Education Committee - Senate

The body being here this morning members on your desk you have a draft of this proposal and I'm going to run through it real quick but I have some teammate help with Senator Sturch just to discuss one of the manger main reforms that we have in this a recommendation and also senator Beckham has an additional information as well so Members I'm just gonna go through this real quick overall the the report is focused on moving from adequacy to excellence this is by focusing the needs of teachers and students particularly the students that are facing various learning challenges such as poverty and other learning challenges so what I've done is I've reflected in these recommendations all of the discussion that occurred over the past year during the adequacy study and before I even start I really want to thank our staff miss Julie Holt and her team and this Tyler Lloyd and her team we just give them a round of applause because I've just. Really appreciate those are our folks of the alarm is nothing thank you so much as well and that your staff to move on these these are the real recommendations like I said are focused on teachers and students and so if you'll follow me at through the the the recommendations starting on line one we this was a recommendation by representative Lee Johnson or adding the APA's I'm wrecked recommended definition for college and career readiness to our adequacy definition I think this is important because it provides clear goals of the skills and the knowledge that we want our schools to equip our students with by the time they graduate this definition focuses on career as well as college I know that Senator English has been a big proponent of career readiness and so incorporating that into our adequacy definition I think it's a really good recommendation that was brought for bass I representive Lee Johnson so that way they can be successful whether they're moved from a two year to four year college technical program military service or any other entry level career position I'm in line for we added the one point no full time F. T. E. for computer science teacher in grades one through twelve to meet the need for the new graduation requirements and that and that's important because it follows on tracks existing policy that does a General Assembly has already adopted so we added that new computer science and career position we also increase the number special education teacher F. T. E.'s from two point nine to three point three the reason we did this was to really better address the needs of the population of the students there was a lot of discussion during the adequacy study and recommendations by members of the legislature about special ed and really looking to re tool that so as we kind of put our heads together. And went through those different recommendations from from members on special ed we decided to attack it this way and lines five through six were following the guidance of the Siegel recommendations on the health benefits and beginning that medical CPI you rate of increase for health insurance of the school year twenty five. M. and then in line seven we've increase its base teacher salary by forty eight thousand I mean by four thousand dollars moving it from a base of thirty six thousand to forty thousand and that would begin in fiscal year twenty four which is calendar year a July one twenty twenty three and we've also included a draft bill that's included at the back of this report so you could see where that raise to raise the minimum teacher salary by four thousand dollars at each step so the first year teachers are guaranteed a forty thousand dollars starting salary so that draft legislation is at the back of your recommendation of that draft bill is at the back of this report. In line ten we've added funds to supply a two dollar increase in salary to certified employees line eleven contains funding for personnel and the matrix or not teachers principals or secretaries. In the categorical funding section we've we've actually created a pretty significant reform that Senator Sturch really worked hard on with our staff at BLR I'm in the categorical funding section in line twenty five we follow the APA's recommendation the equalize the ESA funding that's enhance student achievement funding for all students regardless of the concentration of poverty in the school this will allow the essay funding to be tied to foundation funding with a weight of twelve percent and therefore move at the same rate that the foundation funds do this stabilizes that fundamentalist Senator Sturch speak a little bit more to this and we think that this allows the money to be there for each qualified student and it really focuses on the students and making sure each student has that that certain amount of money to and create stability in the funding for the districts as well this avoids and the cliff so we're we're really removing that whole idea and and and then changing this major aspect of this categorical fun Senator Sturch if you can. I'm not recognize you Senator Sturch sure you're recognized thank you madam chair and you did a very good job of explaining it like I said in our last meeting this was a recommendation we've had now on the table for two years about trying to equalize some of the CSA finding more to a multiplier instead of these cliffs that we had been doing three different levels up to seventy percent of free and reduced lunch was one level seventy to ninety was another and then over ninety was another. The majority of students than who qualify for this we're. Under the ninety percent of course over two hundred thirty thousand students were is only six thousand students or so we're in the ninety percent or above we're trying to get away from this idea that one student in poverty in the East Arkansas is different than a student in south Arkansas on party we're trying to treat it as the same as a multiplier to help the schools in equal way we did not want to this reform just pull out the rug and do it all at once this will be phased in over four years to where it gets based on Mouncey gets closer over the four years to everybody being at that point one twelve or twelve percent like you said multiplier and so we won't be changing all this at once but over the next four years and the next this act was the study close next when we get close to where everybody would be funded the same regardless of their percentages of party would be based on the students that you actually have the school where students treated the same thank you. Thank you that and this is also recommendation that was submitted by some of the association so we appreciate those are we reviewed all those and try to incorporate those into this Senate recommendation and we've also added a categorical that is focused on teachers and it's the mid merit teacher incentive funding this would begin in fiscal year twenty five this would be a fun districts could use to reward teachers based on effectiveness demand and experience and this will allow teachers to be paid extra for contributions I make while remaining in the classroom I really like the categorization that Senator Elliot actually used about instead of career ladders career lattices and she spoke specifically about that I think it's important to understand that this is something that is happening in our neighboring states and we talk about that a lot but that at the merit teacher incentive fund could be based on current policy that we use for our rewards program which tracks growth and students so making sure that just students are growing in their academic achievement and rewarding that appropriately so that's an additional seventy million dollars that's put into a categorical fund that goes specifically for teachers that ability to to earn that additional money so if if they get to that point fiscal year twenty five then there's enough money there for an additional two thousand dollars if you decide to cap it at that so that we get them to actually of forty two thousand dollars and which is five hundred dollars more than Mississippi's a starting base salary and so in terms of supplemental funding we've also roll to the yes I grants into the S. A. reimbursement so that funding line is eliminated and that goes back to what Senator Sturch just discussed on the ESA reform and then in line twenty nine we're keeping the additional professional development funding at sixteen point five million in both years and then. After making the increases for the above items and we believe it's best to increase furthering our goal of of really focusing on teachers and students we've increased all the other items each year by the CPI you cost of living increase which was recommended by BLR it's one point eight four for fiscal year twenty four two point one six for fiscal year twenty five that ensures that we can keep up with our inflation finally these are the the last recommendations we're recommending that we do follow the APA recommendation to create a legislative task force to study out of school factors that inhibit student performance at school this was a recommendation that Senator Elliot actually put forward I worked on some draft legislation but I think it's important that we continue to work on that draft legislation and we can do that between now and November first and as we submit our final report to our president pro tem um we're also recommending that alternative learning educators monitor student academic achievement and annually report to desi into the education committee's and that was Senator Chesterfield recommendation. I think it's a good one and again we have draft legislation for that we believe that the APA recommendation to add a categorical funds for special education is a good one but we think it deserves more study and then finally we want to create I think this is wraps all these things these last eight months together we want to create a K. through twelve public school education funding legislative task force this would be specific to study the education funding within the context of of of of our of our processes it should be modeled on the tax reform and health care reform task forces to look at items including but not limited to the following things moving from a prior year to a current year funding model studying the inequities in funding small schools districts caused by her people funding and finding a model to address that. And then finding the best methods for funding education based on best practices in research and current spending practices that lead to high levels of student performance we believe that this would be something that would happen outside of the adequacy study the adequacy study would continue on like it always does it it serves a perfunctory role and it's required but this would be something that would be outside of that that would just really focus on the funding mechanism that we utilize with this matrix and this adequacy formula and really give the legislature the ability to vote focus on that funding mechanism and to look at other states other best practices so that we can really reach more of a high level of student performance with that I mean it's a recognize Senator Beckham because what he is talking about with the data that we pull for him I think falls into this recommendation and I think it's a really good one it also is before he speaks representative Rick Beck had presented about this two years ago on the small schools are always behind because we fund at a five hundred per people one of the majority of our schools actually fall below five hundred and so we looked at trying to create a small school equity fund to help our small schools but we just it was we just couldn't get there at to get the details flushed out a legislative task force would really have the time to dig into that and understand that and then make a good recommendation Senator Beckham you're recognized thank you madam chair of several months ago us for a report that showed the The summary of per pupil expenditures for the matrix in a matrix funding and bill or was was kind enough to get that put together your direction I'd like to have this I'd like to make a motion to include this in the report in the second motion is our second. Second all right all those in favor say aye aye okay it will then the the the we give members a few minutes to look at it it's it's pretty interesting Report okay you wanna go ahead and talk about it. We can What it shows is like I said the per pupil expenditures from matrix non matrix resources as well as average teacher salaries for top and bottom five percent of the Court schools. Of first two table show the total expenditures and per pupil expenditure at the top and bottom five percent. So if you look at that you'll see the lease of the matrix and the matrix expenditures it's it's it's pretty interesting when you start digging into. We're schools choose to spend money. Right the very first line for me is a. Pretty eye opening where the bottom five percent spend around seven dollars per pupil on kindergarten. Where the top five seven five hundred forty eight dollars for people. but you'll you'll see the same story over and over again where where the money spent is. Shows up in the test scores. Yes and so the early education I think is is such a this I think what this gives us the ability to kind of get a snapshot and it's good information that we're going to include in the recommendation of the report but it goes to the whole idea that this really deserves its own legislative task force to study exactly those spending habits and those results and and what can be achieved from that but then really looking at all these other models that are out there and and I think I think we do have a unique opportunity to really do this that it you know changing over to a different funding model is an important one but it's something that we can actually plan for and we perhaps have enough budget that we have enough money and insert plus to be able actually achieve something like that if if that's something that the legislature can can go through and do and I'm just again talking about the way we fund and you and the adequacy matrix and and the and the process that we have so with that are there any questions. Yes ma'am. At center Chesterfield you're recognized thank you and my apologies I thank Senator Sturch for learning me to the meeting I'm sure it was on a calendar somewhere but I missed it and uh senator Elliots sensor regrets because she missed it to a what are we talking about baseline salary for teachers and what we talking that baseline salaries for classified so for or for classified there's an additional two dollars built in four are classified to add someone keeping with the house that well with that yes the base salary and moves two is this a four thousand dollar recommendation to get to a base salary of forty thousand dollars starting in fiscal year twenty four calendar year at July one twenty three so we haven't done anything different now we have done it differently and then we've added the teacher merit the parent teacher incentive fund for fiscal year twenty five which creates an additional categorical funds for teacher pay. So you haven't done anything different for the average teacher no not raise the baseline salary we're still below Mississippi is that what you're saying what about our the based on salary that we forty one five right is less than forty five that fiscal year twenty five give them the opportunity to actually raise that an additional two thousand dollars. Are there other questions. Yes ma'am a let me just say this with all the merits and all that stuff. If you start out behind you stay behind. Arkansas is now behind all of the surrounding states. One of the reasons I voted against the house recommendation is because I thought we in the Senate would raise it to at least forty two thousand dollars we have not done that so we're in we're we're looking at classified employees who now must Senator Sturch pointed out be a part of the teacher retirement system which takes an additional six percent or more out of their salaries each pay period they're already making nothing. And so we're talking about giving them two dollars. It's insulting. We're talking about saying to our teachers yell we want you to be we want to be adequate there's nothing adequate about being paid less the account parking surrounding states. So I'm disappointed I offer my suggestions of course they were not taken I don't know when we put this together all with whom you put it together I was not a part of that that group shall just wanted to express my consternation thank you. Thank you other any other questions. Senator Sturch you're recognized. Thank you ma'am sure I wanted to ask I'm going to go to art chart here the excel spreadsheet now on the second page health insurance for classified employees that thirty eight eighty eight is an increase to cover there's is it not yeah I mean that was not there before so beyond just the salary for the increase we've also then increased what portion we give for that classified employees health insurance that's correct okay that that is a significant increase okay thank you are there any other questions. All right. The nine is there a. A Senator English. Yes ma'am so overall I'm I'm in favor of this. You recommendation especially some of the things that we've ad and I love senator Beckham's. Review here some of the things and I am definitely all in favor of this setting up a task force because I have long felt as I've sat through these adequacy meetings year after year as we punch numbers that end up meaning really practically nothing and it's time that we begin to look at this whole process in the funding model again and to certify what our priorities are for and I have I have pushed. Probably to no avail to see that all teachers have a pay raise of four thousand dollar pay raise in this twenty three so but I think that there are there a lot of things out there that we really need to be looking at differently this isn't what we're doing right now is what we're doing twenty years ago and the world has changed in twenty years ago and at if the getting a really good education for all the chip there's no silver bullet there's nothing there's no amount of money in the world it's going to it and ensure every single solitary student is well prepared and and heading off to whatever their future is we can try the best we can but we do need to start looking at different ways of of funding because this obviously just isn't working nobody really cares about anything except that bottom number down there and what else is in the in the matrix doesn't really matter to the it the average school district some super dense don't even realize that some of these monies postcode teacher pay. So I am more than excited about having a task force outside the adequacy funding to begin to look at what is it really really want to do and how are we going to get there some thank you. Thank you senator English aye I think it's me a lot of work but it's going to be fruitful and good work for sure any other questions. I really do want to thank you know everybody for helping on this senator Beckham Senator Sturch for sure and Senator Sturch the the the reforms that we use with the essay and smithing that out that is finally a recommendation that we're able to act on and put some money towards through the consultants that made that recommendation years ago and so he world Senator Sturch worked really really hard on that and so I'm really grateful because I mean you have you have a great lines for the you also have a great passion being a teacher yourself and I think it's such a great reform and I'm glad everyone that we can fully recommend and so that we can work it in and that focuses on students and and I think your your your passion for students is always at the forefront of everything you do so does I really want to say thank you for for that. Senator bacon you're recognized. turn my light on. Okay I'm sorry. Thank you of like to make a motion pass all the recommendations included in section twenty one of the report. Which includes among other adequacy related items providing it a four thousand dollar raise the base salary. And each subsequent step under the teacher compensation program of two thousand three for teachers in FY twenty four. Increasing the number of FT's for special education and computer science establishing the merit teacher incentive fund establishing a task force to study the current education funding model holistically including adequacy funding and the impact of education funding on the state budget. And setting up setting the rate for the amount of Division of elementary and secondary education. Provide setting the amount of the the Division of elementary and secondary education provides for the DVD for public school employee health insurance and rate that the school district's pay EBT per participating employer for health insurance using the medical CPI recommendations made by the single. A as their second. Second all those in favor say aye. And opposed no. Is have it. There any other business to come on a personal privilege. You're recognized Thank you madam chair I believe from what I'm hearing that there may be an enough improvements in what the house did it's just very disconcerting to find out that you've already met. And. Feeling that some of us are more equal than others in the process it seems to me Senator Sturch know about the recommendation senator Beckham to about recommendations Senator Elliot I did not know about the recommendations. I'm just not accustomed to being excluded from the week well I am accustomed to being excluded from the wi because every time I think I'm on the team up and I don't have a uniform. But it is very very disconcerting to me that you already knew what you're gonna do you came in here with that already prepared you never contacted us to be a part of the conversation with that thank you. Are there any other comments or business come before the committee with that we are adjourns. Thank you.