House Committee on Education (03/10/2006)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Date:	03/10/2006	ATTENDANCE

Time:	07:37 AM to 08:07 AM	Benefield	*
		King	E
Place:	HCR 0107	Larson	X
		Massey	X
This Meeting was called to order by		McKinley	X
	Representative Merrifield	Penry	E
		Pommer	E
This Report was prepared by		Rose	*
	Cathy Eslinger	Solano	X
		Todd	X
		White	X
		Paccione	X
		Merrifield	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
SB06-055 HB06-1283		Referred to the Committee of the Whole Witness Testimony Only

07:37 AM -- Senate Bill 06-055

The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Representative Merrifield. He announced that the committee would continue the witness testimony phase of the hearing on Senate Bill 06-055 begun at the committee's meeting on the prior day, March 9.

07:38 AM

The following persons testified:

07:38 AM -- Larry Borland, representing the Colorado Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers, testified in favor of the bill. He responded to questions from members about whether school personnel need additional training on safety issues. He spoke to his experiences as Director of School Safety and Security for Douglas County School District. Representative Todd asked Mr. Borland about the use of bullyproofing policies in Douglas County Schools.

07:43 AM

In response to additional questions, Mr. Borland said that the reporting changes proposed in the bill would be a positive change.

07:44 AM -- Phil Fox, representing the Colorado Association of School Executives, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Fox testified that the bill would remove ambiguity for administrators.

07:45 AM -- Bruce Atchison, representing the Colorado Children's Campaign, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Atchison described national data depicting the levels of criminal activity on school property. He stated that several, recent serious incidents have not been reported by schools on School Accountability Reports (SARs).


BILL:	SB06-055
TIME:	07:48:47 AM
MOVED:	Paccione
MOTION:	Moved to refer SB06-055 to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 7-1 roll call vote.
SECONDED:	Todd
		VOTE
	Benefield	Yes
	King	Excused
	Larson	Yes
	Massey	Yes
	McKinley	No
	Penry	Excused
	Pommer	Excused
	Rose	Excused
	Solano	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	White	Excused
	Paccione	Yes
	Merrifield	Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 1 EXC: 5 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

07:49 AM -- House Bill 06-1283

Representative Merrifield reviewed the provisions of House Bill 06-1283, concerning a requirement that each school district spend at least a specified percentage of its total operational expenditures on services that directly affect student achievement. He spoke to the goals for the bill and the fact that the bill would set a statutory standard for operational expenditures that directly affect student achievement. Representative Merrifield distributed a hand-out specifying the 75 percent expenditure requirement (Attachment A). The hand-out described the bill's definition of "services that directly affect student achievement."

07:57 AM

Representative Massey commented on his concerns with establishing an expenditure requirement through a statutory mandate. Representative Merrifield added comments on his reasons for bringing the bill. The committee discussed the information Representative Merrifield provided on 16 school districts that would not currently be in compliance with the requirements of the bill.

08:03 AM

The following person testified:

08:03 AM -- Tony Salazar, representing the Colorado Education Association, testified in support of the bill. He thanked Representative Merrifield for his work on the accountability issues addressed in the bill. He testified that the 75 percent standard in the bill was workable for school districts and that the bill included processes for waivers and exemptions.

08:07 AM

The bill was laid over for action at the committee's next meeting.

08:07 AM

The committee adjourned.