**Early delivery due to the adjournment of the Legislative Session.

Association of Alaska School Boards

Legislative Bulletin

A weekly digest of activity by the Alaska Legislature and U.S. Congress for Alaska’s School Board Members. AASB Tel. 907-586-1083, Fax 907-586-2995. Executive Director, Carl Rose, crose@aasb.org; Editor, John Greely, Review past issues of the Bulletin on the AASB website at http://www.aasb.org. To unsubscribe send an email requesting the same to jgreely@aasb.org

This bulletin is distributed by email only. School districts should copy for board members not online.

May 17, 2007 (End of Session Special)

--LEGISLATURE APPROVES K-12 FUNDING IN TWO BUDGETS

--“EDUCATION HAS DONE VERY WELL THIS SESSION,” ROSE SAYS

--PERS-TRS FIX OFFERS RELIEF TO DISTRICTS, BUT IT’S TEMPORARY

--EDUCATION FUNDING TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED

--SIX GROUPS RALLY FOR CHANGES TO NCLB

******************************************************************************************

LEGISLATURE APPROVES K-12 FUNDING IN TWO BUDGETS

In a series of late-night votes, the Alaska Legislature on Wednesday approved two major spending packages for state government that provide hefty increases for K-12 schools. Among the increases for FY 08: $48 million in District Cost Factor funding, $21 million in School Improvement Grants and $77 million in relief for retirement cost increases. Just before midnight, the House and Senate adjourned the regular session until January, although a special session later this year on education funding may be proposed.

The K-12 education increases were welcomed by AASB member districts as they put the finishing touches on 2007-08 school budgets. School leaders lobbied for those and other education improvements during two association-sponsored fly-ins to the capital city in February and April.

“Our message to the Legislature was heard loud and clear this year,” said Beth Betts, AASB president. “While we would have preferred a more stable, permanent solution, the one-year fixes in these budget bills will address many of the challenges our districts face in providing a 21^st century education.”

The Legislature left unchanged at $5,380 the Base Student Allocation in the foundation funding formula. The $48 million for the District Cost Factor will increase funding for schools outside of Anchorage to 50 percent of the amount recommended by the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). The $21 million in School Improvement Grants will be distributed on a per-student basis outside the funding formula, while the $77 million in retirement relief will allow districts to lower their employer contribution for the Teachers’ Retirement System to 12.56 percent.

At least a half dozen different K-12 funding proposals were discussed informally by legislative leaders in the final month of the session, including changes affecting intensive needs students and the 4-mill requirement for local education funding. In the end, none of the formula funding changes was enacted into law.

The Department of Education and Early Development released a schedule of district funding for FY 2008 today, based on the final bills passed on Wednesday. The spreadsheet shows that the Legislature added $112 million to the K-12 funding proposed by the governor. The document is attached to this Legislative Bulletin.

“EDUCATION HAS DONE VERY WELL THIS YEAR,” SAYS ROSE

AASB Executive Director Carl Rose reacted to the end of the 2007 legislative session today. Here is his statement:

“I would like to thank the Legislature for making education a top priority this year. The education community had heightened expectations that we could fix the funding problems our schools face for the long term, but the deadline for adjournment simply caught up to us. During the interim we will work on these issues, including TRS and PERS, forward funding, the Base Student Allocation, the District Cost Factor and intensive needs students.

“All the elements of a comprehensive reform package were on the table, but the Legislature just couldn’t reconcile their differences. The progress to date that was achieved this session gives us the opportunity to go forward. Even if the funding increases are for one year only, education has done very well this year.

“The education community appreciates the strong statement made by the Legislature in depositing $1 billion in surplus state revenue into the Public Education Fund. This deposit gives the state the opportunity to provide early, forward or supplemental funding for K-12 schools next year.”

PERS-TRS FIX OFFERS RELIEF TO DISTRICTS, BUT IT’S TEMPORARY

An appropriation of $270 million to the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and $180 million to the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) cleared the House and Senate as part of the state operating budget (HB 95) on Wednesday. The money will enable the Department of Administration to lower retirement costs for local public employers, including school districts, to 12.56 percent for the TRS and 22 percent for PERS. Those rates were scheduled to skyrocket to begin paying down a projected unfunded liability of the retirement accounts, but the combined $450 million subsidy in HB 95 will avoid that.

The Legislature nearly changed state law to put the 12.56 and 22 percent rates into statute, but a bill (SB 125) accomplishing that stalled in the Senate in the final days. Instead, the lower rates were enacted for one year only.

“Our member districts are very thankful that the exorbitant rates the state had threatened to enact will be set aside,” Rose said. “The 77 million dollars in savings this represents to districts will go a long ways toward helping them cope with rising costs, especially fuel.”

EDUCATION FUNDING TASK FORCE ESTABLISHED

An 11-member state task force will review education funding for K-12 schools and report back by September 1, according to terms of a resolution adopted by the Legislature in its closing hours Wednesday. SCR 11 creates the Joint Legislative Education Funding Task Force composed of five House members, five Senate members and an appointee of the governor. The duties of the task force were set as follows:

1. Evaluate proposals that are based on available facts and conclusions pertaining to school district costs factors and the foundation formula;

2. Recommend improvements or additions to the law providing for education funding; and,

3. Take public comments on education funding and school district cost factors.

The resolution calls on the task force to submit a report and proposed legislative changes by Sept. 1. It goes on to encourage the governor to call a special session of the Legislature to resolve education funding issues, if the task force cannot reach agreement. For the text of SCR 11, click here:

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=SCR011A&session=25

SIX GROUPS RALLY FOR CHANGES TO NCLB

Six of the nation’s top education groups representing school board members, superintendents, principals, teachers and other school staff have agreed to join together to push Congress for significant changes to the elementary and Secondary Education Act, last reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, and now being considered for reauthorization by the 110^th Congress. See full statement of the groups here:

http://www.nsba.org/site/docs/40800/40798.pdf