Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:04/01/2015
ATTENDANCE
Time:11:27 AM to
Everett
X
Fields
*
Place:HCR 0112
Garnett
*
Lee
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Lundeen
X
Representative Buckner
Moreno
X
Priola
X
This Report was prepared by
Wilson
X
Lisa Gezelter
Windholz
X
Pettersen
X
Buckner
X
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
HB15-1321
HB15-1322		Referred to Appropriations
Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only


11:28 AM -- HB15-1321

Representative Buckner, Chair, welcomed the committee. Representatives Pettersen and Wilson, co-sponsors, presented House Bill 15-1321, which provides flexible reporting requirements to rural school districts consisting of less than 1,000 students, as well as $10 million in one-time funding for those districts. Representative Pettersen discussed the provisions of the bill. Representative Wilson discussed the factors that led to the creation of the bill. He shared his intent not to reduce parental involvement, but to provide more flexibility for small, rural districts. He discussed financial transparency and how that differs in small, rural districts. He spoke about the charter schools affected by the bill, meeting notification requirements, administrator evaluations, the role of dual-hat administrators (both principal and superintendent), and one-time funding for small, rural districts. He discussed the definition of small, rural districts and the definition of rural districts. Representative Pettersen discussed the bill's changes to mill levy overrides and the fiscal note. Representatives Pettersen and Wilson responded to questions from the committee.


11:55 AM

Representatives Pettersen and Wilson continued to respond to questions from the committee.













12:07 PM

The following people testified:

12:07 PM -- Frank Reeves, Superintendent of Genoa-Hugo School District, spoke in support of the bill. He described his district and thanked the sponsors for the bill. He described the needs of rural school districts and the level of parental engagement in rural school districts. He spoke about his district's accountability to the community.

12:17 PM -- Kaeli Humphrey, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. She described her experiences as a student in a rural school. She described her school and district; interpersonal relationships among parents, teachers, and students; and parent engagement. She described her mother's work as the school principal.


12:20 PM

The preceding two witnesses responded to questions from the committee.

12:26 PM -- Don Anderson, Executive Director of East Central Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and representing Colorado BOCES Association and the Colorado Association of School Boards, spoke in support of the bill. He described the geographic range of his BOCES and the roles of dual superintendent-principals in small, rural districts. He said that teachers and administrators live in the communities in which they work, facilitating parent engagement. He spoke about the need for electronic meeting notifications and about the flexibility for transparency reporting provided in the bill. He spoke about mill levy overrides.

12:34 PM -- Leslie Colwell, representing the Colorado Children's Campaign, spoke in support of the bill. She described the challenges and opportunities for children living in both rural and urban areas. She described the reasons her organization supports the bill.

12:36 PM -- Benjamin Waters, representing the Opportunity Coalition of School Districts, spoke in support of the bill. He described his organization, and the rural and small, rural school districts that are members thereof. He described the importance of the $10 million provided to small, rural districts in the bill.

12:37 PM -- Luke Ragland, representing Colorado Succeeds, spoke in support of the bill. He described his organization and the reasons why it supports the bill. He spoke about financial transparency and the need for flexibility in single-school districts.

12:39 PM -- Dan Schaller, representing the Colorado League of Charter Schools, spoke in support of the bill. He described his organization and expressed its support for the bill. He spoke about charter schools in small, rural districts. Mr. Schaller responded to questions from the committee.


12:42 PM

The sponsors responded to questions from the committee.










12:42 PM

Representatives Pettersen and Wilson offered closing comments to the bill. Committee discussion ensued.

BILL:HB15-1321
TIME: 12:48:03 PM
MOVED:Pettersen
MOTION:Refer House Bill 15-1321 to the Committee on Appropriations. The motion passed on a vote of 10-1.
SECONDED:Wilson
VOTE
Everett
Yes
Fields
No
Garnett
Yes
Lee
Yes
Lundeen
Yes
Moreno
Yes
Priola
Yes
Wilson
Yes
Windholz
Yes
Pettersen
Yes
Buckner
Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 1 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


12:49 PM -- HB15-1322

Representative Wilson, co-sponsor, introduced House Bill 15-1322, which alters the makeup of the state's Education Data Advisory Committee (EDAC) and requires the Colorado Department of Education to contract with an entity to review current data reporting requirements for the public school system. He explained the genesis of the bill and the nature of the study required by the bill. He spoke about the schools and districts that would be included on the Education Data Advisory Committee (EDAC). Representative Pettersen, co-sponsor, spoke about the necessity of the bill. The co-sponsors responded to questions from the committee.


01:09 PM

The following people testified on the bill:

01:09 PM -- Frank Reeves, Superintendent of Genoa-Hugo School District, spoke in support of the bill. He talked about the data reporting requirements his district complies with, and how his data reporter works over 70 hours per week. He spoke about report duplication. Mr. Reeves responded to questions from the committee. Committee discussion ensued.







01:15 PM -- Christopher Richardson, representing the Elizabeth School Board and the Colorado Association of School Boards, spoke in support of the bill. He spoke about data reporting requirements.

01:19 PM -- Don Anderson, representing the East Central BOCES and the Colorado BOCES Association, spoke in support of the bill. He described his experiences as a member of EDAC.


01:22 PM

Representative Buckner laid the bill over for action only until Monday, April 6.


01:22 PM

The committee adjourned.