Date: 06/29/2009
Final
Prioritization of Working Groups
STUDY OF THE FINANCING OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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02:44 PM -- Prioritization of Working Groups
Representative Middleton reminded committee members that a list was circulated from which they were asked to rank their top three priorities for working group work and committee discussion. She said the list included:
- declining enrollment;
- sustainability of funding and the cliff effect;
- School Finance Act factors, including at-risk and weighted student funding;
- pre-K and full-day kindergarten;
- time on task;
- teacher quality;
- count date reform;
- tech infrastructure;
- support for small and rural districts;
- accountability and transparency; and
- new funding sources.
Representative Middleton explained how the working groups would be formed, saying working groups would consist of committee members, members of the General Assembly who are not committee members, and stakeholders, who will meet during regularly scheduled committee meetings. She asked the committee to weigh in with their priorities.
02:49 PM
Senator Romer suggested combining sustainability, new funding sources, mill levy freeze, and Amendment 23 into one working group. Representative Middleton expressed interest in exploring the creation of a foundation formula that does not link funding to time. Representative Massey expressed interest in support for small and rural districts, with the addition of a discussion about equity of programs, which would include on-line and supplemental on-line programs and talking about what is appropriate for on-line delivery.
02:55 PM
Committee discussion of priorities continued, with Senator Hudak talking about providing flexibility in what is defined as a full-time student and what is defined as a part-time student. Senator Johnston and Senator Romer weighed in on that conversation.
03:01 PM
Senator King asked for clarification about how the working groups would be formed and what they would look like. Representative Middleton said she would like to create three or four working groups, and described the logistics of the groups.
03:10 PM
The committee recessed to break into working groups in Senate Committee Rooms 352, 353, 354, and 356. Audio of these proceedings is available on the School Finance Interim Committee website and in the Legislative Library.