It is anticipated that a 10x40-foot mobile unit will be purchased - payment for which will be spread over a 5-year period. This unit is to be surgically equipped and can be moved around the state. The cost of moving will be approximately $2,000 per trip, but there will be no travel for the first year during the pilot program which will be in Anchorage. Also included in the pilot program budget is $19,165 for hiring a state veterinarian. It is anticipated that the program will bring in $21,100 the first year, at the rate of $5 per operation with14 operations being performed a day. Ms. McKean told the committee that Mercy Crusade is a national organization re- sponsible for obtaining the first spay clinic in the country. This clinic which was begun in Los Angeles has now been adopted as a per- manent program and has been recommended for expansion. Palo Alto is now beginning a spay clinic program. Over 1,000 surgeries have been performed at the Los Angeles clinic with no incident of death. In response to questioning, Ms. McKean said that that Los Angeles clinic was started on February 6, 1971 with one facility, operating 5 days per week with one veterinarian. The Alaska Mercy Crudade will furnish a receptionist and kennel help free of charge for the pilot program in Anchorage. She said that everything included in the Los Angeles program under the fee should be inCluded in the state program as well. This includes all necessary injections, pre-surgical examination, pre- anesthetic injections and confinement, surgery, post-surgical hospi- talization and all medicines and pharmaceuticals required. In An- chorage 1,840 cats and dogs were put to sleep in January 1972. The national figure is 15 to 20 million per year. In response to ques- tioning, Ms. McKean said that after the pilot program the fee could be raised to $10 for females and that this program will be self-support- ing as the one in Los Angeles is. She said that estimating from the Los Angeles program 2,300 operations could be performed per year. Next to testify was Dr. Honsinger, a state veterinarian working under the Department of Natural Resources. He said that there are presently three veterinarians employed by the state, one of whom ----------------------- Page 240----------------------- -2- does only meat inspection, and that more would have to be hired for the spay clinic program. He said that the commissioner and deputy commissioner of his department don't have any position on the bill. He also said that existing spay clinics are funded at the municipal level rather than at state level. Dr. Arden Anderson, president of the Alaska State Veter- inarians' Association, testified against the bill. He said that his association agrees that the problem exists regarding overpopulation but doesn't feel that spay clinics are the answer - that there must be more successful ways of dealing with the problem. Standards of veterinary medicine can't be upheld in this type of program and state veterinarians are not necessarily competent to handle this type of program as they haven't practiced this type of veterinary medicine for some time and don't have the time. The 10x40 van would not be sufficient for this program. He said that performing spaying opera- tions at the rate of 14 per day would mean doing one each half hour which wouldn't leave enough time for other necessary procedures. Quality would be sacrificed for the sake of speed, and animals won't get the individual attention required. He feels that veterinary standards cannot be compromised for the sake of a mass program and wondered who would be liable for such things as insurance, etc. He said that there would still be a need for animal control whether animals are spayed or not. He said that the head of the Anchorage SPCA doesn't feel the program would be successful and would be abused, felt there is more of a need for stricter enforcement of existing animal control laws and felt that indigents should pay whatever per- centage of the cost they could afford and be subsidized for the re- mainder. Dr. Anderson said that surgical equipment necessary for such a program is expensive and so would be the cost of moving the van from place to place. The bill doesn't provide for service in bush areas. He wondered if the costs of receptionist and kennel help add to the cost of the program when the pilot program is completed. He said that the program cannot break even at the rate of $5 per oper- ation and that the Los Angeles clinic charged more and did fewer oper- ations per day. He asked if the state veterinarian would be working full time and what he would do during periods when no operations were being performed and when he was waiting at a site where operations had already been done waiting through the post-operative period. In response to questioning, Dr. Anderson said that he thought spaying op- erations amounted to about 10% of urban veterinarians' practice and did not have figures on how many he did per year. He said that the fee for spaying dogs ran from a minimum of $50 to a maximum of $75 - these figures being for the Anchorage area. He said that there are presently 35 veterinarians in the state including military and state vets. This includes 13 in Anchorage, 1 in Soldotna, 2 in Fairbanks, 1 in Kenai, 1 each in Kodiak, Ketchikan, Palmer and Juneau. He said that he didn't know what fees were in other parts of the state. Next to testify was Mrs. Swanson who said that she has worked with animals in Juneau for a great length of time and is fam- iliar with problems in this area. She said that she is opposed to the bill at this time. She feels that this type of program removes responsibility for pets from owners to taxpayers and makes people less careful with their animals and less likely to abide by control ----------------------- Page 241----------------------- -3- laws. There should be more education regarding overpopulation and the need to spay and that the money proposed for the spay clinic program would be better spent on stricter enforcement of control laws. She said that this type of program would be an infringement in the area of private enterprise. Rep. Naughton commented that he didn't see how the program would be much infringing on private enterprise when the spay operations comprised such a small percentage of veterinarians' practice. Dr. Anderson said that this was not necessarily so in small areas, but that he felt this would be the first step leading to more and more free services being offered. Ms. McKean said that spay operations comprised an average of 3% to 5% of the total business of veterinar- ians and the government currently subsidizes in many areas. She then reiterated that the public would be paying less for the spay clinic program than they are not paying for disposing of unwanted animals. Next to testify was Dr. Clifford Lobaugh, veterinarian from Juneau. He read a letter from a vet in Fairbanks written to Rep_ Huber opposing the bill. He said that he would be in favor of the bill if he thought it would solve the problem. He said that he considers it inhumane to spay over three animals per day. He then said that he had information that an organization in New York would subsidize spay operations and submitted its name and address to the committee. Ms. McKean said that the SPCA had had an agreement with the veterinarians' association for spaying female animals before they could be taken from the pound for a reduced cost of $30 but that that agreement had been broken by the veterinarians 3 to 4 weeks ago. Dr. Lobaugh asked what would keep others from outside the state from using the program. Ms. McKean said that she felt Alaska would have less of a problem in that area than the Los Angeles clinic and that other states have not been sending animals to Los Angeles for spaying. Mrs. Swanson said that there has always been a problem with getting irresponsible people from outlying areas such as Hoonah, etc. to bring their animals in for spaying and that $50,000 would not be enough funding for the program. Dr. Sperling, a veterinarian from Anchorage, testified at this point. He said that the fact of offering something free or at low cost was no guarantee that people would take advantage of it. He said that the present license fee for dogs is $4.50 and that last year 2000 to 2500 dogs in the Anchorage area were licensed. There are over 25,000 dogs listed in veterinary clinic files and an animal census is now being taken in Anchorage. Nothing can be done to con- trol the animal population without public education and research into other methods of sterilization and contraception should be supported. Leash laws should be enforced and high fees should be charged for licensing of unspayed females. Higher feees should be charged to reclaim animals from the pound. Mrs. Swanson said that 5% of the dog population in Los Angeles is licensed and 20% in Juneau. Ms. McKean said that her or- ganization recommends that animals be licensed before spaying. The question was raised but not answered regarding what percentage of gross ----------------------- Page 242----------------------- -4- sales in grocery stores consisted of dog food. Dr. Anderson read an article pointing out that it costs 20¢ per day to feed a dog on the cheapest dog food and that anyone who can afford to feed a pet can afford to spay it. Mrs. Swanson said that she would support a bill providing for more enforcement officers. She said that people who have a pet and cannot afford it should be prepared to sacrifice in other areas in order to take care of it. Those who are not willing to do this shouldn't have pets. This meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m. ----------------------- Page 243----------------------- {Pages 243-246 referenced brochure from the Spay and Neuter Clinic, City of Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation. See original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 244----------------------- ----------------------- Page 245----------------------- ----------------------- Page 246----------------------- <'It Los I\r~ge les, ----------------------- Page 247----------------------- CITY OF LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA SAM YORTY MAYOR Commisioners Department of Animal Regulation Mrs. William H parker Rock 410 City Hall South President Los Angeles, Calif, 90012 485-5771 Mrs. Fred H Lorenzen ________ Vice-President Robert L. Rush General Manager Nina M. Dodsworth James R. Manask Robert W. Phillips Executive Officer James W Sample peggy Bodfish Secretary December 22, 1971 The Honorable Sam Yorty, Mayor City of Los Angeles Room 305, City Hall Dear mayor Yorty: Request to Continue the Low-Cost Spay and neuter Clinic Operated by the Department of Animal Regulation-Ref. Council files Nos. 143,354 and 135,326, Supplemental No. 1 Pursuant to instructions of the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor, the Department of Animal Regulation has prepared the following recommendation and report concerning a pilot program to determine feasibility of operat- ing a low-cost Spay and Neuter Clinic for dogs and cats at the Ann Street District Animal Shelter. Recommendation: That the Department of Animal Regulation be authorized to continue the Spay and Neuter Clinic as an established and approved program by the City of Los Angeles for effective animal population control. To continue the Spay and Neuter Clinic for the balance of the current fiscal year, February 7, 1972 through June 30, 1972, the following adjust- ments are required: 1. That, SUBJECT to the APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR AND LOS ANGELES cITY COUNCIL, $17,038 be appropriated in the amount and to the accounts indicated below: Expenditure Classification Account Amount _______________ ________ _________ Animal Regulation Department Salaries 101-Salaries, General $13,440 Expense 602-Operating Supplies and Expence 3,598 __________ $17,038 ----------------------- Page 248----------------------- -2- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor December 22,1971 2. That, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL The Department of Animal Regulation be authorized by resolution authority to continue employment fo the balance fo the current fiscal year 1971-72, with provision taht the Department Personnel Ordinance be amended for fiscal year 1972-73 to provide as follows: Number Class Code Class Title Schedule _______ ___________ ____________ _________ 1 2365 Veterinarian 54 (3)(b) 1 4310 Kennelman 31 1 1358 Clerk Typist 22 Findings __________ The Department of Animal Regulation has established, beyond reasonable doubt, that the Spay and Neuter Clinic Program as a modern concept of animal population control to cope with a serious environmental problem deemed detrimental to the health and welfare of the community, is not only feasible, but a necessary function to establish a totally effective animal care and control program until non-surgical means of sterilization of animals is available for distribution to the general public. This postion by the Department of Animal Regulation supporting the continuation and expansion of Spay and Neuter clinics in the City of Los Angeles was based upon the Spay and Neuter Clinic Pilot Program which was funded and authorized to operate for one year, February 17, 1971 through February 6, 1972. Discussion of findings made through the operation of the pilot program are as follows: 2. Revenue and Exependitures ____________________________ The Spay and Neuter Clinic for the period February 17, 1971 through February 6, 1972 will produce revenue in the amount of $33,934 and expenditures,as adjusted, in the amount of $43,292. This represents a deficit of $9,358 during pilot program period. (See Appendix I) Considering that the Spay Neuter Clinic was operating at less tahn one half capacity from February 17, 1971 through June30, 1971, which represents approximately four and one-half months, the deficit is greatly overstated. That is, if the Clinic was operating at full capacity for a complete fiscal year the following revenuse and expenditures would be reflected. ----------------------- Page 249----------------------- -3- December 22, 1971 Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor Revenue $39,362 Expenditures Salaries $34,380 Expense 6,956 Amortization-Equipment 709 Alterations and Improvements 923 (43,292) _________ Estimated Deficit - Adjusted $(3,606) To eliminate this deficit of $3,606, a very minor adjustment to fee schedules could be made as follows: Clinic Fee Schedules Existing Adjusted _______________ _________ _________ Male $11.50 $13.00 Female 17.50 19.00 The Department fo Animal Regulation does not recommend an adjustment to increase the fee schedules. quite to the con- trary, the Department recommends restructuring the Spay and Neuter Clinic in such a manner to create a fully self support- ing program. This restructuring of the clinic woudl mean the addition of two positions to clinic staff in the form of a Veterinarian and Veterinary medical Assistant. Clinic staff would be as follows: 2 - Veterinarians 2 - Veterinarian Assistants 1 - Clerk Typist The results of increasing clinic staff would increase operational capacity from 2,350 surgeries per year to 5,750 surgeries. Revenue and expenditures would be reflected as indicated in Appendix III and as follows: Revenue $95,897 Expenditures Salaries $59,821 Expense 13,042 Amortization Plan 1,632 General City Overhead 5,982 __________ Total clinic Program Costs (80,477) _________ Estimated Revenue over clinic Program Costs $15,420 ----------------------- Page 250----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -4- December 22, 1971 The Department does not propose to expand the present clinic facilities as space is not available. However, the Depart- ment does propose to expand the Spay and Neuter Clinic through the addition of temporary buildings requested under a separate request for establishment of Medical Treatment Units in each District Animal Shelter submitted to the mayor dated December 8, 1971 Projectd revenue surplus to be created by minor adjustments to the clinic staff should be carried forward ad applied to financing additional building needs for desired clinic. 2. Surgical Operations The Spay and Neuter clinic, as previously proposed by the Department to the City Council and Mayor in a report dated January 7,1970, projected a rate of surgeries approximating 2,300 per fiscal year. The pilot program has confirmed original projections and established that one Veterinarian, one Veterinarian Assistant and on Cleark Typist can perform 2,300 surgeries per fiscal year. However, by increasing the level of staff personnel by one Veterinarian and one Veter- inarian Assistant, and additional 3,450 surgeries can be be performed which is the adjustment required to achieve desired volume of surgeries and full recovery of costs for a Spay and Neuter Clinic Program. 3. Public Support and Participation The Spay and Neuter Clinic has received full public support, in that no objections to function or services have been received from the general public. In fact, the Spay and Neuter Clinic cannot come close to meeting the demands for services. The clinic is routinely booked two months in advance and this is done without any promotional effort on the part of the Department. 4. Mortality Rate The Spay and Neuter Clinic has performed 1,435 major surgeries from February 17,1971 through November 13, 1971, without loss of animal life. This level of complicated surgery, without the loss of animal life, according to members in the veterinary medical profession, is not only commendable, but exceptional. Many reasons for achieving this level of performance, besides that of a skilled surgical team can be stated. ----------------------- Page 251----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -5- December 22, 1971 5. Proposed Method of Expanding Spay and Neuter Clinic Program The Department of Animal Regulation proposes to expand the spay and Neuter Clinic concept through a bond fund proposal to be presented to the electorate in June 1972. the Depart- ment is currently finalizing cost estimates and upon com- pletion will be presented to the Mayor and City Council for such action as my be required. Major feature of this clinic program is the proposal to create a centralized clinic with operational capacity of 60 to 80 surgeries per day. Supporting this central clinic concept is the proposal to maintain a combination of Hospital for treatment of sick and injured impounded animals and a Spay and Neuter Clinic at each Animal Service Center. 6. Objectives of the Spay and Neuter clinic by the Veterinary Medical Profession Prior and subsequent to the adoption of the Spay and Neuter Clinic Program, the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association has continually expressed opposition to this program. Opposition to this program is based upon their concern that the City of Los Angeles is invading the veter- inary medical field and taht such surgical alteration should remain a private enterprise effort. Primary objection to the spay and Neuter Clinic program, as provided by the Department of Animal Regulation is that the clinic is open to any person without regard to his ability to pay and therefore constitutes a clear and unwarranted invasion of private enterprise. However, two considerations should be noted. Firstly, no provision exists concerning the income level of persons using the Spay and Neuter Clinic. Secondly, no effort has been made by the veterinary medical profession directed toward tose persons who do nt have the ability to pay, nor would they provide a low-cost clinic or reduced prices to encourage those who....have the ability to pay. Finally, the veterinary med- ical profession recognizes that a serious animal population problem does exist, but they have not implemented a single program to cope with the problem. 7. Proposed Implementation of the Spay and Neuter clinic Concept In Other Communities The Department has received numerous requests for information regarding the Spay and Neuter Program from private organizaions, cities and counties throughout the United States. ----------------------- Page 252----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -6- December 22, 1971 Information to date indicates taht a large number of spay and neuter clinic programs are under study and in the process of being implemented to meet serious environmental problems caused by dogs and cats in both large and small communities. It may be fully anticipated, that upon adop- tion by the City Council and Mayor to continue the existing program and expand this concept through a bond fund proposal, that many communities will implement similar programs. The Department of Animal Regulation has submitted a request, dated December 8, 1971, concerning a proposal to improve the veterinary Medical Program in the Department of Animal Regulation. This communication als indicated four additional areas of immediate concern, in order of priority, which will require immediate consideration by the Mayor and Los Angeles city Council in the current fiscal year 1971-72. Accordingly, the second such proposal to be submitted is a request for authorization and financing to continue the low-cost Spay and Neuter Clinic for hte balance of the current fiscal year 1971-72 and as a regular program in ensuing fiscal years. Very truly yours, {signed Robert I. Rush, General Manager} RIR: pb Enclosures ----------------------- Page 253----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -7- December 22, Appendix I Spay and Neuter Clinic One-Year Pilot Program Analysis February 17,1971 through Februay 6, 1972 I. REVENUE ________ Surgery: Dogs Cats Total _________ Male 136 205 341 Female 1.155 560 1,715 ______ ______ _______ Total 1,291 765 2,056 REVENUE (based on surgeries performed) ________ Male $1,564.00 $2,357.00 $3,921.50 Female 20,212.50 9,800.00 20,012.50 ___________ __________ ___________ II. Cost ______ Budget Appropriation 1970-71 1971-72 Total To Date ____________________ ________ _________ ______________ Salaries $19,881 $19,887 $39,768 Expense 3,901 3,349 7,250 Equipment 14,893 -- 14,893 ________ ________ ________ Sub-Total 38,675 23,236 61,911 Alterations and Improvements 18,443 -- 18,443 __________ ________ _________ Total Appropriations $57,118 $23,236 $80,354 ----------------------- Page 254----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -8- December 22,1971 Expenditures _____________ Salaries $12,193 $19,887 $32,080 Expense 4,220 5,360 9,580 Equipment* ($12,035 actual) 266 443 709 _________ _________ _________ Sub-Total 16,679 25,690 42,360 Alterations and Improvements* 346 577 923 ________ ________ _________ Total Expenditures $17,025 $26,267 $43,292 ________ ________ _________ NOTE: Adjusted for 10 and 20 year amortization plan III. COMPARISON-REVENUE AND EXPEND 1970-71 1971-72 Total _____________________________ ________ ________ ______ Revenue $13,681 $20,253 $33,934 Expenditures (Adjusted) 17,025 26,267 43,292 Deficit $(3,344) $(6,014) $(9,358 ----------------------- Page 255----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -9- September 22, 1971 Appendix II _____________ Spay and Neuter clinic Estimated cost-Revenue Comparison Balance of 197-72 Fiscal Year February 7, 1972 through June 30, 1972 I. REVENUE DOGS CATS TOTAL _________ ______ ______ ______ Surgery __________ Male 67 101 168 Female 567 275 842 ____ ____ ____ Total 634 376 1010 Revenue _________ Male $770.50 $1,161.50 $1,932.00 Female 9,922.50 4,812.50 14,735.00 _________ ___________ ____________ Total Revenue $10,693.00 $5,974.00 $16,667.00 II. EXPENDITURE _____________ Additional Appropriation Required ___________________________________ Salaries $13,440 Expense 3,598 ________ Total $17,038 Total Expenditure _________________ Salaries $13,440 Expense 3,598 Equipment Amortization 266 ________ Sub-Total $17,304 Alt. and Improve Amortization 346 Total Spay and Neutar clinic Program Costs- Balance Year $17,650 ----------------------- Page 256----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -10- December 22, 1971 III. COMPARISON-REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES Balance 1971-72 ________ Revenue $16,667.00 Expenditures (Adjusted) 17,650.00 __________ Deficit $ (983.00) ----------------------- Page 257----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -11- December 22, 1971 APPENDIX III _________________ Spay and Neuter Clinic ________________________ Proposed Annual Work Statistics Adjusted Program for Restructured clinic I. ANIMALS PROCESSED ___________________ Medical Examinations DOGS CATS TOTAL ____________________ _____ _____ ______ Male 272 320 592 Female 2,926 1,144 4,070 ______ ______ ______ TOTAL 3,198 1,464 4,662 Injections __________ Male 168 387 555 Female 1,830 1,611 3,441 ______ ______ _______ TOTAL 3,887 1,863 5,750 Surgery ________ Male 354 434 788 Female 3,533 4,429 4,962 ______ _______ _______ Total 3,887 1,863 5,750 II. Revenue _________ Receipts _________ Dogs Cats Total _____ _____ ______ Male $4,071.00 $4,991.00 $9,062 Female 61,827.50 $25,007.50 86,836 __________ ___________ ________ TOTAL REVENUE $68,898.50 $29,998.50 $95,897 ----------------------- Page 258----------------------- Hon. Sam Yorty, Mayor -12- December 22, 1971 III. CLINIC MANHOURS ________________ Gross Net ______ ____ 2-Veterinarians 4,176 3,680 2-Veterinarian Assisants 4,176 3,680 1-Clerk Typist 2,088 1,840 ______ _____ 10,440 9,200 IV. BUDGET PLAN-ANNUAL COST _________________________ Alterations and Improvements $923 Equipment Durable Equipment-10 years 214 Durable Equipment-20 years 495 ______ TOTAL ANNUAL AMORTIZATION COST $1,632 General City Overhead- Annual cost Overhead computed at 10 percet Salaries 5,982 _______ TOTAL SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC PROGRAM COSTS 80,477 VI. COMPARISON-REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES ___________________________________ Revenue $95,897 Expenditures (Adjusted) (80,477) ________ Estimated Net Revenue $15,420 ----------------------- Page 259----------------------- CALIFORNIA HUMANE COUNCIL-4432 CANOGA AVENURE WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA 91364. PHONE: 213-347-4173 Refutation of main arguments advanced against public spay clinics by local veterinarian societies. 1. The Los Angeles (City) clinic has failed Refutation: The model city clinic is successful in terms of what it set out to achieve; acceptance by the public, successful schedule of surgical operations, low cost, etc. Several other communities such as Palo County are establishing low cost spay clinics. Los Angeles pioneer clinic will be expanded to include two doctors. The remaining five city animal shelters will soon be equipped with spay-neuter clinics. 2. The Los Angeles clinic is a tax burden Refutation: The L.A. Clinic is not a tax burden. Its costs are borne by the users only. The city budget department estimates that by the end of the fiscal year, 1972-3 the pioneer clinic will do over 5700 surgeries and have a surplus of more that $15,000 in the treasury. 3. The low cost L.A. clinic is subsidized by the city. Refutation: False. The city clinic fee schedule is based upon a twenty year amortization. At the end of this period, original costs will have been paid back to the city by the fees charged the users. The $17.50 fee includes spaying, shots, overnight board and if needed, private veterinary care paid for by the city from the $17.50. Neutering similar but costs $11.50. Both animals, dog and cat cost the same. But users pay the cost. 4. The L.A. Clinic is unfair competion. False. The veterinarians do only 3% of their total volume of business in desexing operations. The City clinic confines itself wholly to surgery -- 100% spaying and neutering. Furthermore, government has encouraged subsidies for airlines, agriculter adn railroads, medicatre and medicaid to supplement an inadequate private enterprise system. Again, some veterinarians societies make gentlemen's agreements to eliminate competion. This is true of Northern California. The American tradition is that competion is the life of trade. A State-wide Co-ordinating Council of Humane Societies ----------------------- Page 260----------------------- OFFICE OF LOS ANGELES MAYOR SAM YORTY CITY HALL LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 90012 TEL: (213) 485-3404 TOM JARDINE EDWIN LOUIE BOB LOZA NEWS FOR RELEASE MONDAY A.M. JANUARY 3, 1972 A broad program, encompassing long range and immediate objectives aimed at modernization of the Los Angeles department of Animal Regulation, was announced today by Mayor Sam Yorty. The Mayor said long range improvements and overhaul were packaged in a five point program drafted by the department's general manager Robert I. Rush. A June 1972, general obligation bond Fund is proposed as a means of financing the extended plan. On an urgent level of immediate need, particularly in the area of animal medicine, the Animal Regulation Department will seek a city council appropriation to be expended in the current fiscal year for veterinary purposes. The long maser plan, described by Yorty as realistic and essential, involves: 1. Improvements of the department veterinary medical program 2. Expansion of the public low cost spay and neuter program. 3. Automation of the outmoded licensing program for dogs, cats and equine. more ----------------------- Page 261----------------------- Animal Regulation -2- 4. Automation of information systems to facilitate indentifi- cation of impounded animals and the accelerated return of stray animals to their owners. 5. The establishment of effective animal service centers and a centralized animal hospital through a bond fund proposal to be submitted to the electorate in June, 1972. The first two phases of the five-point program have been sub- mitted to the city Administrative Office for report and recommendations. Yorty said the program will be submitted to the City Council at an early date. "I have studied the proposals for Animal Regulation Department improvements, and I concur that some bold new steps must be taken to meet the realistic challenges imminent in animal care and control," Yorty said. Cost factory, relating to the improvements and the bond fund, are being readied for council consideration. Immediate upgrading of the veterinary program within the depart- ment has been cited by Rush as "most urgent". The Council will be asked to provide funds this fiscal year for the establishment of Veterinary Treatment Units in each of the City's six District Animal Shelters. Currently in only two shelters are there medical facilities of limited capabilities, according to Rush. The newly proposed untis would provide prompt humane treatment of sick and injured animals: implement preventive disease programs for animals hed for redemption or for sale; provide a medical profile more ----------------------- Page 262----------------------- Animal Regualation -3- of each impounded animal; and provide capabilities of euthanasia for some animals by injection method. The requested appropriation would also provide funds for four additional veterinarians to the department's medical staff. If permanent facility improvements could not be realized as part of the City's 1971-72 Construction Projects Program, Rush proposed the use of temporary type structures which wuold satisfy immediate requirements until bond fund goals were achieved. In the field of animal control, Rush emphasized the need for expansion of the public low cost spay and neuter program. Since the pilot clinic opened in February, 1971 at the Ann Street Animal Shelter, 1,435 surgeries have been performed with no attrition. {noted 2,200 to date Feb 1972) "The pilor program has been successful," Rush said. "It promises to be self-sustaing in the near futre, and expansion of the program is not only feasible, but I believe necessary." Rush said automation of the dog, cat and equine licensing system would mean added revenue to the City and better control of the existing animal population. Yorty said the Animal Regulation Department facilities had served their purpose, but now were outmoded. "Construction of the animal shelter system dates back to 1928. The system, with the exception of the new West Valley Animal Shelter, is no way geared to cope with the unprecedented increase in the Los Angeles animal population. The department is virtually running out of space." more ----------------------- Page 263----------------------- Animal Regualation -4- Yorty said the department will be self-supporting commencing with the 1971-73 fiscal year. The currrent operating budget of the department is $1,818,000. Estimated revenue for the coming fiscal year will approximate $2,507,200. The estimate includes revenues from adjusted animal tax and fee schedules. "Pet owners will be paying the total cost of the depart- ment's operation, "Yorty said. "Those persons, receiving services, will be paying for the services rendered. They are entitled to the best service for thier expended dollar." -30- ----------------------- Page 264----------------------- { Page 264 Referenced article 'Neutering costs Less...than killing' see original/pdf version} ----------------------- Page 265----------------------- Mercy Crusade, Inc., Alaska Branch endorses HB 637 completely for the following reasons: To reduce the over population of unwanted animals in Alaska. To increase the care and treatment of animals, and to decrease the cruel and inhumane treatment. To reduce all areas taxes for animal control. To reduce nuisance factor to people from the groups of unwanted animals attacking children on their way home from schoo1. There are at present safety homes where children can run to and seek safety. There is a card in the window of these homes. They try to have at least one per block and where possible two per block. These safety havens have and are being used. A female dog will give birth to an average of four puppies, two being female. In three years there are twelve dogs and by the seventh year there are 4,372 dogs from the one female. The cat figure is much higher. Every year 15 to 20 million dogs and cats are turned into the city pounds and shelters; only 25 percent get homes, the remaining 75 percent are put to death. The cost to put an animal to death is about $6 each. Mercy Crusades, Inc. in California was responsible for the first spay clinic in the United States. This is in the city of Los Angeles. On February 22, 1972 the Los Angeles county Board of Supervisors voted to have a spay clinics, also, based on the success of the Los Angeles clinic. To give an example of the rising cost and how it will continue to rise at a great rate, unless something is done now, is the Greater Anchorage Area Borough pound which has a budget of $250,000 this year and to operate at a base minimun next year will be $300,000. As you can see from this one area alone the cost will spiral onward and upward if one unspay female dog causes 4,372 dogs in only seven years. The cost to spay and/or castrate is minimal compared to the other cost. Now this example is only Anchorage and HB 637 encompass Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchican, hopefully Kodiak, and later Nome, Barrow, Bethel, Metlkatla, and other areas. All clinics should include all areas around them, ie. as Anchorage spay clinic should include Kenai Peninsula and Mat-Su Borough. The Alaska Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and animal clubs are backing this bill because it is a necessity now. {Signed, Betty R. Mc.Kean, President} Mercy Crusade, Inc. Alaska Branch Box 10043 Klatt Station Anchorage, AK 99502 ----------------------- Page 266----------------------- THE ALASKA SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, INC. POST OFFICE BOX 776 ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99501 Dear Honorable Members of This Assembly: The board of directors and the general membership of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals endorse and love House Bill 637. Tax funds have only been appropriated to keill animals. Approxi- mately 1800 cats and dogs go to meet their death every month in the city of Anchorage. If tax funds could be used instead to control the population through spaying, it would not only ease the taxpayers burden but would also solve a social problem. One of the main reasons for cruelty towards animals is because they ear unwanted. Scorned, mistreated animals are usually found in a starved condition and sometimes tortured to death. We can get money allotted to us to put them to death but we cannot get money to control their population through more humane methods. A queer paradox. We as and plead humbly and know what we are asking for is the best method of control. We can also assure this honorable assembly that we willnot be taking any part of the veterinary livelihood. The 1800 animals that march to their deaths each month never see a veterinary. The society asks you to pass House Bill 637. {Signed, Sincerely yours, Ralph Van Northwick, President} Alaska Society for the Prevetion of Cruelty to Animals "Kindness Uplifts The World" ----------------------- Page 267----------------------- Proposed Budget 110 Series ___________ Personal Services $9,200.00 Vet Assistance Range 9 Step A including 17% 200 Series ___________ Travel $2,000.00 per trip moving mobile unit 300 Series ___________ Contractual $5,000.00 yearly payment on mobile unit 600.00 interest on mobile unit 9,600.00 utilities (lights, water, sewage) 600.00 telephone 500.00 heat 100.00 refuse 600.00 pad rental 3,800.00 vet car travel __________ $20,800.00 400 Series __________ Commodities $7,200.00 Surgical supplies 3,600.00 Office supplies __________ $10,800.00 $2,000.00 equipment Total $44,800.00 $19,165.00 with full time vet on spay clinic only Range 19 Step A including 17%. ----------------------- Page 268----------------------- $63,965.00 total with vet $21,100.00 projected income $23,700.00 1st option $42,865.00 2nd option ----------------------- Page 269----------------------- {Page 269 referenced article 'A Bill for $5 Spay Chances' by Linda Billington, Daily News staff, Anchorage Daily times February 25,1972} ----------------------- Page 270----------------------- THE ALASKA SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS EXECUTIVE BOARD - MEMBERSHIP POST OFFICE BOX 776 ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99805 KINMUCK ANIMAL sHELTER OFFICE 3600 E. TUDOR ROAD ANCHORAGE, ALASKA 99805 February 22, 1972 Dear Member, House Bill 637 State Supported Spay Clinic was introduced Monday February 21. It is the feeling of the Alaska SPCA Directors that this is a very worthwile bill and needs our support if we are to realize any semblance of control over unwanted puppies and kttens. The Animal Control Center handled for the month of January 1,840 animals, of these were 901 dogs and 921 cats. Our regular membership meeting scheduled for February 24 will be canceled as our President, Mr. R. Van Norwick feels the time normally spent at the meetings could be better used writing to the following committee members supporting House bill 637. Health, Education & Welfare committee: Finance committee: The Honorable The Honarable Genie Chance George H Hohmen Mike Colletta Robert I. Ditman Keith Specking Chuck Degman Richard Whittaker Tom fink Edward Naughton Andrew Warwick Moore Joshua Wright Morse E.J Haugen Address all correspondence to the Representative desired (all if you like) to Pouch D Juneau, Alaska. A message may also be sent by calling 277-5561 RCA Radiogram at the reduced rate of 85 cents however a letter is more effective in such legislative dealings. ----------------------- Page 271----------------------- {page 271 references article "What Happens to the Pets Nobody Wants?' by Patricia Ricord, Family Weekly, February 20,1972} ----------------------- Page 272----------------------- {page 272 references brochure titled 'Everyone Loves Puppies' fromt The Humane Society of the United States} AIle! thc' lHo;:rcs<;iOIl for cats ......... ' \\IOU I. ! be IllWIt Llr)'.(~r. ----------------------- Page 273----------------------- 14 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Members present were Reps. Chance, Moore, Specking and Whittaker. First to be considered by the committee was the sponsor substitute for HB706, appropriating to the Department of Education, for the purpose of contracting for centralized services for the pro- foundly deaf. This bill had been previously considered and at"this time was voted out with unanimous do pass recommendation. Next to be considered was H8 621 relating to bus trans- portation for children attending nonpublic schools. Rep. Bradner, primary sponsor of the bill, testified in its favor. He said that this bill re-enacts a 1955 statute which was struck down by the courts and would mainly affect Monroe High School and Immaculate Conception Grade School in Fairbanks, as well as a limited number of others around the state. This legislation doesn't deal with educating students but only with transporting them to their schools. Rep. Bradner went on to say that there are now decisions pending in appeals courts on the issue of providing transportation to stu- dents attending nonpublic schools. He said that if this legislation were enacted it would probably be clarified through a court challenge and that he feels that Alaska courts would uphold the constitutionality of such legislation in light of changes in thinking in this area over the past IB to 15 years. He pointed out that the state is constitu- tionally required to provide education for its children and that this might well be applied to transporting to their school of attend- ance - public or nonpublic. Rep. Moore said that this type of think- ing should be extended to flying students who live out of reach of schools to and from school. Rep. Bradner said that the state has a special responsibility in ensuring the safety of students in going to and from school due to climactic conditions encountered in the state and hazardous conditions involved. The comment was made from comm- ittee that in some areas public school busses pass by private school students on their way to public school bus stops, and that in the cases of Ketchikan and,Kodiak a separate bus system wouldn't have to be established as public and nonpublic students are on the same route and could be picked up at the same time. Rep. Bradner said that Fairbanks is too spread out for this type of system to work there. Rep. Whittaker suggested that the bill be amended directing the Department of Education to integrate bussing for private school students as closely as possible with existing public school systems. Commissioner Lind said that his department doen't have a fiscal note on the cost of the legislation. Rep. Bradner presented figures as to how many students in the state would possibly be using the pro- posed system: 200 in Fairbanks, 95 in Kodiak and 159 in Ketchikan. In response to questioning, Bob Thomas, of the Department of Eduaation, said that the state now reimburses in full the amount of contracts districts have for transportation, and in the case of Anchorage which owns its own system - fully reimburses costs incurred. The state usually figures on approximately $1.25 per mile, which includes costs of buying busses. Rep. Bradner submitted materia to the comm- ittee including a brief court history of this type of legislation. ----------------------- Page 274----------------------- -2- Rep. Whittaker asked unanimous adoption of his proposed amendment and there was no objection. Rep. Whittaker asked for a unanimous do pass recommendation for the bill. Rep. Specking ob- jected. This bill passed out of committee with Reps. Chance, Moore and Whittaker indicated do pass as amended. Rep. Specking signed no recommendation. Next to be considered was House Bill 675, establishing educational service areas in the unorganized borough and providing for the governance of regional school districts. Rep. Bradner, pri- mary sponsor of the bill, testified. He said that this bill is by way of continuing with the philosophy that was responsible for crea- tion of the state operated school system. At this time the Depart- ment of Education was divided leaving a nebulous area as to who dictates education policy in the state. Problems are inherent in the system which make it necessary for someone to coordinate overall state educational planning. State school district don't necessary follow Native corporation districts which are based on ethnic and other considerations rather than transportation routes, etc. The power of hiring and firing teachers should be vested at the local level, whereas supply could-be handled out-of a central facility. The question involved is whether it is time to turn education re- sponsibility back to the people at the local level, includinggbudget and administrative responsibilities. Rep. Bradner went on to say that there is some feeling that SOS should be left alone for awhile and allow it to get on its feet, but that the problem should be begun to be considered now. Those areas ready for local control now can begin to plan now and other areas can ask for local control when they feel they are ready. In response to questioning about military schools now operated under SOS, Rep. Bradner said that the state could still operate those schools wishing to remain under state operation. SOS has reviewed this proposal and prepared a position paper which has been submitted to its board members for approval. Rep. Chance said that Mr. Friese, head of SOS, told her recently that board members seemed to favor the position paper. She further said that SOS has made suggestions for amendment of the bill to allow an orderly trans- ition as follows: if an area wants local control within 1 year of the effective date of the legislation it would need approval of the SOS board of directors and the regional Native corporation. If local control were requested 2 years or longer after implementation no approval would be required. The question was asked about funding these local schools under the foundation program - whether these dis- tricts would receive more or less money than presently. Rep. Chance said that SOS feels the program would be better off under the founda- tion program. SOS eventually would only be operating those military schools that don't want to jointborough school systems. The comment was made from committee that perhaps it would be easier to solve problems under SOS that it would be with smaller districts as SOS has better staff ability, etc. Rep. Bradner said that the SOS board has problems keeping in close contact with small areas which has upset the bush teachers and that the state needs to be cut down into work- able districts. It was commented that the SOS board is supposed to be dealing with and training local advisory school boards. The opinion was expressed that the effective date on the bill should be made for 2 years from now to give local boards time to train and gain exper- ience in making decisions, etc. ----------------------- Page 275----------------------- -3- This time lag would also give the regional Native corporations time to gain experience. Rep. Whittaker said that he opposed this app- roach and that local areas should be allowed to petition the commi- ssioner of education for independence as districts will be ready at different times. Rep. Bradner pointed out that in the interior of the state most school districts are not Native and that the Native school districts are nearly all within organized boroughs. Rep. Chance said that perhaps local school districts should petition the commissioner as a third party whose decision could be appealed to the state board of education and ultimately to the legislature. The state board of education or the commissioner could establish effect- ive dates of independence after being petitioned by an area. Comments were made to the effect that small areas cannot support their own school systems and should be funded through the foundation act and that there might possibly be some conflict with the governor's plan to organize the unorganized borough. Commissioner Lind of the Department of Education testified to the bill. He said that he feels the bill is one of the more signi- ficant pieces of legislation this session which will have ramifica- tions throughout the state. The department highly endorses this leg- islation as people want a voice in operation of local schools. There is some question of the transition and what the optimal period of time would be before local control is assumed. Dr. Lind went on to say that it is necessary to know who is responsible for making deter- minations of readiness and that he is not convinced that the department can necessarily operate the educational system better than people at the local level. A 2-year transition period is realistic and necess- ary. Regarding on-base schools, their preferential rate wouldn't necessary be in jeopardy under this legislation as the state could contract with borought to run these schools. This has been done at Kodiak and has worked well. This can be done under existing statute. Dr. Lind said that on-base schools should become part of local school systems as soon as possible. He said that it should be known how long the optional provision of the legislation would apply. Some areas are able to support their own school system but are still funded through the state and capital improvements could be handled as pres- ently done. The comment was made from committee that subsequent leg- islatures could look at the optional time provision. Dr. Lind contin- ued saying that the department is not endorsing this legislation on the basis of problems encountered by SOS, that these problems had been anticipated and that SOS has done well. There should be legislation pointing out that SOS is not intended to be a long-term operation and that it should be moving in the direction of local control of schools. He said that the department does have some questions but that it is felt that these can be worked out over a 2-year transition period. Comment was made from committee that perhaps this legislation would be considered a vote of no-confidence in SOS, and response made that SOS seems to feel that this legislation would help them reach their goal of local input and local control. Dr. Lind said that the current problems between DOEA and SOS administration cannot be resolved under the present system. These problems involve lack of communication between bush teachers and the central organization. The teachers want to be involved in meaningful decision making, and this won't be achieved until the state is broken down into smaller, workable regions. In response to questioning about funding these local school districts, ----------------------- Page 276----------------------- -4- Dr. Lind said that if 874 funds are added on top of foundation funds this would cost the state $3 to $4 million more than it is presently spending and that individual entitlement would be quite high - around $2100 per student per year as contrasted with $1400 to $1500 per stu- dent per year which SJS is now spending. The foundation formula should be used as a guideline. Bob Thomas of the department said that amend- ments to the vocational education act of 1969 say that 874 funds may not be deducted from foundation funding and that it is an all or noth- ing proposition. The comment was made from committee that the governor would cut back funding in this case as he now does with SOS and that more money should be put into districts now with the objective of equalization; the problem would be avoided if the same formula were used for all the schools in the state. In response to questioning about how election of school boards would be handled, Bob Isaac of the department said that perhaps the first election could be handled under the supervisor of elections and that districts would carryon their own elections afterwards. Dr. Lind said that it necessary to consider the existing 52 BIA schools in the state and that the feder- al government should continue funding these schools under contractual agreement with local districts so the state wouldn't have to take these over all at once. He said that during discussions with BIA he has found this to be favorably received. BIA has contracted with the state in the past for the state to administer schools with John- son-O'Malley funds. In response to questioning regarding continua- tion of advisory school boards, Dr. Lind said that Kodiak and Kenai still have advisory boards and that this is discretionary by local policy. He said that he feels the department will play a sUbstantial role in helping districts organize in the area of fiscal responsibili- ty and that the department would have to work with school boards along with SOS in the areas of program development, consulting services, etc. as in other districts. The department would have to increase its staff in some areas to cope with an estimated 8 to 10 new school districts and would pick up some things now done by SOS. He said that he envisions the department's biggest contribution as being in dealing with fiscal and legal aspects. The department has questions about elections, submission of budgets and capital improvement programs. Mr. Isaac spoke to the problem of budgeting saying that regional dis- tricts should formulate budgets and submit them to the department for review and submission to the legislature. He said that it would be simplest to consider these singly through the department and that cap- ital improvements could be handled similarly. Mr. Thomas said that the same process would be used if handled under the foundation act. He said that if the preferential rate were lost, half the funds ($2 to $2-1/2 million) now coming to rural schools would be lost. 874 funds are directly appropriated and do not come through the legislature. Mr. Isaac said that he feels it necessary to maintain a strong rela- tionship with the state as the federal preferential rate is now based on a state-operated system. If rural areas are defined as local districts the preferential rate might be changed. Mr. Van Houte of NEA Alaska said that he feels it would be a mistake to put all dis- tricts under the foundation act as all district might not benefit from this and that he prefers the type of funding specified in the bill. He said that 98% of rural school funding comes from the state now. Dr. Lind questioned method of determining boundaries of rural districts. Mr. Isaac said that they could be combined with election ----------------------- Page 277----------------------- -5- districts, that this would be feasible as they already exist as gov- ernment boundaries and would tend to tie legislators to certain dis- tricts. The Native corporation boundaries overlap several election districts and are changeable. A committee members said that he doesn't think it impractical to tie regional school districts to regional Na- tive corporations. Mr. Van Houte said that local determination and input should be correlated and final determination made by the comm- issioner or state board of education. Rep. Moore said that regional Native corporation boundaries are the most sensible as these will be fixed boundaries for some time to come, whereas election boundaries might be expected to change, and that people will be working together within the regional corporations already. Comments were made to the effect that the Native corporations should have input into what is being done in this instance and that Native corporations will be deep- ly involved in the question of the new boroughs. There was a question as to which SOS schools won't fit into the Native corporation boundar- ies. Next to testify was Mr. Usibelli of Healy, past chairman of the community action team of the Tri-Valley School and now a mem- ber of the advisory school board. He said that this team had worked on developing a total school concept but were frustrated in taking responsibility for their own school district. He said that his area doesn't have the economic base for organizing into a borough but that this might have to be done in order to have school functions locally. Mr. Thomas pointed out that the area would lose its pre- ferential rate for 874 funds if it organized as a borough and that it was problematical that local funds would be comparable. Mr. Usi- belli said that implementation of the legislation under consideration would solve his district's problems and that they would have to take in a larger area than just Tri-Valley - at least to Nenana to the north and south to the Matanuska-Susitna borough. This includes the railbelt area north and south; the areas east and west are empty for long distances. He said that there is no property on which to build a tax base as all but 1/2% of the land in the area is state or federally owned; the area doesn't fit into a Native corporation. In response to questioning, Mr. Usibelli said that people in surrounding areas are willing to join the Tri-Valley school, especially the high school, and that they participated on the community action team. Rep. Swanson said that he likes the ideas presented at this meeting - the ideas of regional control of schools, the transitional period, etc. and that the area is now too vast for adequate coverage by SOS. Bob Van Houte spoke to the bill. He said that NEA Alaska actively supported legislation creating SOS and the SOS board and that he considers the present bill as the forerunner of three or four transition processes as follows: 1. 100% cost of education will eventually be paid by the state or administered through the state with non-local funds. 2. Can local schools funded through outside sources still be totally operated by local people. There will need to be a division of responsibility with funding determined at the state level and program determined at local level. The BIA will ultimately not be involved in state schools; the federal government is not going to continue funding education which is the state's responsibility in light of oil strikes and land claims settlement. 3. Areas ready to move to local control of schools should be given the latitude to move; the state board of education should be involved in boundary decisions ----------------------- Page 278----------------------- -6- as an impartial, non-political entity. Mr. Van Houte said that he feels this legislation is needed now. In response to questioning, he said that he felt the language of the legislation should give direction but not be too specific, that it should indicate that the board of education should start working now and not wait until the system is implemented. In response to questioning as to how long it would take the department to come up with guidelines, rules and regulations, Mr. Isaac said that there are some definitive policy decisions which have to be made and that it would take a minimum of 6 months for any oper- ational determination. Action was deferred on this bill. Reps. Bradner and Whitta- ker and DuncanRead will act as a subcommittee to work on a committee substitute to be ready by next week. ----------------------- Page 279----------------------- 15 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and EducatiDn Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. with Reps. Chance and Moore present. The purpose of the meeting was to take testimony, but not action, on House Bills 537 through 541 dealing with teacher retirement. Rep. Warwick testified first to HB 538 which would limit the number of years of creditable outside service which may be trans- ferred by a retiree to not more than the number of years of service in the state. He said that many teachers, active and retired, supp- ort this principle and feel that the retirement fund should be for Alas- kans. He said that the Alaska retirement system is one of the better ones in the country and that this legislation has the enthusiastic support of the Alaska State Teachers Retired Association. In re- sponse to question, Rep. Warwick said that teachers can now transfer 10 years of outside service. He then discussed HB 540 which would require that a teacher retiring with 15 years creditable service, the last 5 being membership service in the state, have completed a total of at least 8 years of membership service in the state. He said that this legislation would prevent teachers transferring more years from outside the state than they serve within the state. Regarding HB 539, Rep. Warwich said that this bill would assist older teachers who don't fit under the new retirement program. He proposed that the amount of $375 cited in the bill as minimum retirement monthly salary be changed to $450. The amount is based on $15 a month for each year of creditable service and if the base amount were $375 per month this would mean that the 30-year teacher would be receiving no more than the 20-year teacher. In response to questioning, Rep. Warwick said that the finance committee doesn't think that the amount will go over the present 10% limitation and that there is now a sur- plus in the fund which could be handled either as a contingency fund to handle future debts or as a surplus which would result in a defi- cit. Total liability for this program would be about $1.2 million - $110,000 of this for fiscal year 1973. These figures are based on the $375 per month retirement salary. He said that increasing the amount to $450.would not result in significant overall increases as there are not many teachers involved. Rep. Fink said that the fund's earning rate for the past 2 years has exceeded the 5.2% base rate and that the real rate is probably between 6% and 6-1/2%. He said that the surplus would result in lowering of the present contribution rate of 9.82%. This supplus would not be applied to the first year's con- tribution but would be applied over a period of years. Rep. Warwick continued saying that the bills affect only those teachers who retired before the present system went into effect and that the total cost of the program would go down as older teachers die and the number of peo- ple in the program diminishes. As of November 1, 1971 there were 312 retired teachers who would be affected by this legislation. In response to questioning about the state paying for the program, Rep. Warwick said that this would be done if it ran over the 10% limit and that the funding would come out of the general fund. Rep. Warwick then spoke on HB 541 saying that this legislation would place one person on the teachers' retirement board who is himself receiving bene- fits. He said that this legislation had been requested by the Alaska State Teachers Retired Association, though he recommended deleting the language which would require all board members be involved in ----------------------- Page 280----------------------- -2- education. Rep. Fink testified to House Bill 537 saying that this bill would give retired teachers about 2-1/2%. He said that the program would cost approximately $210,000 per year and that when retirement benefits are enriched they should be spread to those already retired. In response to questioning about having presently working teachers making contributions to the retired teachers' fund, Rep. Fink said that this wouldn't be the case unless the teachers'contribution rate were raised. If the program can be included within the 10% limit, the state and school districts will pay the increase and teachers' rates will remain the same. Next to testify was Orval Holmes, an active teacher from Fairbanks, representative of the Fairbanks retired teachers' asso- ciation and spokesman for the Alaska State Teachers Retired Associa- tion. He said that retired teachers' associations also include some older active teachers. He said that he felt one roadblock to gaining equity for older retired teachers was lack of communication and pre- cise definition, and he then gave some statistics regarding past retirement systems in the state and said that teachers are not asking for retroactive benefits. He defined membership service as teaching in state-funded schools and creditable service as either teaching outside the state or within state denominational schools. He said that HB 538 would limit amount of creditable service that could be trans- fered and thought that line 14 should be changed to read membership service. He said that transfer of service should be on a 1 to 1 basis with a limit of 8 years being able to be transferred in. HB 540 closes that loophole that allows some teachers to serve 5 years in the state before retirement and requires all teachers to serve 8 years membership service in the state to qualify for retirement. He pro- posed an amendment to the effect that any teacher who can or has completed 8 years of membership service by the 1st of July following his 65th birthday should be allowed to join the retirement system. He said that present law discriminates against older persons and that it is now possible for some teachers to teach in the state for 14 years and not be eligible for retirement benefits if they began teaching too late to have the required 15 years of creditable service by their 65th birthdays. Such teachers are now prohibited under law from collecting retirement benefits for time served. Rep. Chance made the point that this bill would force those teachers now ready to retire after 5 years of service to teach for another 3 years before being eligible to retire. In regard to HB 539, Mr. Holmes suggested that the minimum amount be changed from $15 to $20 per month per year of creditable service and said that he doesn't think the bill is ade- quate as it would permit those with 30 years of service to get no more than those with 20 years of service. He said that average retirement benefits under the state system are now a little less than $350 per month and that out of 312 retired teachers receiving benefits in Nov- ember 1971 109 are living in the state. Speaking on HB 537, Mr. Holmes said that benefits should be computed on the basis of 2% of past earnings and that formerly retired teachers should benefit from future changes in the retirement system. He said that the state doesn't pay medical insurance to the age of 65 for those teachers who have social security. Action was delayed on these bills and the meeting was ad- journed at 3:30 p.m. ----------------------- Page 281----------------------- 94C Farewell, Apt. 3 Fairbanks, Alaska 99707 November 22, 1971 Representative Eugene Miller 912 Barnette Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 Dear Representative Miller: Re: our conversationon Teachers Retirement. It is still possible to teach in Alaska 14 years and not be eligible for retirement benefits. It was said that in the past a total of 59 people were adversely affectd this way as the law than required 15 years of creditable service. Since the requirements for vesting have been lowered, it is suspected that there are more now that are locked out, that is they have between 5 and 15 years of service and yet are not qualified for benefits. To catch it, it appears to me, is that these people could qualify for retirement for their years of service, but by the wording of the law they started in the education field too late in life to qualify for membership in the retirement system. Thus, no membership, no benefits. Since we now have 8 year vesting and in order to rectify this injustice of long standing, I feel that Sec. 14.25.040-Membership, should be changed to read, "any teacher who can or has completed 8 years of mem- bership service by the first of July following his 65th birthday is subject to this chapter. Respectfully yours, Orval W. Holmes CC Doris Southall ----------------------- Page 282----------------------- February 11, 1972 1353 "N" Street Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Dear Legislator: Attached are for resolutions favored by the ALASKA STATE RETIRED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION, Page one of TEACHER'S RETIREMENT ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT for fiscal year ending June 30, 1971, and excerpts from the Chapters 85 and 86. The enclosed resolutions are those voted upon and approved by N.E.A. Alasksa in the last Delegate Assembly. In order to have a more Equitable Retirement System for Teachers, we recommend the following legislation: 1. (a) Cover all retired Teachers under the same retirement formula at he option of the retiree. Increase the per- centage factor from 1- 1/2% to 2% in the basic formula for computing retirement salaries for all reitrees at the option of each retiree. (b) Pay every retired teacher a minimum of $20.00 (twenty dollars) per month for each year of creditable service at the option of the retiree. Costs paid from the General Fund. The purpose of this recommendation is Help for Elderly Teachers. costs may well be paid from the State General Fund. 2. Any changes made in the Teachers' Retirement Law shall apply to all members of the Teachers' Retirement System at the option of the retiree. 3. Increase the cost of living allowance for retired teachers who are permanent residents of Alaska, to 25% of retirement salary. 4. Make Group Health and medical Insurance available to all retirees until qualified for Federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program. 4. Make Group Health and Medical Insurance available to all retirees until qualified for Federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program. 5. Extend retirement privileges to teachers at age 55, without penalty, when 25 years of creditable service have been completed. (Present Penalty: Earned benefit is calculated to age 60. In cases of early retirement, earned benefit is reduced by 1/2% (.005) per month to the 60th birthday.) 6. The number of years of service which may be transferred by any retiree may not exceed the number of years in membership service in Alaska. ----------------------- Page 283----------------------- 7. The Teachers' Retirement Fund Advisory Board shall include a qualified resident representative from the Retired Teachers' Group, all members to be appointed from the Field of Education. 8. Change Section 14.25.110 Eligibility for Service Retirement to ready: (a) A teacher who has completed either (1) 15 years of creditable service, the last five years of which have been membership service in the State, and has completed at least eight years of membership services in Alaska and who has attained the age of 55 years or.................. (b) A yeacher who has completed 15 years of creditable service, the last five years of which have been in membership service in the State, and has completed at least eight years of member- ship service in Alaska and who has attained the age of 65 years during the school year.....Teachers feel very stronly that the number of years of service to be used for retirement purposes may not exceed the number of years in membership service in Alaska. Thank you for you coopertion and help. Sincerely yours, {Signed: Leah J. Petersen, Pres. ASRTA; William T Zairadnicek, V. pres. ASRTA; Henry Gilbertson, Leg. chairman ASRTA; William W. Elliot, Pres. CARTA; M. G. Sanders, Pres. Anchorage AFT; Lois Sparks, Pres AFEA Retirement Comm.; Alice S. wilson, Fairbanks RTA; Orval Holmes, Leg. Chairman FAi, RTA; H.J. Woodworth, Sec-Treas ASRTA} ----------------------- Page 284----------------------- STATE OF ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION/ WILLIAM A. EGAN, GOVERNOR PUCH C-JUNEAU 99801 January 20, 1971 Mr. William G. O'Dell, President North Star Education Association Box 287 Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 Dear Mr. O'Dell: Your letter of December 28, 1971, was brought to my attention when I returned from vacation on January 17. Your interpretation of the Teacher's Retirement Law is correct. However, the intent of Sec. 14.25.110 was that the teacher must work a total of eight years in Alaska with the last five (consecutive) years in membership service. I brought the problem of wording to the attention of Bob Van Houte and Senator Thomas at the time the Free Conferenct Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 39 was issued; but at that time, they felt that it was best to "leave the bill alone"--for timing reasons rather that intent reasons. Incidentally, the only exception with your interpretation of Section 14.25.040 is taht a teacher must be able to serve eight years of membership service in order to be eligible for regular retirement benefits. A teacher is qualified for disability benefits after five years. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact be again. Very truly yours, {Signed Mary-Jean Heckwood, Benefit Supervisor} ----------------------- Page 285----------------------- 16 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and-Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m., with committee members Chance, Colletta, Moore, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker present, as the first in a series of work sessions on the higher education package of legislation. HOuse Bills 529, introduced by Rep. Naughton, and 604, drafted by the higher education subcommittee of the Legislative Aff- airs Agency, were compared. Both these bills deal with numbers and terms of office of the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska. Sen. Merdes, chairman of the subcommittee, explained that the trend around the country is to increase numbers and lengths of terms of office of regents in order to keep the positions less political. The consultants had said that it would be more stable and sound policy to increase rather than decrease in these areas, and the subcommittee felt that this would be an emotional issue. Rep. Naughton said that the board is already involved politically and that changing terms wouldn't change this but would serve to redirect educational patterns in the state. Education currently is not addressing itself to fish- eries and oceanegraphic issues and problems, and spending in this area has been reduced from 1/225th of the budget last year to 1/355th of the budget this year. Sen. Merdes said that these were valid argu- ments but that the consultants had questioned these types of tactics. Rep. Naughton said that his bill is the result of a compromise arrived at after approaching many legislators and asking their opinions. The question was raised of increasing the number of regents to 11, includ- ing the provision of not serving more than 2 consecutive terms and de- leting section 4 from HB 529. The recommendation was made that private institutions should be represented in the board of regents and that perhaps this could accomplished by having one member recommended by the boards of the private institutions in the state. There was discussion regarding limiting the number of terms served by regents and numbers of years included in each term. Regents now serve up to two regular terms which expire every 2 years on a staggered basis. It was suggested that the board be composed of 15 members with 2 from private institutions and one student. The comment was made that the problem with requiring student representation was that students graduate and are no longer students. There was discuss- ion of allowing regents to serve 2 consecutive 5-year terms and then requiring a one-year lapse before permitting re-appointment. This could be expressed either as two 5-year terms or a total of 10 years of service on the board. It was pointed out that nothing in section 4 of HB 529 prohibited the governor from re-appointing. Rep. Chance informed the committee of several points of concern expressed at the hearings in Anchorage: Eduaational facili- ties in Anchorage are not built to be accessible to the handicapped as there are no outside ramps and no elevators inside to allow access to upper floors. A resolution will be drafted including instruction to the regents that they report back to the next legislature within a specified time after it convenes as to what has been done about this problem. There is an aircraft mechanics class at Anchorage Community College which has never been accredited due to the lack of an air- craft to work on. A resolution will be drafted on this topic. Most ----------------------- Page 286----------------------- -2- scholarships for the University of Alaska are only available to students attending at the Fairbanks campus; this includes the state board and room scholarship, effectively preventing students from choosing their schools. There are currently no fellowships or assist- anceships available for graduate students who are not attending at the Fairbanks. A resolution will be drafted on the two foregoing problems. Rep. Chance said that testimony in Anchorage was overwhelm- ingly against HB 535 which would repeal the forgiveness clause of the scholarship program. The motion was made and carried to table House Bill 535. Stu Hall, Legislative Affairs attorney, was instructed by the committee as follows: to draft a committee substitute of House Bill 529 adding the following provisions from House Bill 604 - No regent may serve more than two full consecutive 5-year terms. If a regent is appointed to fill an enexpired term he may complete that term and be re-appointed to two full 5-year terms. A regent who has completed two full 5-year terms may not be re-appointed to the board until one year has elapsed. No regent may serve more than two consec- utive years as the president of the board. In addition, Mr. Hall was asked to include language that would suggest that the governor consider appointing two members of the board from a list of nominees proposed by the boards of two-year and four-year private institutions in the state of Alaska. He was asked to have the proposed committee substitute prepared for consideration tomorrow. The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. ----------------------- Page 287----------------------- 17 March 1972 This second work session of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. with Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker present. Rep. Banfield, a member of the Legislative Affairs sub- committee on higher education, testified on HB 608 introduced by" the subcommittee and a similar bill, HB 549, introduced by the gov- ernor - both of which provide for tuition grants to students attend- ing institutions of higher education in Alaska. Rep. Banfield said that the formula in HB 608 is tied to difference in costs between the state university and a private university and that this would serve to inhibit private universities in raising their tuition for purposes of receiving more state aid. HB 549 would allow a flat maximum amount of $1400. Rep. Banfield said that the question faced by the subcommittee was whether to maintain private educational in- stitutions in the state and found that tuition equalization was the only method found that would accomplish this constitutionally and help AMU and Sheldon Jackson survive. She said that it was felt that this should be done during what amounts to a crisis period being faced by private educational instutions allover the country and that private higher education in Alaska would soon be in better shape for the following reasons: 1. When oil production is begun in the state oil companies will most likely find it useful to utilize state schools as research centers. 2. Alaskan Natives will be receiving funds from the land claims settlement and many will attend Alaskan schools. 3. It is only a matter of time until the federal government is legally able to aid in underwriting private higher education. If private education institutions are lost from the state no others will ever be started. In response to questioning, Rep. Banfield stated that it was felt that the formula in HB 608 wouldn't have to be amended. She said that this grant program would have an impact on the scholarship program and that the finance committee feels that students attending outside institutions should also have access to tuition equalization aid but that the state doesn't have an obligation to help private institutions outside the state. If there is only one thing that can be accomplished state private instutions should be aided first. Add- itional funds would have to be appropriated for this program - probab- ly around $600,000 this year in addition to funds needed for the schol- arship program, and that it is true that the scholarship program fund- ing would suffer if this additional amount is not appropriated. There was a discussion of the state contracting with private universities for students taking courses at private universities that are not available at U of A. fun response to questioning, Rep. Banfield said that AMU would need about $600,000 per year to remain viable and that this amount could easily be raised by this tuition grant program and that the financing cannot be part of the bill but will have to be included by the finance committee in the U of A budget or some other place. Also there is a problem in the fact that the funding will be for next year and it is not certain what the costs will be then. The comment was made from committee that the finance committee would include the amount necessary for the scholarship loan program and this grant program in the budget and include a statement of intent showing that these are obligated funds for specific purposes. Rep ----------------------- Page 288----------------------- -2- Banfield pointed out that the state has been supporting the U of A for years until the scholarship loan program was opened up last year and that there was even a question then of whether it should be done and that there is a question of where the primary obligation lies - with state or private universities. The comment was made from committee that there is an advantage in the legislative council being the third party to the consortium agreement as it can help the private insti- tutions reorganize their procedures, etc. Stu Hall, Legislative Affairs Agency attorney, made the point that this authority is included in HB 608 and that this grants extraordinary authority to the execu- tive secretary of the scholarship selection committee. Mr. Hall was instructed by the committee to check to see if the scholarship bill passed last year has these provisions and to include in the statute that the Legislative Council will be involved in these procedures. In response to questioning, Rep. Banfield said that the consortium agreement prevents private universities from having such small classes that costs would be raised. In response to questioning as to why the tuition grant program is needed when there is a scholarship loan program available, Rep. Banfield said that private universities have to charge more due to the fact that they are not subsidized by the state to the same extent as the U of A. A committee member commented that he would like to see a separate division in the Department of Education to deal with this tuition grant program instead of including it in with the scholarship loan program. Comment was made from comm- ittee that the U of A has had the authority for years to contract with private schools to provide courses that the U of A doesn't offer to students wishing to take them rather than developing their own, but that this has never been done. Also, this should work better now that the consortium agreement is in effect and that there will never be enough money to satisfy all requests for scholarship loans. Rep. Banfield said that it is becoming more and more difficult for Alaskan students to get into outside schools and that more private institutions around the country are closing due to financial difficul- ties. She said that the consortium agreement between U of A and Sheldon Jackson was to include $50,000 in the U of A budget for Shel- don Jackson. The U of A reduced this amount to $43,000 and said that it would charge another $12,000 for administering the $43,000 and that it would have the right to accredit Sheldon Jackson's professors. Mr. Hall, in commenting on this, said that the consultants to the sub- committee had revealed that U of A was planning to require standards of the Sheldon Jackson faculty that it couldn't even apply to itself in an attempt to undermine the consortium agreement. The comment was made that this is the very reason that the consultants have to be re- tained. It was suggested that 14.40.815 be amended under A. to say students accepted for enrollment and under B. to say full-time and part-time students. Rep. Banfield said that she thought these were good amendments. There was discussion of whether it was necessary to define part-time students, whether this should be left to the discre- tion of the selection committee and whether they should receive assist- ance based on their cost per credit hour. Rep. Banfield said that she believe the feeling of the subcommittee to be that full time students should come first and that this could be left up to the selection comm- ittee. Next to testify was Dr. William E. Davis, executive vice president of AMU. He said that he supports the scholarship loan program ----------------------- Page 289----------------------- -3- and economic aid to students. Dr. Davis distributed materials to the committee and presented fiscal details. AMU charges $1500 for tuition this year and $100 for fees, plus costs of board, room, books, etc. U of A charges $200 tuition plus variable fees. $250,000 in student loans were processed in the fall semester covering 348 students. 83 students received $116,237 in state aid for the fall semester. 34.5% of AMU's income comes from tuition received at the present rate. Acc- ording to an outside study done it costs U of A $5,984 to educate each full time equivalent; U of A's own figure is $4,200. It costs AMU from $3,200 to $4,000 per full time equivalent. AMU intends to raise its tuition from $1500 this year to $2250 next year. Dr. Davis said that students should be able to choose their place of education on the merits of academic program rather than solely on the basis of fiscal considerations. When adjusted for the cost of living to the Seattle index, AMU's rates are now at about the middle of costs of Pacific Northwest private educational institutions, and these costs are not out of line when compared with national figures. AMU's operating budget for this year had originally been set at $2,437,000 but has been reduced by three successive cuts to $1,933,480. Cuts included all faculty travel, all new equipment purchases and faculty members who left or went on leave were not replaced. Equipment and supplies funds were reduced to $27,000 and the number of professional librarians were reduced from 3 to 1. AMU received $662,000 in tuition income this year, and tuition has to be increased in light of incresing costs. In response to questioning, Dr. Davis said that AMU has re- ceived money from the following sources: $200,000 from church sources, $110,000 from its state campaign and $300,000 from outside sources. When AMU's debts are paid off it will be easier to get contributions from outside sources. There is now a total aggregate debt of $815,000, including $573,000 owed to NBA which is headed by Elmer Rasmusson, president of the U of A's board of regents. With the new tuition rate set at $2250 and the top possible state payment for tuition grant of $1400, the student would have to pay $850. Dr. Davis made the point that the term tuition equalization is misleading as the student still has to pay the $850. which is $650 more than the tuition at U of A. He said that this program will help AMU keep present students and attract new students. He would like to see the residency requirement amended in HB 549 from 2 years to 1 year. In giving statistics on how the program might work, Dr. Davis said that if 450 resident stu- dents enrolled each with a tuition grant of $1400 this would be $630,000. It might be expected that roughly 1/4 of these (115) would get state scholarship loans at a maximum of $850, which would mean that the school would receive $100,000 in this area. If the school received revenues at the top limits as above this would cover about half its operating budget. AMU can stay viable if it can attract 450 Alaskan students. The decision to raise the tuition was made last September by the trustees in order to cover shortages. $1 million in this program would cover AMU and Sheldon Jackson including part- time students. The comment was made from committee that it is not necessary to be concerned with the funding of the scholarship loan program as the finance committee will add the amount needed for the grant program on top of that needed for the scholarship fund and in- dicate that this amount is to be used for the tuition grants. Dr. Davis answered a question about other scholarships available, saying that there is $300,000 available in federal loans and about $121,000 ----------------------- Page 290----------------------- -4- available in the AMU tuition loan fund program. Rep. Chance commented that news coverage of the hearing held in Anchorage gave the impress- ion that testimony was only offered against the tuition grant program. She said that those who testified against the program were people who hadn't worked on the consortium agreement and some didn't even realize that the agreement had been signed. Several professors testified that they were teaching at both AMU and/or ACC and/or U of A - Anchorage, and testified as to the cooperation between U.of A and AMU. She said that she has received letters from professors at both U of A - Anchorage and Fairbanks who are concerned that the testimony was given purporting to represent the unanimous opinion of the faculty association and saying that the faculty association hasn't voted on this issue. The question was asked Dr. Davis as to how many more students AMU could accomodate without having to increase faculty. He said that some programs could hold many more as the faculty is now spread thin and that the school could probably handle up to 600 stu- dents with present faculty. He further said that the schools physi- cal facilities are now strained but that they could probably handle up to 800 in existing structures. The comment was made that testimony at the hearing included some from veterans and others disagreeing with giving vets preference in loans and tuition grants and they are already eligible for veterans' benefits. Rep. Specking made a motion to take this provision out of HB 608. Rep. Moses objected. This motion passed. Rep. Whittaker made a motion that the amendments pre- viously stated regarding sections A and B under 14.40.815 be adopted. Rep. Colletta objected and the motion passed. There was discussion of the necessity of stipulating that payment be made on the basis of cost per credit hour to the selection committee wouldn't be confused about the definition of part time students. The selection committee could still exercise its judgment and control. Stu Hall was asked to draft appropriate language for this and to draft a committee sub- stitute with the three amendments previously passed, using HB 549 as the vehicle. Copies of the proposed committee substitute for HB 529 were distributed. Stu Hall explained section 5 regarding the governor considering nominees from private institutions saying that this would indicate why the legislature wants this done and will be included as a footnote in the statutes as showing legislative intent. This will be better than a letter of intent in the journal. Rep. Naughton moved to adopt the committee substitute for HB 529. Rep. Colletta objected. The motion passed. Rep. Naughton asked unanimous do pass recommenda- tion of the committee substitute. There was an objection, and the committee substitute passed out of committee. The meeting adjourned at 4 p.m. to be re-adjourned on Monday. at 11 a.m. ----------------------- Page 291----------------------- Alaskan Methodist University March 9,1972 #720-020 Tuition Estimates 1971-1972 On Campus Extension Summber Tuition Full-Time & & Public School Total Part-Time Service __________ _________ ________ _______ Full-Time Students 423 Students X $1500 $634,500 $634,500 Extension & Part Time Students: Fall Semester 517 Spring Semester 517 ____ Total courses 1,034 X 87 ______ 90,000 Approximate Allocation 30,000 60,000 90,000 Summer School-Based upon 1971 Actuals 89,000 89,000 __________ ___________ __________ __________ Less Tuition Scholarships 664,500 60,000 89,000 813,500 Anticipated Tuition 1971-72 110,000 -0- 10,000 120,000 __________ ___________ __________ __________ 554,000 60,000 79,000 693,500 Budget 1971-72 550,000 50,000 62,000 662,000 __________ ________ ________ __________ Anticipated Tuition Over Budget 4,500 10,000 17,000 31,500 ----------------------- Page 292----------------------- Alaska Methodist University March 9, 1972 #72-021 BASIS FOR BUDGET COMPUTATION FULL-TIME STUDENT PROJECTIONS 1972-73 Full Time Students 1971-72: Fall Actuals 423 (340 One-Year Resident: 83 Non-Resident Projected Increase of New Students: 15 Percent 63 Reduce Attrition Rate to Two-Thirds of Current Rate: Freshman Sophmore Junior Senior & Graduate Current Enrollment (423) 143 115 86 79 Current Attrition Rates Per Higher Education Study 68% 7% 7% 2% ____ ____ ____ ____ Attrition at Current Rate 97 8 6 2 Retain 1/3 of these Students 32 3 2 1 38 Projected Full Time Students 1972-73 524 Reduce Conservation 4 Basis for Budget Computation 1972-73 (450 One Year Resident and 70 Non-Resident) 520 ----------------------- Page 293----------------------- March 15, 1972 AMU/MGM 3b.(1)B Cross Registration Preliminary Estimates 1971-72 No. of Students Amounts ________________ _________ U/A Students at AMU Fall 39 $966.94 U/A Students at AMU Spring Preliminary 100 2,416.50 ____ _________ Total U/A Students Attending AMU 139 3,383.44 * *The U/A pays AMU $6.75 per semester hour for their students who attend AMU courses. AMU Students at U/A Fall 15 (99.00) AMU Students at U/A Spring Preliminary 32 (193.50) ____ _________ 47 (292.50)** **AMU pays U/A $2.25 per semester hour for their students who attend U/A courses. Net Amount to AMu $3,090.94 The cross registration program was initiated during the 1970-71 year and has been steadily growing. An estimate for the 1972-73 academing year is subject to many factors, including the elimination of duplication of higher education opportunities in Anchorage, but participation in cross registration should increase by a factor of 1-1/2 or 2. In addition, it is impossible to assess realistic dollar value to this program until after the implementation of the "Consortium Agreement" and the tuition charges are determined. Currently, only token rates are being assessed between the institutions. No estimate is being made for other consortium or cooperative programs at this time; however, programs of this type shoudl permit both institutions to provide better education at reduced rates. ----------------------- Page 294----------------------- 20 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 11 a.m. as the third in the series of work sessions on higher education legislation. Committee mem- bers present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. As the first order of business, HB 637 relating to state-operated pay clinics - was passed out of committee. Reps. Moore, Moses, Naughton and Specking signed the majority report, with Rep. Chance recommending do pass and Rep. Whittaker recommending do not pass. Rep. Whitakker introduced John Garland and four students visiting from Thorne Bay High School. Committee Substitute for HB 549 was considered with the amendments included as requested last Friday. Amendments included under 14.40.831 include changing the term budgeting and accounting practices'to fiscal and business management practices and provides that an institution whose fiscal and business management practices are found inadequate may appeal the determination of the executive secretary to the selection committee through the chairman of the committee. There was discussion of the executive secretary being in a position to make final determination without reference to the se- lection committee. In checking the statutes with reference to the scholarship loan program it was noted that in that case the executive secretary administers the program subject to review by the selection committee and such regulations as the committee may prescribe. It was suggested that 14.40.755(b) be amended to say loan or grant applica- tion. In response to questioning, Stuart Hall said that the maximum amount of tuition grants would be limited to the amount of the miffer- ence between the cost of education a student at U of A and the amount of tuition charged students at U of A. The check woud be written to the student and have to be countersigned by the school. If the grant amount were linked to the cost of attending a private institution there would be a constitutional question involved of aiding the private institution instead of directly aiding the student. He said that there is some disagreement as to methods used for determining cost per student but that this generally includes only operating costs and not capital costs. The present bill won't grant as much per student as the governor's bill but is on sounder constitutional grounds. The theory behind this bill is that the state should be no more re- sponsible in providing aid to students attending private universities than it is to those attending public institutions, and that this legislation will allow private schools to compete on an equal basis with the U of A. The comment was made that the scholarship loan pro- gram provides a type of tuition equalization to the student attending school outside the state. Mr. Hall said that the effective date of this bill had been made to coincide with the scholarship loan program. Rep. Whittaker moved that the committee adopt the committee substitute as amended and pass it with a unanimous do pass recommendation. Rep. Moses objected. This bill passed out of committee with Reps. Chance; Moore, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker signing do pass, Rep. Coll- etta recommending do not pass unless amended and Rep. Moses recomm- ending 'no recommendation'. Next to be considered were HV 607and HCR 19, companion pieces of legislation. Discussion was had of the fact that the U of A can now switch funds around within its budget and that the feel- ----------------------- Page 295----------------------- -2- ing existed that there have been some arbitrary decisions involved in that funds have been transferred from community colleges in the middle of a semester. This has resulted in the community college involved becoming angry with the legislature for not funding it for the full semester, when this is not the case. This bill would restrict such shifting of funds to 5% of any account to another acc- ount. It had been proposed at the hearings in Anchorage that this language be changed from 'shift' to 'increase or decrease'. It was suggested that the provision be added that a school could appeal to Budget-Audit Committee for more than 5% increase. It was pointed out that U of A's funds don't lapse and that it doesn't have to re- port surpluses to the legislature. Mr. Hall said in response to questioning that the U of A is not in favor of any of the bills in the higher education package. The question was raised as to whether HCR 19 initiated new budgeting and auditing procedures for the univer- sity and whether this might be more costly. Mr. Hall said that the consultants had felt that the result would be one of greater account- ability and that more and better education would be received for the funds spent. The legislature and community colleges haven't been aware in the past of what happened to funds after allocation. Funds have been shifted around and there has been no public accountability. In response to questioning regarding the 19 budget categories listed in HCR 19, Mr. Hall said that the University of Alaska already uses these categories and that the effect of the resolution would be to standardize these budgeting categories so that the universities budget would be submitted to the legislature under these headings. It was commented that a study commission is being asked for at this point in the form of a resolution rather than putting this directly into the statutes. The legislature now doesn't have the authority to look at the U of A's books. Rep. Whittaker moved that the university not be permitted to increase or decrease anyone account by more than 5% without the approval of the Budget and Audit Committee. There was no objection to this motion, and Mr. Hall was asked to draft an amended version including this provision. Rep. Whittaker moved for unanimous passage out of committee of HB 607 as amended. There were no objections and the bill was passed with Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore, Moses, Specking, Naughton and Whittaker recommending 'do pass'. Amendments to HCR 19 were suggested as follows: page 2, line 17 - remove the section having to do with suspicion of arbitrar- iness; page 2, line 22 - change the date from 1972-73 to 1973-74; page 4, line 16 - change the date from 1972-73 to 1973-74; page 4, line 14 - change 'central governance' to 'statewide administration'. This last change is a new budget category directed at remedying the existing situation wherein the president of the U of A reviews all budget requests for the university and its community colleges, includ- ing his own budget for the U of A - Fairbanks. Under this legislation there would be a statewide administrator of the university system who would not be directly involved or connected with any of the university's entities. Rep. Naughton moved for adoption of the above amendments. There was no objection. Rep. Naughton moved that HCR 19 as amended pass out of committee with a unanimous do pass recommendation. Rep_ Specking objected. The resolution passed with Reps. Chance, Moore and Moses recommending do pass, and Reps. Colletta and Specking reco- mmending no recommendation. This meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m. ----------------------- Page 296----------------------- 21 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 2 p.m. with Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore, Moses, Specking and Whittaker present. This was the fourth higher education work session. First to be considered was HB 609, a bond proposal for the University of Alaska. amendments were proposed as follows: page 3, line 1 - change "central governance" to "statewide admin- istration"; page 2, between lines 6 and 7-- insert' (A) $2.5 million to complete assembly and lecture facilities" (this is needed to fin- ish labs, put seats in the auditorium, etc.); page 1, line 7 - change total amount to $42,550,000; page 2, line 27 - add. "and residence hall" (this would allow students from· other southeastern communities to attend school at the Juneau campus rather than building community colleges at other sites; this campus is also beginning to offer upper division courses). There was discussion of this bill, with some committee members wanting further testimony and information from the study group. The comment was made that by specifying spending areas shifting of funds would be prohibited. The question was raised of when the funds would be spent and whether the priorities would then still be the same as listed in the bill. This is one point that will be raised at the informational hearing. There was then discussion of portable classrooms, the desirability of presenting all these bond issues in one package and educational needs in the bush. Action was postponed on this bill until further information can be acquired. HCR 22 has to do with university research institutes. The study group interviewed people involved in research institutes and found that many of them would like to be able to also teach academic- ally in order to keep in contact with the academic field. At this time academic and research programs and separated. The resolution does not make this mandatory but recommends that the university allow this when desired. It was proposed that the language be changed of the paragraph beginning on line 24. Stuart Hall will draft this. The resolution was passed as amended, with Reps. Chance, Moore, Moses, Colletta, Specking and Whittaker recommending do pass as amended. CR 20 and HCR 21 were both passed with unanimous do pass recommendations. On the recommendations of Dr. Starcher and McLean, HCR 23 should be withdrawn, and no action was taken on it by this committee. HCR 24 recommends relocation of the central office of the University of Alaska. This has long been a point of contention re- garding conflict of interest or suspicion of conflict or interest arising out of the close relationship between the central office and the Fairbanks campus. Proposed amendments included changing 'central governance' wherever it appears to 'statewide administration', and inserting'not' before 'contemplated' - a typographical error. Rep. Whittaker moved that the bill pass unanimously as amended. Rep. Speck- ing Objected. The bill moved out with Reps. Chance, Moore, Moses and Whittaker recommending do pass, and Reps. Colletta and Specking ----------------------- Page 297----------------------- -2- indicating no recommendation. HCR 25 relates to the study of vocational education in the state. A technical amendment included removing the word 'of' at the end of line 20 on page 1. Rep. Whittaker moved for unanimous do pass recommendation as amended and there was no objection. The bill moved out with all members recommending do pass. HCR 26 is a request for the opportunity for input into planning and programming of the university. This was requested at the hearing by students, faculty, etc. It was suggested that line 24 on page 1 include various campuses, community colleges, etc. and the public at large; and that line 26 on page I include community college advisory councils and the public at large. Rep. Whittaker moved that this resolution pass unaninlously. There was no objection, and the resolution passed with all members present recommending do pass. This meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m. ----------------------- Page 298----------------------- 22 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. as the fifth in a series of work sessions on higher education legislation. Committee mem- bers present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore, Moses, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. First to be considered was HB 603. Initial comments were made to the effect that this legislation would restructure the univ- ersity and allow greater local input. It would establish regional presidents who would meet with the board of regents, whereas at pres- ent there is a single president who, with the board of regents, sets policy for all campuses without regional input. The position of chancellor would be created to act as executive officer of the board of regents. The regional presidents already exist as provosts of local campuses. At this point there was discussion of terminology. Stuart Hall said that the term "chancellor" was selected by the sub- committee based on the recommendation of the consultants for the reason that most states with statewide university systems use this term. The basic function of the bill, he said, is to separate out campus function from basic university function. Under this legisla- tion regional presidents would have direct access to the board of regents without having to go through the chancellor, though they may choose to ask his advice. Under this the board of regents will have ultimate responsibility for the workings of the university. There was discussion of the possibility of added costs and a question of who would have the budget function as this is not now defined in law. Stu Hall said that the intent of the bill is to strengthen the board of regents. Comments were made that the relationships should be better spelled out in the bill and that the provision for a univer- sity council is similar to the present university assembly but gives it public recognition. Rep. Banfield,a member of the subcommittee which worked on the legislation, discussed this bill. She said that at present the president of the university system receives all budget requests from the various campuses and compares them with the budget request of his institution at Fairbanks and that it has been very apparent what effect this procedure has had on campuses other than the Fair- banks one. Each school would be stronger and represent the people in the area served if the regional presidents are appointed, and the chancellor would represent the image of the whole university but would be relieved of the decision of whether appropriations to other schools would be to the detriment of the Fairbanks campus. It was the feeling of the subcommittee that putting the name change on the ballot would involve people in the functions of higher education. Giving the heads of the separate campuses the title of president would give them more stature, and it was felt that the public would understand this title better than the term provost. In response to questioning regarding costs, Rep. Banfield said that originally there is no reason for costs to increase but that eventually costs will go up regardless of what structural system is used due to in- creased. ----------------------- Page 299----------------------- -2- creased size and demand. When the present legislation is enacted the system will still be dealing with the same number of people as under the previous system. The prestige of regional presidents will eventually have to be increased at any rate and this might as well be done in an orderly fashion. Someone on the scene has to be re- sponsible for the budget; we can no longer rely on a person who does not live in the community involved and who doesn't feel the needs and responsibilities of that community. The comment was made that the provosts now do a responsible budget and submit it to the board but are never allowed to meet with the board or the legislative finance committee. Rep. Banfield continued saying that education has changed and that there are tremendous pressures for expanding the field. Students are wanting to be able to get their education with- out leaving the state. Costs will increase due to more and better qual- ity education and not because of the changes sought in this bill. A structure must be set up to deal with these increased services and the fact that new programs are now being developed within the state rather than students having to go outside to get them. Advisory committees now exist but might as well not because the strong presi- dent system now in effect doesn't have to consider the committees' recommendations. The present legislation would create viable re- gional advisory councils to the regional presidents that will be listened to. The effect of this bill is not so much to restructure the university as it is to make into law and re-emphasize what already exists. The recent decision of the university to include the ad- visory councils in its structure is the result of the subcommittee's efforts, and this legislation will serve to ensure that it will not be a temporary measure. In response to questioning, Rep. Banfield said that it is true that there is no built-in protection for re- tention of the presently-serving provosts but that they now serve at the pleasure of the president. Technical amendments were suggested as follows: page 2, line 28 - insert "under (3) and (4) above" after the word 'council'; make the same insertion on line 29, page 2 after the word 'member'; page 3, line 7 - insert the word 'calendar' before the word 'quarter'; page 4, line 29 - change "administrative body" to "legislative body!l; page 5 line 17 - insert "106" after "No.". Rep. Naughton moved for adoption of these amendments and there were no objections. Rep. Naughton moved for unanimous do pass recommendation for HB 603 as amended. There was an objection. The bill passed with Reps. Chance, Naughton and Moore recommending do pass, and Reps. Colletta and Specking signing no recommendation. HJR 106, companion legislation to HR 603, was considered and passed with Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore and Naughton signing do pass, and Rep. Specking signing no recommendation. HB 605 was considered. Rep. Banfield said that the univer- sity doesn't object to this legislation. The bill moved out of comm- ittee with a unanimous do pass recommendation. HB 606 was discussed. The comment was made that perhaps the dean of a community college should be selected by the board of ----------------------- Page 300----------------------- -3- regents as are the university presidents. Stu Hall said that there are problems with this due to the fact that a community college is a combination of the university system and the local school district Regarding Section 596 he said that there has been a question of the problems of equating the academic faculty structure with the non-academic faculty structure. HBs 606 and 609 will be discussed at tomorrow's meeting This meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m. ----------------------- Page 301----------------------- 23 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. with Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore, Specking and Whittaker present. This was another in the series of work sessions on the higher education legislation. There was further discussion of HB 603 which had passed out of committee yesterday with amendments. The suggestion was made that on page 2, line 19 the word "equivalency" be inserted between "full-time" and "student". There were no objections, and this amendment was adopted. House Bill 606, relating to the community colleges, was brought up for consideration. Julie Isaac, a member of the Juneau Community College advisory council, spoke in favor of the legisla- tion. She said that perhaps there should be a provision under the university council section for representation of non-professional university employees. These employees represented the largest group of employees on the campuses and are renresented by no employees' organization. The university won't make payroll deductions for them so they can belong to APEA and it has been reported that the univer- sity will not submit names of its employees to APEA upon request. Stu Hall asked why these employees should be included in the university council. Ms. Isaac said that she would certainly prefer to have them be able to have their own association. The comment was made from comm- ittee that this type of action should come from the employees them- selves and that it is really a question of whether the university employees should be included under the state employment system. Ms. Isaac commented that university employees are composed to a large extent of wives and relatives of professional employees. Amendments to this bill were discussed. Page 2, line 1 add "for cause" after "removed". Page 2, line 7 - insert "calendar" before "quarter". Ms. Isaacs said that meetings of the advisory coun- cil are called on short notice and not very often for purposes of rubber stamping university policy. She said that she would like to see some guarantee of feedback from the university. Rep. Banfield corroborated Ms. Isaacs' testimony and said that the same is true in Sitka. The suggestion was made from committee that the board of re- gents should be required to advertise in newspapers in advance of consideration of appointments to advisory councils. This would allow the community involved to nominate and make recommendations to the board. Language will be drafted by Stu Hall to this effect and inserted in Section 2. There was discussion of 14.40.596, the section of the bill dealing with faculty. It was pointed out that there had been some testimony at the higher education hearing that this might lead to problems with community college teachers having trouble being promoted as promotion at the university is based on research, publication and l. PhDs. Community college instructors are hired only to teach. Rep. Banfield said that she wouldn't be adverse to removing this section. Rep. Specking asked unanimous consent for this removal and there were no objections. This bill passed out of committee with Reps. Chance, ----------------------- Page 302----------------------- -2- Colletta, Moore and Specking recommending do pass. The committee then considered HB 609, bond proposals for the university. Amendments were suggested: Page 2, between lines 6 and 7 - insert new paragraph (A) $2.5 million for completion of laboratory and auditorium facilities; page 2, line 27 - include resi- dence hall; page 3, line 1 - change "central governance" to "state- wide administration". Comment was made by Rep. Chance that a request had been made for $1.5 million for a museum at Barrow. The university is agreeable to this, and some private funds are committed if the state will come up with the rest. The original bill was introduced by Rep. Ferguson to appropriate from the general fund. This museum would be part of the university museum system. Rep. Banfield commented that the education study focussed on education needs rather than political needs. No action was taken on HB 609, and the meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m. ----------------------- Page 303----------------------- 28 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to Order at 1:30 p.m. Present were Reps. Chance, Colletta, Moore, Naughton, Specking and Whittaker. Meeting with the committee were members of the State OEO Citizens Partici- pation Committee. George Charles prefaced the meeting by telling committee members that this is the first statewide citizen's parti~ cipation conference held in the state and involves for the first time low income people in the actual decision-making processes. First to speak was Pat Ferris from Anchorage. She expressed concern over the runaway problem and the fact that the police will not cooperate in picking up runaways. She said that there are more young runaways now than previously. She also said that there is a problem with drugs being available in the schools - specifically mentioning Eagle River and Chugiak. In response to questioning, Ms. Ferris said that she feels that if parents request that their child be picked up as a runaway the police should do this but that the child shouldn't be labeled a delinquent. The child should be either returned to his home or turned over to some agency such as a committee composed of parents, teenagers, people trained in the field, etc. which would investigate the causes of the child leaving home. Roland Allison commented that it would be best to have coun- selling available with people experienced in dealing with kids and concerned with helping them. Commismioner McGinnis said that to the present the concern has largely been directed toward symptoms and not causes of the problem; that society puts major restraints on Youth at the most active time of their lives. Kids are not now needed as participating members of the home and family; they have time on their hands and very few recreational facilities are provided. Pius Savage from Anchorage told the committee about prob- lems encountered with his wife's sister from Shageluk. The woman came into Anchorage in February leaving 3 children at home. he is drinking heavily, and Mr. Savage and his wife have made numerous attempts to get help for her to get her back home to her children. Several agencies have either said they can't help or have passed them on to some other agency which can't help. The police said that they can't arrest her because she hasn't broken any law. The woman is presently on welfare and in obvious need of assistance. Stan Harris of the Division of Family and Children's Services said that his department would send a caseworker to investigate the situation. The comment was made from committee that the state is presently re- Jecting alcoholism program applications and saying that BIA will handle these through the federal alcoholism program. Commissioner McGinnis said that there are 3 or 4 different alcoholism programs in Anchorage and that the state doesn't run these programs but funds locally based and run programs. He also said that a caseworker in Anchorage could look into the situation and report back to Stan Harris. It was commented that the committee would appreciate getting a report back from Mr. Harris as to what action is being taken. Roland Allison from Fairbanks discussed the problems en- countered by low income people in getting hospital care for themselves and their children. These people often have no family doctor and go ----------------------- Page 304----------------------- -2- to a hospital emergency room for medical care. Hospitals generally will not provide care if the demand is at night or on a weekend when it is impossible to verify that the person is eligible for this treatment under the welfare program. The question was brought up as to whether hospitals can refuse to give care to anyone if it has been constructed under the Hill-Burton Act. Commissioner McGinnis said that he would have to check on this to be sure. Mr. Harris said that the department will pick up costs up to 2 days back in order to cover weekends. The comment was made that physicians' ass- istants could be used in neighborhood clinics. Commissioner McGinnis said that low income people also have trouble getting prescriptions filled on weekends and that the department is now working on a 2- day pickup on this. It was suggested that doctors indicate eligibil- ity on the prescription itself. Comm. McGinnis said that this would put doctors in the position of determining eligibility which can fluctuate from day to day. Rep. Naughton said that in talking to doctors, hospitals and pharmacists in Kodiak he was told that they can't actually refuse service to anyone for reasons of inability to pay. Richard Nicholas from Kaltag pointed out that there are no clinics along the Yukon and that medical aides use their own homes. It was commented from committee that neighborhood and village health centers would handle low income persons and could treat the nearly- poor on a sliding scale relative to ability to pay. Fred Kachatag of Unalakleet agreed with the idea of treating people at the village level and said that the rural health aides and teacher aides have helped a great deal. Kathy Walker said that she works in a community center in Eagle River which has limited medical service and provides food stamp, welfare and alcoholism services. This center will run out of OEO funding after May and has no state aid. Ilaree Benningfield said that it takes 6 weeks to 3 months to get an eligibility determ- ination for dental treatment and that she would like to see a local determination board established. She went on to point out that a mother with I child receives $125 per month and that a foster family receives up to $200 per month per child. Comma McGinnis said that state law fixes the AFDC rate and that his department doesn't have discretion to change this rate; foster care rates aren't fixed by statute and can be and are adjusted and changed from time to time. There are 7,000 AFDC children and 3,000 AFDC families in the state. It was stated from committee that a bill was defeated last year which would have established a sliding scale of payment according to the child's age. Ms. Benningfield said that there are problems with children being removed from their homes in villages and placed in foster homes in large cities because their families are unable to keep them for financial reasons. Comm. McGinnis said that his department's policy is to leave children in their own homes in the village as much as possi- ble. He said that he hopes to have a lump sum of federal funds approved so that the department can set up state matching programs within this amount and not have to continue to take programs one at a time for approval for federal matching funds. Ms. Benningfield spoke about the problems encountered in training and day care pro- grams. She said that day care centers would help AFDC mothers to get training for jobs. Most training programs are not meeting the needs of recipients; available courses are very limited and not all training programs provide transportation to day care facilities . ----------------------- Page 305----------------------- -3- She said that for a welfare mother to hire a babysitter in her home the sitter is required to have a physical examination which she must pay for herself and then must wait some time for obtaining authoriza- tion to take the job. This makes it difficult to find people willing to take these jobs and points out the need for day care centers. Mr. Harris said that there are IV-a funded contracts in Anchorage and Fairbanks which include day care with no limit on matched funds and that job training programs are administered by the Department of Labor. Ms. Benningfield said that the main problem encountered by women in training programs is that of transportation to day care centers and training programs and jobs. She said that she would like to see at least the cost of a babysitter's physical paid for. Mr. Harris said that he could work on the transportation problem and on getting baby- sitters paid more quickly but that he is not sure about the exam payment. Karel Parsons, an AFDC mother from Anchorage, said that welfare mothers sometimes have to put their children in foster homes because they cannot support them on AFDC payments. She said that there was fear that any raise in AFDC payments would be negated by federal raises in food stamp prices. Mr. Harris said that the Brook Amendment set a precedent for not raising prices when welfare raises are received. A department representative offered to send a memo to the committee regarding changes in small family allowable income and if and how this is tied to rents. Ms. Parsons asked who sets welfare payment guidelines and was told by Rep. Chance that this is set by state law and that she has had a bill in ever since coming to the legislature that would tie AFDC payments to cost of living. At this point there was some discussion and explanation of the budgetary process and the meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m. ----------------------- Page 306----------------------- 28 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 10:30 a.m. Present were committee members Reps. Chance, Moore, Naughton and Whittaker. Under consideration was a proposed committee substitute for HB 605 which had already been voted out of committee with a do, pass recommendation but had not been reported out on the floor. Stu Hall explained that part of the bill as originally drafted dupli- cated AS 14.41.60 which requires that the board of regents hold open meetings and that its records be open to the public. The effect of the committee substitute would be to strengthen the existing law. The committee substitute was passed with a unanimous do pass recommendation. Stu Hall was asked to draft" a chairman's report setting forth the techinical change and resons for it to be included in the journal. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m. ----------------------- Page 307----------------------- 29 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee convened at 1:40 p.m. in the House Conference Room. All members were in attendance. The first order of business was the signing of committee reports for the following committee-sponsored legislation relating to higher education: HB 767, HCR 52, 53, 54, 55, HB 661 HB661 The first bill under discussion was HB 661 relating to minority culture education. Chairman Chance summarized the previous consideration of the bill by the committee and recounted the comm- ittee's difficulty in breaking out the costs of the bill under the currently used vocational education formula based on student ratios. The committee, as a resu1t, had requested a memorandum from the De- partment of Education detailing costs using the formula. The memor- andum received stated that a maximum of 2% Foundation support would be adequate to cover the costs. Chairman Chance told the committee that the formula used was the same type of formula used in the extended school year legislation. Mr. Jeff Jeffers of the Department of Education pointed out one further change in the proposed committee substitute for HB 661. The effective date was changed to July 1, 1972. The purpose of the change was to preclude school districts currently running programs in minority culture education from applying for funding for this school year. Representative Whittaker moved the adoption of the committee substitute for HB 661 and asked unanimous consent. There were no objections. Representative Whittaker moved a 'do pass' recommendation for the bill and asked unanimous consent. Represensatives Specking and Colletta objected. CSHB 661 was passed out of the committee with a 'do pass'recommendation, Representatives Colletta and Specking have 'no recommendation'. HB 695 HB695 The next bill under consideration was HB 695. Chairman Chance briefly summarized the changes that had been made in the proposed committee substitute. The original bill had identified only schools having 300 or more students as eligible for funding of community school programs. A maximum of 2% Foundation program funding will be availa- ble to districts (including the State Operated Schools district) runn- ing,community school programs. Representative Whittaker expressed the view that sufficient funds were currently being provided to get better education than we presently have. He felt that there was no community so poor that it could not start its own community school. Representative Whittaker emphasized that he was much in favor of the concept of the community school, but he was not in favor of providing the impetus for comm- unity schools through exernal funding. He felt that the concept implied local initiation. ----------------------- Page 308----------------------- -2- Representative Naughton moved the adoption of the committee substitute for HB 695. There were no objections. Representative Naughton then moved that the committee pass CSHB 695 with a 'do pass' recommendation and asked unanimous consent. Representatives Whitta- ker, Specking and Colilietta objected. A majority of the committee recommended 'do pass' with Representatives Whittaker and Specking recommending 'do not pass' and Representative Colletta giving 'no recommendation'. HB717 The next bill under consideration was HB 717. Chairman Chance explained that this bill had been requested by the Comprehensive Health advisory Council and had the Council's endorsement. Representative Specking asked Chairman Chance where the $200,000 appropriation called for by the bill would be going. Chair- man Chance explained that the money was to be used to initiate "B" agencies, which could be recognized as local comprehensive health advisory councils. The chairman directed that Mr. Larry Sullivan, Coordinator of the office of Comprehensive Planning in the Department of Health and Social Services, be called to the Committee to give a breakdown of the $200,000 cost figure in the bill. HB 537 HB537 While awaiting the arrival of Mr. Sullivan, the committee proceeded to consider HB 537. Chairman Chance explained that the bill if passed would equalize the retirement benefits for all teachers. The intent of the legislation is to extend the retirement benefits to teachers who had retired prior to the date of passage of last year's teacher retirement legislation. Representative Whittaker moved that HB 537 move out of committee with a 'do pass' recommendation. There were no objections. HB441 The committee next considered HB 441 relating to state support for vocational education. Chairman Chance referred the committee members to the fiscal note on the bill that had been received after the committee's last discussion of the bill. Representative Specking moved that HB 441 move out of committee with a 'do pass' recommendation. Representative Whittaker objected. A majority of the committee recommended 'do pass' with Rep- resentative Whittaker making no recommendation. HB 717 HB717 Mr. Sullivan arrived, and the committee resumed its discuss- ion of HB 717. Mr. Sullivon offered the following budget breakdown of the porposed $200,000 appropriation: personnel services $38,500 travel 9,000 equipment 4,000 seed money forlocal "B" agencies 148,500 ___________ Total $200,000 Mr. Sullivan explained that each "B" agency to organize would ----------------------- Page 309----------------------- -3- require $12,500 in funding on the average. He explained that a num- ber of Native corporations are anticipated to request recognition as local comprehensive health planning agencies. Mr. Sullivan gave as examples several such Native non-profit corporations already seeking recognition, such as the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation and one in the Tanana Chiefs' area. Representative Specking asked Mr. Sullivan how existing agencies have operated without seed money. Mr. Sullivan replied that the only recognized funded "B" agency to date was in Anchor- age, and that others such as the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation have operated with OEO funds. Many have no operating funds at all. The intent of this appropriation, Mr. Sullivan explained, is through seed money to help local agencies organize themselves in such a way that they can gain recognition as local comprehensive health planning councils and thus be able to apply for federal matching funds. Representative Specking then asked Mr. Sullivan what the existing agencies would do in the absence of funding and without recognition from the federal government. Mr. Sullivan stated that they would only be capable of serving in an advisory role to the state Comprehensive Health Advisory Council. Representative Moore stated that he felt that the local "B" agencies were doing a great service. He cited as an example the high priority that the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation set on den- tistry, after it had been identified that fifteen villages in the area served by the corporation had never seen a dentist. Representative Moore stated his belief that local comprehensive health advisory councils give localities added incentive. He recounted that Moun- tain Village had built a clinic facility to lease to the Public Health Service. Representative Whittaker inquired as to the amount of federal money available to local comprehensive health advisory councils. Mr. Sullivan stated that 75%/25% matching funds were available. Representative Specking moved that the committee give HB 717 a unanimous 'do pass' recommendation. There were no objections. Chairman Chance adjourned the meeting at 3:12 p.m. ----------------------- Page 310----------------------- 30 March 1972 This meeting was called to order at 1: 50 pm by Chairman Genie Chance. Members present were Representatives Colletta, Specking, and Whittaker. The Committee met with members of the Alaska Consortium for Early Childhood Education Inc, and others interested in childcare for a work session on legislation embodying the concept of an office of child development using House Bill 651 as a form. The following people were in attendance from their respective agencies and departments: Junior Ramos State OEO Mary R. Hawkins Division of Voc Ed Margaret Connet Cooperative Extension Service U of A, Fairbanks Rosalee T. Walker Juneau Borough School District Jeff Jeffers Dept. of Education Betty Seaman Dept. of Education Carolyn Touvinen Anchorage Community College Rebecca R. Mounts Hillcrest Day Care Center Sandy Griffin Dept. of Education Peggy Sherman Rural Cap Elinor McLaughlin Dept. of Health and Social Services Monda Sagalkin Family and Children Services Juneau 4c's Pat Monroe Dept. of Health and Social Services Helen Beirne Alaska Treatment Center Baxter Wood Children's Cache SOS Paula Terral Juneau 4c's Commissioner Lind Dept. of Education Commissioner McGinnis Dept. of Health and Social Services The meeting opened with Mrs. Chance asking if we needed an office of child development, and if so why. The respective roles and powers of existing agencies and departments dealing with the problems of child development were discussed. Those mentioned were; 4c's, Governor's Day Care Advisory Committee, Department of Education, Department of Health and Social Services, and the Alaska Consortium for Early Childhood Education, Inc. It became apparent through discussion that some roles were not being fulfilled. Mrs. Scaman pointed out that at present there was a need for an office which would carry out daily functions, one "that could move across departmental lines and coordinate efforts of all groups. She made it clear that early childhood development programs are so fragmented that at this time the work is not coordinated. She stated that when we talk about comprehensive services, we are talking about all areas, we come into stumbling blocks because our approach is so fragmented. ----------------------- Page 311----------------------- 2 The 4c's was then described further. Pertinent facts were: a) 4c's seems to be coordinating for just day care. b) It is a Governor's committee, presently federally funded, not eligible for IV A and Title I funding, but possibly eligible for future funding. c) Present budget is $5094 d) Its" 15 member board has not yet met. It was the concensus that the group assembled would not like to see another board or commission established, "that didn't have teeth in it", the reason being that it would end up with alot of duplication and not fulfill the need of coordination of existing programs. Dr. Beirne interjected the need for something to pull together what we have done, do something to make sure that funds available to the state are brought into the state. She pointed out that with early childhood education booming all over the nation, we should gear up so we can handle all early childhood development correctly. The need for a good Child Advocacy Board was mentioned; a channel for information; an ombudsman, for child development. A discussion of needs and functions that could be filled by an office of child development followed. Concensus of the group was that an office could serve the following functions: a) planning b) research c) dissemination of information d) child advocacy e) evaluation After lengthy discussion, a polling on where the office would best be located was taken of the members of the Consortium and the outcome was unanimous for the office of child development to be located in the Office of the Governor. It was stated that many new special programs are initially located there at their incipiency, moving on later to the location which can best provide resources and office facilities. It was also decided by the group that a board of directors would name a director subject to the approval of the Governor. It would be mandated in the legislation that this office would be a joint effort of all departments having childhood development programs and or resources. The age of child over which the office of child development would concern itself was opened up for discussion, and it was decided to extend it from pre-natal to age eighteen, thus covering juveniles. Maintaining an up to date listing of all programs and services for children and all funding sources for such programs are to be a duty of the board and director. Another polling was taken of the Consortium and there was ----------------------- Page 312----------------------- 3 no concensus reached on whether to have a board of directors or an advisory board. This will be delved into at a later date. The meeting was adjourned at 4:40 pm. ----------------------- Page 313----------------------- 31 March 1972 This meeting of the House Health, Welfare and Education Committee was called to order at 1:30 p.m. Present were Reps. Chance, Moore, Moses, Specking and Whittaker. First under consideration was HB 728. This legislation would require that if a child attends public school in a district other than the one in which he resides his parents or guardians shall be charged for his tuition by the school district in which he attends- school. Rep. Peratrovich testified in favor of the bill saying that this legislation is needed due to problems which have arisen between the Craig and Klawok school districts. These are both independent city school districts located some 6 miles apart and connected by road. Klawok has two unused rooms in its elementary school and could handle 14 additional students in addition to this and has well- qualified teachers. At this time approximately 6 students who live within the Klawok city limits are attending elementary school in Craig; if one more student from Klawok switches to the Craig school, Klawok will have to dismiss one teacher. Rep. Peratrovich continued, saying that Mr. Bippus, superintendent of schools for Craig, is also mayor of the town. The school at Craig is overfull. Rep. Peratrovich said that he had contacted the Department of Education and been told initially that there was nothing that could be done under the present statutes but that they had more recently told him that perhaps there was some way it could be handled. He said that there is no objection to the high school siudents going to Craig as Klawok has no high school facility. The elementary students that are going from Klawok to Craig take the high school bus. There are about 70 students in the Klawok elementary school. In response to questioning, Bill Overstreet said that the amount of tuition paid under this legislation would be a small amount and equal to the local share. This would be far less that the amount of state support in a similar situation. The ques- tion was raised of amending the bill to make sure that the district in which a student lives would receive the foundation support money for that student. There was discussion of the problems involved in keeping track of where students actually live and how to claim them. There was discussion of those students living outside both school districts and it was pointed out that S0S would be responsible for paying their tuition instead of the state. Under legislation recently passed out of this committee regarding attendance areas the Commissioner of the Department of Education would make determinations as to where these students attend school. Action was not taken at this time on this bill and further information will be obtained from the depart- ment regarding problems discussed above, and possibly a committee substitute will be drafted. Next to be considered were HB 285 and HB 286, both introduced by Rep. Whittaker. HB 286, discussed first, would exempt low-income housing rentals from local sales tax. Low-income persons do not re- ceive money for sales tax in their rent allowance and have to take this from food or other funds. The comment was made that perhaps those receiving welfare payments should receive enough to cover the tax but that taxing in such cases shouldn't be abolished. The ques- tion was raised of how low income criteria are established. Bob ----------------------- Page 314----------------------- -2- Butler of ASHA said that it is a very complex system taking many things into consideration such as marital status, number of children, income, etc. He said that suits have been brought in several cities over this question of whether cities can tax low-income property by applying sales taxes to rents. He said that low-cost housing is now exempt from local property taxes and that a payment in lieu of taxes is made. Rep. Whittaker moved that the effective date of the bill be changed from 1971 to 1972; there were no objections. He then moved that the bill be given a unanimous do pass recommendation. Rep. Specking objected. This bill was reported out of committee without recommendation. Next to be considered was HB 285. It was moved that a comm- ittee substitute be drafted for this bill removing section (2) and changing the effective date to 1972. There were no objections and the committee substitute was adopted by the committee with Reps. Chance and Whittaker recommending do pass and Rep. Moses giving no recomm- endation. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.