Association of Alaska School
Boards
Legislative Bulletin
A weekly digest of activity
by the Alaska Legislature and U.S. Congress for AlaskaÕs 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.
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This bulletin is distributed
by email only. School districts should copy for board members not online.
March 28, 2008
16 DAYS TO ADJOURNMENT;
SPECIAL SESSION PLANNED FOR JUNE 3
The Alaska Legislature is on
notice – Governor Palin intends to call a special session on the North
Slope gas pipeline project beginning June 3. Her announcement is here:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1002
In the meantime, there is
still plenty of business to take care of in the regular session with just 16
days left before the voter-imposed deadline to adjourn on April 13. For
educators, the House and Senate must still address a short list of policy and
budget issues. They include:
Additional School Funding
With the signing of HB 273
on Thursday, Governor Palin has completed action on the major school funding
bill of the session, an historic rewrite of the foundation formula for K-12
schools. The Legislature has indicated its desire to address the need for
additional funding to meet higher energy and other costs. The details of the
additional funding remain uncertain at this point.
State Intervention in School
Districts
SB 285 passed the Senate by
a vote of 18-0 on Monday, March 24. It establishes the rules for the Department
of Education & Early Development to intervene in the management of schools
where students are performing poorly on state assessments. The measure is now
in the House Health, Education & Social Services Committee. A copy of the
latest version of the bill is here:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=SB0285C&session=25
School Bond Debt Reimbursement
HB 373 extends the state
reimbursement program for local school bonds until November, 2010. The measure
is due for a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee on Saturday, March 29, at
10 a.m.
School Construction &
Major Maintenance
A massive supplemental FY 08
budget (SB 256) sent to the Governor on March 19 is due back from her office by
April 5. It includes $19.9 million for construction of a new Susitna Valley
High School. A separate bill (SB 221) appropriates $1.5 billion for capital
projects statewide in FY 09, including $81.2 million in major school
maintenance projects at 21 sites. SB 221 is pending in the Senate Finance
Committee.
Consortium for Digital
Learning
AASB has requested $5
million to implement the next phase of the 1-to-1 laptop program begun in 2006.
Student Questionnaires and
Surveys
HB 207 would ease
restrictions on the use of anonymous surveys and questionnaires by school
districts to sample student opinion. The House Rules Committee has scheduled a
hearing on HB 207 on Monday, March 31, at 5 p.m.
Charter School Funding
SB 152 would increase the
funding for charter schools with enrollments less than 150 students. The
measure is pending in the Senate Finance Committee, where members were divided
about the level of the increase at a hearing this week.
AASB SPRING BOARDSMANSHIP
ACADEMY AND LEGISLATIVE FLY-IN
The 2008 AASB
Spring Boardsmanship Academy & Legislative Fly In is scheduled for April
5th-8th, in Juneau at the Baranof Hotel. The academy begins on Saturday, the 5th,
and includes workshops on school accountability; Medicaid and how it can work
for your district; WorkKeys, a state program to prepare students for work or
college; and afternoon sessions on Positive Youth Development, featuring staff
of the Alaska ICE program.
The Legislative
Fly-in on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday includes special briefings by AASB staff
and remarks by legislative leaders, followed by opportunities to take your
districtÕs story to the Capitol before the scheduled adjournment of the
Legislature on April 13.
You can register
via mail or fax, using the brochure or you can register online at, http://www.aasb.org/FORMS/Sprflyin.html.
Please feel free
to contact us with any questions.
We look forward to seeing you in April.