September 4 and 5, 2006
Senator Henry H.R. “Hank” Coe, Co-Chairman
Representative Jeff Wasserburger, Co-Chairman
Senator Kit Jennings
Senator Robert Peck
Senator Charles Townsend
Representative Debbie Hammons
Representative Steve Harshman
Representative Becket Hinckley
Representative Del McOmie
Representative Lorraine Quarberg
Representative Dave Zwonitzer
Representative Patrick Goggles
Representative Kurt Bucholz
Dave Nelson, School Finance Manager, Brenda
Long, School Finance Analyst, Matthew Sackett, Associate Research Analyst, Joseph
A. Rodriguez, Staff Attorney
Others Present at Meeting
Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the
Committee Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
Co-Chairman Wasserberger
called the meeting to order at 8:40a.m.
Co-Chairman Coe Wasserberger explained the public comment procedure for
the meeting. He also welcomed all
incoming Committee members and incoming Legislators to the meeting. Those in attendance are Representative Jaggi,
Representative Quiders, Representative Wallis, Representative Dierks and
Senator Von Flatern. The following
sections summarize the Committee proceedings by topic. Please refer to Appendix 2 to review the
Committee Meeting Agenda.
A motion was made by
Representative Harshman and seconded by Representative Quarberg to approve the
minutes of the October 25, 2006 meeting of the Committee as presented. The motion passed.
Dave Nelson of LSO
presented the bills to the Committee.
07LSO-0129.C1 was presented as Appendix 3. 07LSO-0130.C1 was presented as Appendix 4 and
07LSO-0131.C1 was presented as Appendix 5.
Mr. Nelson also presented the committee with Appendix 6 and Appendix 7
which are 5 amendments to 07LSO-0129.C1 and Appendix 8 which is an amendment to
07LSO-0131.C1.
Doris Woodbury,
Joel Kuper of the
WEA addressed the Committee. Mr. Kuper
presented the Committee with Appendix 9.
The WEA is once again concerned about course availability and staffing
issues. They are concerned about
fairness in eligibility with career/technical courses and fine arts
classes. Recommend public hearing
throughout the state on this issue.
Dr. McBride the Superintendent
of Public Instruction addressed the Committee.
Dr. McBride indicated that the small school issue has been dealt with in
the legislation by providing a small school waiver. The WDE is preparing a waiver to smaller
districts asking how they can help provide the success curriculum. Dr. McBride urged the Committee to be careful
when mandating equality as he thinks that this erodes local control.
Jim Lowham from
NCSD#1 addressed the Committee. Mr.
Lowham encouraged the Committee to stick with the 4 years of funding. Allow college seniors to use the funds for
graduate school if they are able to get an undergraduate degree within 4 years
and have eligibility remaining. Mr.
Lowham encouraged the Committee to leave the grade point average where it is
at.
Dr. Rose of the WCCC
addressed the Committee. Dr. Rose urged
the Committee to look favorably on amendment #1 which is Appendix 8. Dr. Rose indicated that in some circumstances
two (2) years at a community college is not enough to establish a proficiency
in some programs.
Mrs. Strook a
Hathaway Committee member urged the Committee to include a foreign language as
a requirement for the success curriculum.
A Motion was made by
Representative McOmie and seconded by Senator Jennings for “do pass” on 07LSO-0129.C1.
Representative Wasserberger moved
amendment #1 to 07LSO-1029.C1 (see Appendix 6) which was seconded by
Representative McOmie. There is a
technical modification to the amendment that will be provided by LSO.
Representative Harshman moved to amend the amendment. On page 1, line 1 of amendment #1 (see
appendix 6) delete “opportunity”. Motion
seconded by Representative Hammons.
After discussion the motion carried.
After discussion on the amendment the amendment fails.
Proposed amendment #2 to 07LSO-0129.
C1 (see Appendix 6) was moved by Representative Zwonitzer. The motion failed for lack of a second.
Proposed amendment #3 to 07LSO-0129.C1
(see Appendix 6) was moved by Representative Harshman and seconded by
Senator Peck. After discussion the
motion failed.
Proposed amendment #4 to LSO-0129.C1
(see Appendix 6) was moved by Representative Harshman and seconded by
Senator Boggs. After a discussion
the amendment passed.
Proposed amendment #5 to 07LSO-1029.C1
(see Appendix 7) was moved by Representative Wasserberger and seconded by
Representative Harshman. After
discussion the amendment passed.
After the discussion
on the motion for “do pass” on 07LSO-0129.C1 the motion carried. (see Appendix 10).
A motion for “do
pass” on 07LSO-0130.C1 was made by Representative McOmie and seconded by Representative
Quarberg. The motion passed. (see Appendix 11).
A motion for “do
pass” on 07LSO-0131.C1 was made by Senator Boggs and seconded by Representative
Hammons.
Proposed amendment # 1 to 07LSO-0131.C1
(see Appendix 8) was made by Senator Boggs and seconded by Representative
Harshman. After a discussion the
motion passed.
Motion by Representative Harshman to
insert the language “graduate and professional” into the language of
07LSO-0131.C1. The motion was seconded by Senator Coe. After discussion the motion passed.
After a discussion
on the “do pass” motion for 07LSO-0131.C1 the motion carried. (see Appendix 12).
Dave Nelson of LSO presented
the bills to the Committee. The bills
presented are 07LSO-0264.W2, Appendix 15 and 07LSO-0326.W1, Appendix 16.
Doris Woodbury,
Ward Wise a School
board member from Pinedale addressed the Committee. Their district is using rebate/recapture
monies to mitigate the effect on student enrollment in the district. They expect to at least double their
enrollment within the next 3 years.
Urges phase in of the constitutional amendment.
Senator Coe moved
“do pass” on bill 07LSO-0264.W2 which was seconded by Senator Jennings.
Motion by Senator Boggs which was
seconded by Representative Hammons to table the vote on the motion. After discussion the motion to table
passed.
Mike O’Donnel,
state’s counsel addressed the Committee. Mr. O’Donnel indicated that the
Constitutional Amendment B became effective on the November 15, 2006.
Boyd Brown,
Motion for “do pass”
on 07LSP-0326 (Apppendix 37) was made by Representative Wasserberger. The motion was seconded by Senator Jennings.
Representative
Wasserberger moved to amend the bill pursuant to amendment #1 (See Appendix
38). This motion was seconded by
Representative McOmie.
A motion was made by
Representative Hammons and seconded by Representative Quarberg to amend the
amendment. Representative Hammons wanted
to change the date in the amendment to November 15, 2006 instead of March 15,
2007. After discussion the motion to
amend the amendment failed.
After the discussion
the motion to amend the bill passed.
After the discussion
the motion for “do pass” on 07LSO-0326 passed.
Brian Page of Apple
Computers addressed the Committee and provided the Committee with Appendix
18. Mr. Page discussed the role of
technology in learning. Reported on the
Dr. Rose of the WCCC
and Dave Nelson addressed the Committee.
They presented the Committee with Appendix 19 (07LSO-0231.W3), Appendix
20 (07LSO-0232.W1) and Appendix 21
(07LSO-0276.W4).
Representative
McOmie moved “do pass” on bill 07LSO-0231.W3.
The motion was seconded by Representative Quarberg.
Motion to amend the bill was made by
Representative McOmie and seconded by Representative Jennings to have the
bill become effective immediately.
After discussion the motion passed.
After the discussion
to motion for “do pass” carried. (See
Appendix 22).
Representative
Hammons moved “do pass” on bill 07LSO-0232.W1.
The motion was seconded by Representative Quarberg.
Motion to amend the bill was made by
Senator Coe and seconded by Representative Hinckley to have the bill
become effective immediately. After
discussion the motion passed
After the discussion
the motion for “do pass” carried. (See
Appendix 23)
Rick Miller of the
Senator Jennings
moved “do pass” on 07LSO-0276.W4. The
motion was seconded by Senator Coe.
Motion made by Senator Jennings to amend
the bill which was seconded by Senator Coe. The amendment is to on page 2, line 18
after “grants” insert “and auxiliary services”. After discussion the motion passed.
After discussion the
motion for “do pass” carried. (See
Appendix 25).
Kathy Emmons
director of the Department of Workforce Services addressed the Committee. Director Emmons presented the Committee with
Appendix 26. She is talking about a
concept for legislation. The concept is
to develop school training of workforce services project. To develop specific programs and link school
aged children to businesses. This
program would be a great fit for the alternative high schools.
Rich Cummings of the department of Audit addressed the
Committee. He presented the Committee
with Appendix 27. Mr. Cummings discussed
with the Committee the purpose of the Audit.
When auditing school districts the focus is on the funding model. They have completed audits of 47 or the 48
districts. They just started the audit
of the final district. The total dollar
errors, during this initial round of audits, are about $5,260,000.00. The student tracking system is a big
problem. Vocational education is also a
big problem area. School districts are
not filling out the form correctly.
Another problem area is teacher seniority.
Reading
first program report:
Lynda Collins from the WDE addressed the committee and presented them
with Appendix 28. Currently there are 4
school districts and 12 schools participating.
This is comparable to other states that are similar in size. Most children can be taught to be good
readers. It is more effective to deal
with reading problems at a younger age.
A big compenent of the program is the statewide professional development
program. There are over 250 teachers
participating in the professional development program. They are very pleased with the program and
the results.
District
Food Service
Mary Kay Hill, WDE addressed the Committee. Is the funding level in the model adequate to
provide for food service. At this point
they do not have current information regarding this topic. They do not anticipate having the current
information available until June of 2007.
District
Student Activities Programs:
Mary Kay Hill, WDE addressed the Committee. The question is whether the funding provided
by the model are adequate. She indicated
that the information requested by the Committee is not available at this
time. The information will probably not
be available until June of 2007.
District
Safety and Security Needs:
Bruce Hayes of the WDE addressed the Committeee. Mr. Hayes presented the Commiteee with
Appendix 41 and Appendix 42. They
discussed a survey with the Committee regarding school safety. The overall feeling is that school security
is lax. Mr. Hayes also presented the
Committee with the recommendations that are being made in regard to school
safety. One of the issues is in regard
to emergency notification. Currently you
can use major maintenance moneies to replace security systems that are in place
but you cannot use that money to install a new system. The recommendation is to start a school
safety hotline. They are also
recommending increased police visits and increased use of school resource
officers and varying the officers routines.
Special
Education Federal/State Funding Report:
Joe Simpson of the WDE addressed the Committee and presented the
Committee with Appendix 43. Kay Clark of
WDE also addressed the Committee. This
area is stringently regulated by the federal government. Every year the department submits an
application to funding to the United States Department of Education. The funds are dispersed to the 48 school
districts in the state. The amount of
the grant is about 24 million dollars.
Fred Hansen addressed the Committee and presented the Committee with
Appendix 29. WDE directed to look at
incorporating BIA schools into funding model.
Only one BIA school in
At-Risk
Programs including Alternative Schools:
Mary Kay Hill and Joe Simpson of the WDE addressed the Committee. There are two different bills regarding
at-risk. The Committee will need to pass
one or the other. The bills were
presented at the request of the Committee.
Dave Nelson of LSO presented the bills to the Committee. 07LSO-0307.W2 (Appendix 43) is the alternative
to 07LSO-0208.W2 (Appendix 44). Mr.
Nelson also presented the Committee with Appendix 45.
Representative
Wasserberger moved “do pass” on 07LSO-0307.W2 (Appendix 43). The motion was seconded by
Representative Quarberg.
Motion was made by Representative Quarberg to
amend 07LSO-0307.W2 by striking on page 6, line 13 “general fund” and inserting
“school foundation program”. The motion
was seconded by Representative Wasserberger.
After the discussion the motion to amend passed.
After discussion the motion for “do pass” on
07LSO-0307.W2 carried.
Old business
07LSO-0267.W2
(Appendix 39) was presented to the Committee by Senator Jennings.
Representative McOmie moved “do pass” on
bill 07LSO-0267.W2. The motion was
seconded by Senator Jennings.
After the discussion the motion for “do pass” carried. (See Appendix 31)
07LSO-0209.W3 (see
Appendix 32) was presented to the Committee by Dave Nelson of LSO. Additional information was presented to the
Committee by the Legislative Service Office.
(see Appendix 33 and 34)
Senator Coe moved “do pass” on bill
07LSO-0209.W3. The motion was
seconded by Senator Jennings.
After the discussion the motion for “do pass” carried. (See Appendix 35)
07LSO-0405.W1 (see
Appendix 36) was presented to the Committee by Senator Jennings.
Senator Jennings moved “do pass” on bill
07LSO-0405.W1. The motion was
seconded by Senator Coe.
After discussion on the bill the motion was withdrawn by Senator
Jennings.
07LSO-0277.W2
(Appendix 47) was presented to the Committee by Dave Nelson of LSO.
Senator Jennings
moved “do pass” on 07LSO-0277.W2. The
motion was seconded by Representative Wasserberger.
Motion was made by
Senator Jennings to insert on page 2, line 11 after “schools,” insert “home
schools,”
After a discussion
to motion to amend passed.
Motion was made by
Senator Jennings to on page 4, line 22 insert after “meeting expenses,” insert
“, task force members travel and per diem”.
After a discussion
the motion passed.
After a discussion
the motion for “do pass” on 07LSO-0277.W2 carried. (See Appendix 51).
A motion was made by
Representative Wasserberger and seconded by Senator Jennings to consolidate
209.W3, 210.C1, 277.W3 and 307.W2.
After a discussion
the motion carried.
There being no
further business, Co-Chairman Coe adjourned the meeting at 11:15 a.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Senator Coe, Co-Chairman