|
MINUTES OF THE
PUBLIC EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Thursday,
January 25, 2024
•
8:30 a.m.
•
110 Senate Building
Members Present:
Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, Senate Chair
Rep. Susan Pulsipher, House Chair
Rep. Norman K Thurston, House Vice Chair
Sen. David P. Hinkins
Sen. Ann Millner
Sen. Derrin R. Owens
Sen. Kathleen A. Riebe
Rep. Joel K. Briscoe
Rep. Steve Eliason
Rep. Katy Hall
Rep. Dan N. Johnson
Rep. Matt MacPherson
| Rep. Carol S. Moss
Rep. Candice B. Pierucci
Members Absent:
Sen. Keith Grover
Sen. Jerry W Stevenson
Rep. Jefferson Moss
Rep. Robert M. Spendlove
Staff Present:
Ben Leishman, Finance Manager
Rachel Boe, Financial Analyst
Rachelle Gunderson, Financial Analyst
Nancy Skidmore, Committee Secretary
|
Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
|
| Chair Fillmore called the meeting to order at 8:46 a.m. |
|
| 2.Line-Item Review: Regional Education Service Agencies |
|
| 2-Regional Education Service Agencies |
|
| 2b-USBE RESA Request Presentation |
|
| 2c-Regional Education Service Agencies |
|
| Rachelle Gunderson presented Line-Item Review: Regional Education Service Agencies. |
|
| Scott Jones, Deputy Superintendent of Operations, Utah State School Board of Education, James Moss, Board Member, Utah State School Board presented "Participation in Compensation Programs". |
|
| Rep. Thurston asked if there is anything to prevent the local districts from contributing money to help pay for services. James Moss responded. |
|
| Rep. Thurston asked if restructuring the cost of rural and small school districts and reallocating funds in a different way can be part of this conversation. James Moss and Scott Jones responded. |
|
| Chair Fillmore asked for a response from the USBE on the proposal to start a Wasatch Front RESA. James Moss responded. |
|
| Region Representatives Jason Strate, Director, Central Utah Educational Services, and Kodey Hughes, Superintendent, Juab School District addressed RESA regions. |
|
| Sen. Riebe asked if RESA provides classes for all school district teachers. Kodey Hughes and Jason Strate responded |
|
| Sen. Riebe asked if RESA is still used for school districts network resources and security. Kodey Hughes and Jason Strate responded. |
|
| Chair Fillmore asked if RESA has licensed educators that receive a W2 from RESA. Jason Strate responded. |
|
| Chair Fillmore asked who establishes the policies for RESA. Jason Strate resonded. |
|
| Rep. Thurston asked for an estimated net savings that the district experiences by participating in this program. Kodey Hughes and Jason Strate responded. |
|
| Rep. Thurston asked what percent of the total budget is funded by districts and what percent is funded by state appropriations. Jason Strate and Kodey Hughes responded. |
|
| Sen. Hinkins commented on the value of sharing resources to provide services to students who would go without otherwise. |
|
| Rep. Pulsipher commented that RESA creates an economy of scale. |
|
| Rep. Carol Moss asked what acronym BCBA stands for. Jason Strate responded. |
|
| Rep. Carol Moss commented on the importance of this program for mental health concerns for smaller school districts. |
|
| Nate Marshall, Executive Director, Providence Hall, presented a proposal for the Wasatch Front RESA. |
|
| Sen. Reibe asked if membership in RESA will be optional for smaller communities located in the Wasatch Front. Nate Marshall responded. |
|
| Rep. Thurston asked if start-up funding could be structured as a low interest loan rather than a grant. Nate Marshall responded. |
|
| Rep. Thurston asked if there are schools in the Wasatch Front that do not have basic services such as psychologists or is this more about economy of scale. Nate Marshall responded. |
|
| Rep. Carol Moss asked if this program will only be for charter schools in the Wasatch Front. Nate Marshall responded. |
|
| 3.Review of Reports to Subcommittee |
|
| 3a-Pub Ed Report Review Final |
|
| Rep. Pulsipher assumed the chair. |
|
| Rachelle Gunderson and Ben Leishman presented Review of Reports to Subcommittee. |
|
| Chair Pulsipher commented on the report. |
|
| Rep. Pierucci commented on a future bill that will soon be in the House Education Committee. |
|
| Rep. Briscoe asked if the professional learning and elementary teacher assessment grant is still active. Ben Leishman responded. |
|
| Sen. Fillmore resumed the chair. |
|
| Rep. Thurston commented that one of the reports that he reviewed was lengthy, expensive, and not useful. He asked that this feedback be given to those that prepare these reports. |
|
| 4.Line-Item Review: Fine Arts Outreach |
|
| 4a-POPS RFA Presentation_01.25.24 |
|
| The Collective Impact of POPS |
|
| Ben Leishman presented Line-item Review: Fine Arts Outreach. |
|
| Rep Johnson, Kasandra VerBrugghen, Executive Director, Spy Hop, and Katie Lee-Koven, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, presented POPS RFA. |
|
| Rep. Briscoe commented that when he was in school, POPS brought Arts programs to the students. |
|
| Rep. Carol Moss commented that she has seen the positive impact these programs have on children. |
|
| 5.Line-Item Review: Contracts, Initiatives, & Grants |
|
| 5-Contracts and Initiatives |
|
| 5b-USBE Feedback on Contracted Initiatives and Grants Reductions |
|
| Rachelle Gunderson presented Line-Item Review: Contracts, Initiatives, & Grants. |
|
| Rep. Briscoe asked for clarification of money used to fund Software Licenses for Early Literacy. Rachelle Gunderson responded. |
|
| Sen. Riebe asked if there is a way to move ELL Software Licenses into Software Licenses for Early Literacy so it can be expanded from K-1 to K-5. Ben Leishman responded. |
|
| Sen. Riebe asked if there is a way to change the language for the software licenses. Chair Fillmore responded. |
|
| Rep MacPherson asked if the Early Interactive Program software license is directly related to the Early Interactive Reading Report. Chair Fillmore and Ben Leishman responded. |
|
| Rep. MacPherson asked if there are overlapping software licenses, systems, and programs that are currently underutilized. Ben Leishman responded. |
|
| Scott Jones, Deputy Superintendent of Operation, Utah State Board of Education, responded to LEA recommendations. |
|
| Rep. Pierucci asked if there is a mismatch between the Committees time-line and the USBE time-line for fiscal expenses going out. Scott Jones and Ben Leishman responded. |
|
| 6.Requests for Appropriation |
|
| 6a-RFA Salary Supplement SLP and AUD Public View |
|
| Rep. Johnson and Kory Holdaway, Lobbyist, Speech and Hearing Association of Utah, presented a request for HB 103 Salary Supplement for School Speech-language Pathologists and Audiologists. |
|
| Sen. Riebe commented that hearing impaired children need help in our school systems. |
|
| Rep. Pierucci asked why speech-language pathologists and audiologists are included in the Educator Salary Adjustment but they are not included in the Teacher Salary Supplement. Ben Leishman and Kory Holdaway responded. |
|
| Sen. Millner presented a request for Vision for Public Education. |
|
| 6b-RFA - Vision for Pub Ed - Public View |
|
| Rep. Pulsipher asked if this request is in context of a bill or an appropriation. Sen. Millner responded. |
|
| 7.10:15 a.m. Related to Basic School Program - Chair Recommendation on Programs |
|
| 7a-Chair RBSP Recommendations to At-Risk |
|
| Ben Leishman presented Related to Basic School Program - Chair Recommendation on Programs. |
|
| Sen. Millner asked what increment the process is in and if it can be accelerated. Ben Leishman responded. |
|
| Sen. Riebe asked if there are any guard rails to make sure all at-risk students are included. Chair Fillmore and Ben Leishman responded. |
|
| Chair Fillmore invited the public to comment. |
|
| Howard Stephenson, citizen, commented on his approval of the committees decision to continue to fund dual language immersion. He also commented on the success of Utah's digital teaching and learning and encouraged the committee to fund Sen. Milner's appropriations request. |
|
| MOTION:Rep. Briscoe moved to adjourn.The motion
passed
with a vote of
7-0-11.
|
|
| Yeas -
7 | Nays-
0 | Abs-
11 | |
Rep. J. Briscoe
Sen. L. Fillmore
Rep. D. Johnson
Rep. C. Moss
Rep. C. Pierucci
Rep. S. Pulsipher
Sen. K. Riebe
| | Rep. S. Eliason
Sen. K. Grover
Rep. K. Hall
Sen. D. Hinkins
Rep. M. MacPherson
Sen. A. Millner
Rep. J. Moss
Sen. D. Owens
Rep. R. Spendlove
Sen. J. Stevenson
Rep. N. Thurston
| |
| Chair Fillmore adjourned the meeting at 10:38 a.m. |
|