Members Present: Sen. Howard Stephenson, Co-Chair
Sen. John Valentine
Rep. Marda Dillree, Co-Chair
Sen. Karen Hale
Rep. Doug Aagard
Rep. Duane Bourdeaux
Rep. Judy Ann Buffmire
Rep. Glenn Donnelson
Rep. James Ferrin
Rep. Tom Hatch
Rep. Brad King
Rep. Karen Morgan
Rep. J. Morgan Philpot
Rep. John Swallow
Rep. Glenn Way
Member Absent: Sen. Bill Hickman
Staff Present: R. Michael Kjar, Legislative Fiscal Analyst
Gary Ricks, Legislative Fiscal Analyst
Nedra Duzett, Secretary
Public Speakers Present: Kolene Granger, Supt. Washington School District
Race Davies, Governor's Office of Planning & Budget
Steve Laing, Supt., State Office of Education
Patrick Ogden, Associate Supt., State Office of Education
Visitor List on File
Committee Co-Chair Rep. Dillree called the meeting to order at 2:07 p.m.
1. Approval of Minutes - Meeting January 22, 2001
MOTION: Rep. Ferrin moved to approve the minutes of the January 22, 2001 meeting. The motion passed unanimously.
2. Capital Outlay Presentation - Supt. Kolene F. Granger - Supt. Kolene F. Granger, Washington School District, presented a plan to resolve the capital funding needs for the growth predicted in the state of Utah. A letter and other printed information outlining the plan was given to committee members.
Supt. Granger explained that the present methodology for funding capital needs is flawed, forcing growth districts, and particularly smaller ones, into crushing levels of debt. She asked the committee to consider a paradigm shift and develop a five year program for eliminating debt. She proposed that the state assume the debt for the districts and use the money given for capital outlay programs along with available surplus to repay the debt over time.
Rep. Dillree suggested that Supt. Granger's plan be put on the Master Study List for interim study.
3. Minimum School Program
a. Text Book Audit Report - John Schaff, Deputy Auditor General and Janice Coleman, Audit Supervisor, presented a report Addendum to A Performance Audit of State Textbook Funding. Copies of the report were given to committee members.
Mr. Schaff said the auditors report shows there needs to be a better system of accounting for textbook funding. He suggested it is a problem which needs to be addressed by the Legislature.
Ms. Coleman reported that, in the time available, they were unable to determine if the 5.5 percent minimum expenditure requirement should be changed. She noted that the State Office of Education is in the process of making that analysis.
b. High Impact Schools - The Governor recommends an additional $500,000 for Highly Impacted Schools for FY 2002. These funds are recommended for enhancement of existing programs in schools currently approved for funding.
The Analyst does not recommend this funding. The request is for salary and benefit costs for previous years. This would defeat the purpose of programs "below the line." If this is to be valid ongoing funding, consideration should be made to move it into WPU funding where it will get inflationary increases.
c. School Nurses - The Analyst recommends $496,949 for the School Nurse Program which is the current base funding. The Utah State Board of Education and the Governor both recommend an increase of $500,000 for school nurses. The request is to help bring the nurse to student ratio to 1:5000. Previous funding has brought the ratio to 1:6,378.
Colleen Drake, president Utah School Nurses Assn., requested support from the committee in providing funding for additional school nurses. She introduced Erin Maughan, School Nurse Consultant, Utah Department of Health. Ms. Maughan distributed a handout School Nurses: Caring for Utah's Children. Ms. Maughan
explained the increasingly complex social and health-related issues in the schools and of the expanding role of the school nurse. There is a steady increase in the number of children with chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes, and an increase in the number of technology dependent children. School nurses ensure that children are healthy and ready to learn in a safe environment in may ways.
Others speaking in support of increased funding to provide more nurses in the School Nurse program were:
Martha Kupferschmidt, R.N., Tim Cosgroves, Utah PTA Health Commissioner, Kate Dice, Utah Academy of Pediatrics, Phyllis Sorensen, President UEA, Kathleen Chronister, STC Coordinator, Davis School District, Tracy Deeben, R.N., Utah School Nurses Assn., Becky Richards, R.N., Utah School Nurses Assn., Chris Chytraus, Utah Children Advocacy Specialist.
d. Technology/Life Careers - The Analyst recommends $2,235,000 for Technology/Life Careers and Work Based Learning . Every school district receives its pro rate share of the funding.
Rob Brems, Assoc. Supt., State Office of Education, explained the success and the importance of the Technology/Life Careers program. He provided handouts on the benefits of work-based learning and the coordination with careers. He requested the remaining amount of $3,387,400 to complete the funding of Work-Based Learning and Technology, Life & Careers program.
e. Truancy Intervention and Prevention - The Analyst recommends $150,000. This is the fourth year of line item funding for this purpose. The funds are used to help curb truancy in school where the problem is significant. The funds were allocated to three school districts (Granite, Iron, and Provo) for FY 2001.
Over 2,300 students were served in the Salt Lake Valley in 1998. Districts must show an existing effort to combat truancy and leverage other monies in order to receive funds from this program. The funding supports Truancy Support Centers.
Cindy Sidell, Asst. Supt. for Educational Services in Salt Lake City School District, reported that they have a truancy center in Salt Lake District. It may have been the first one in the state, and it was the model for those that are funded by the Legislature. The Salt Lake District center has always operated with local money and without state support. She said they could use some help from the Legislature for funding the center.
Rhonda Rhodes, State PTA and teacher at West Hills Middle School, Jordan School District, reported that they have a program that is not funded through the state. Some funding is received through a law enforcement program. She reported the program is very successful. Parents, student, an administrator and a local police officer are brought
together to mediate a contract that the parents and the student are willing to abide by. If the student or the parents do not abide by the plan, the student is fast tracked to the truancy court for action there.
f. Reading Initiative - The Analyst recommends $5,000,000 for the Reading Initiative that was funded for the first time by the 1999 Legislature. Each school in the state receives a base amount of $5,000 for the Reading Literacy programs. The districts are required to submit a plan on how they are addressing the literacy issue and have the plan approved by the State Office before they receive funding. Mr. Kjar referred to a chart in the Budget Analysis book showing the fund distribution to districts for FY 2001.
Bonnie Morgan, Associate Supt., State Office of Education, urged committee members to increase the funding for meeting the needs of this program. She said the districts are doing some very good things in reading, but there is still a need for intervention programs for children who are not able to read at grade level. The $5,000,000 is not sufficient to meet those needs. She recommended the committee look at every possible way to increase the amount.
g. Reading Performance Improvement Awards - The Analyst recommends $18,000 for the Reading Improvement Awards. Each school is required to use its award to purchase books and other reading materials. The Governor participates in presenting the awards.
Supt. Laing explained that the original bill two years ago provided $9,000 for this program. Schools had to apply and show achievement in reading based on a standard assessment they had selected. Six schools made the demonstration of progress and applied for the award. The board approved the allocation earlier last fall and the $9,000 was divided between the six schools. Last session the $9,000 was combined with another $9,000 for an $18,000 appropriation that is used as an incentive for reading endorsement scholarships. The program is now called the Reading Performance Improvement Scholarship Program.
Race Davies, Governor's Office on Planning and Budget, commented that the $5,000,000 is not a static end to efforts that are being made to take care of reading programs. The State Board and the Governor have endorsed the appropriation of an additional $4,000,000 to provide reading specialists in the elementary schools where tests reveal the greatest amount of difficulty with young students in reading. It is connected with the Assessment and Accountability program.
h. Alternative Middle School - The Analyst recommends $2,000,000 for the Alternative Middle School Program. This program functions through the Families, Agencies & Communities Together (FACT) program. Sixteen School Districts received funding under this program for FY 2000. Mr. Kjar referred committee members to the statutory provisions of the program in the Budget Analysis Book 2002.
Rep. Dillree commented on the great success of the program in her district and asked Supt Laing to report on other districts.
Supt. Laing said the general response is very favorable. There is a concern that there is a limited availability based on the number of dollars that were originally appropriated, and a concern regarding guidelines of the program. There are 12 existing programs.
Rhonda Rhodes, Jordan School District, told of the remarkable success of the Jordan Alternative Middle School program (JAMS). Over one-half of the students who complete the nine week program were able to transition back into the regular school environment with approved academic and behavioral performance. She said there is a waiting list of students wanting to get into the program. The program provides middle school administrators with an additional option in dealing with students and was used as a means of helping get compliance from students who were beginning to manifest problems. Funding for the program was in kind money and cost the district $257,150. The grant was $300,000. The district also funded an additional $76,800. She requested more funding for the Alternative Middle School Program so that more children may be helped.
i. Experimental/Developmental Programs - The Analyst recommends $5,933,056 for Experimental/Developmental Programs. This maintains the base budget. The funds are used on a three year basis to experiment with different methodologies of improvement in the schools. Much of the funding is used for year-round programs.
Supt. Laing reported that districts receive a sizeable amount of the money. Districts use the money to put programs in place that they feel strongly about. After a three year period of time the districts are supposed to pick up the cost. This has been some problem because there has been difficulty in obtaining money for the on-going program.
Assoc. Supt. Morgan said the money is distributed to local school districts and the State Office works with them on model projects. The model projects are evaluated and the most promising projects are suggested for others.
j. Educational Technology (ETI) - The Analyst recommends the base budget of $8,970,322 for FY 2002.
The primary goal of this program is to enhance the teaching and learning process and to empower students to become literate, self-directed learners, problem solvers, and productive members of a technology-oriented society. The program is ongoing and much larger in overall scope. State Law requires districts to match state appropriations on a 1:3 basis.
Mr. Kjar said there is a request of $15,000,000 from the Governor's budget for one-time funding to implement the plans that have been made in the districts for the expansion of their technology programs.
Race Davies reported that there is an additional one time money request of $1.4 for technology equipment in the schools.
The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
Minutes reported by Nedra Duzett, Secretary
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Sen. Howard Stephenson, Co-Chair Rep. Marda Dillree, Co-Chair