Minutes 2015 Special Committee on K-12 Student Success
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Kansas Legislative Research Department November 11, 2015 MINUTES 2015 SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON K-12 STUDENT SUCCESS October 23, 2015 Room 112-N— S tate house Members Present Representative Ron Highland, Chairperson Senator Steve Abrams, Vice-chairperson Senator Tom Arpke Senator Molly Baumgardner Senator Jim Denning Senator Anthony Hensley Senator Ty Masterson Representative Tony Barton Representative Sue Boldra Representative Larry Campbell Representative Jerry Lunn Representative Ron Ryckman Representative Joe Seiwert (substitution for Representative Dennis Hedke) Representative Ed Trimmer Representative Valdenia Winn Member Absent Representative Dennis Hedke Staff Present Sharon Wenger, Kansas Legislative Research Department Lauren Douglass, Kansas Legislative Research Department Jason Long, Office of Revisor of Statutes Tamera Lawrence, Office of Revisor of Statutes Nick Myers, Office of Revisor of Statutes Sue Mollenkamp, Committee Assistant Conferees Don Kossler, Customer Support Manager ,Legislative Office of Information Services (LOIS) Dr. Randy Watson, Commissioner, Kansas Department of Education (KSDE) Alan Conroy, Executive Director, Kansas Pubic Employee Retirement System (KPERS) Others Attending See attached list . Chairperson Highland asked Committee members and staff to introduce themselves and asked members to have their calendars available for scheduling the next meeting. The Chairperson invited Don Kossler, Customer Support Manager, LOIS, to address the Committee about the use of Dropbox for Committee documents. Mr. Kossler discussed the Dropbox setup, answered questions from Committee members, and gave personal attention to members needing help with their electronic setup. Sharon Wenger, Principal Fiscal Analyst, KLRD, provided the Committee with a table of contents for the documents posted to Dropbox (Attachment 1). Chairperson Highland commented on the charge given to the Committee to make recommendations to both chambers and on the need for these recommendations to be based on good information. Chairperson Highland stated the Committee’s job is to gather information and boil it down to make good recommendations. Classroom Expenditure Data Chairperson Highland invited Dr. Randy Watson, Commissioner, KSDE to address the Committee about the costs of classroom instruction. Dr. Watson introduced Dale Dennis and Brad Neuenswander, Deputy Commissioners, KSDE, as presenters of the information prepared for the Committee. Instructional Costs Mr. Dennis provided information on instructional expenditures for school years 2013-14 through 2015-16 ( Attachments 2 , through 5 ). In answer to a question from Senator Baumgardner, Mr. Dennis indicated the most recent numbers on student enrollment were released the previous day. The Chairperson requested this information be provided to Committee members. Senator Abrams asked for clarification of the blank boxes found in the data. Mr. Dennis stated some districts may have used different categories when posting figures to their accounting systems, and that some services may not be provided in the smaller districts. In response to a question from Representative Trimmer, Mr. Dennis confirmed the numbers given would be higher for districts that are the sponsoring district for a special education cooperative. Mr. Dennis also reviewed information regarding average instructional costs per pupil for 2014-15 and budgeted instructional costs per pupil for 2015-16 ( Attachments 6 and 7 ). During his explanation, Mr. Dennis informed Committee members the median enrollment in Kansas school districts is approximately 550 students. Special Education, Bilingual Education, and Vocational Education Mr. Dennis explained the data provided for expenditures on special education, bilingual education, and vocational education. Because some federal funds go to districts directly and Kansas Legislative Research Department 2 2015 Special Committee on K-12 Student Success Minutes for October 23, 2015 some go to special education cooperatives, two spreadsheets were provided, one giving state- funded expenditures for 2014-15 and one giving federal allocations for that same school year ( Attachments 8 , through 11 ). Blank boxes in the spreadsheets indicate the school district does not provide the service. Smaller districts located near a technical school or community college often utilize the services available at these institutions rather than providing their own. Under SB 155, which was passed in 2012, the costs of utilizing these technical or community college services are paid by the state rather than the school district. Federal funds for special education go primarily to the special education cooperatives and interlocals, but the larger school districts, which stand alone in providing these services, also receive federal funding. Mr. Dennis explained the column titles on the federal allocation spreadsheet refer to age groups: ‘3-5’ refers to ages 3 through 5 and ‘3-21’ refers to ages 3 through 21. Information by Sub-functions Turning to data showing details of the different sub-functions of instructional expenditures, Mr. Dennis explained the various sub-functions ( Attachments 12 , through 19 ). When pointing out the column giving figures for employee benefits, Mr. Dennis indicated many districts are struggling in this area due to changes in the cost of health insurance. Senator Arpke requested the data be updated with information detailing the number of certified teachers and non-certified teachers. Mr. Dennis clarified that all teachers are certified, pointing out that column 2 of KSDE SF16-007 provides figures for teachers and column 3 provides figures for support personnel. Senator Baumgardner referred to administrators who also provide classroom instruction and asked if the figures for certified salaries include the full salary of these administrators. Mr. Dennis indicated the percentage of salary attributed to teaching is calculated based on the amount of time spent in the classroom, and this calculated amount is included in Column 2, certified salaries. Senator Masterson asked if the figures for purchasing professional and technical services listed in column 5, reflect uniform accounting. He pointed out differences he did not understand based on similar demographics in various districts. Mr. Dennis listed the various professional services covered in column 5 and indicated the differences could result from unique needs in each district. Senator Masterson commented on the problem he sees in understanding the numbers mentioned in public debate because they seem nebulous and without a uniform method of accounting. Mr. Dennis completed his explanation of sub-function data. Chairperson Highland asked who makes the decision about what will be included in these sub-functions. Mr. Dennis stated local board clerks or business managers make that decision based on definitions found in the Accounting Handbook, which can be found on the KSDE website. Representative Trimmer inquired how funds awarded to a school district from a private grant would be reflected in the district budget. Mr. Dennis indicated the grant would be entered into the district’s gift fund, and then use of those funds would be recorded in the same manner as any other expenditure. Kansas Legislative Research Department 3 2015 Special Committee on K-12 Student Success Minutes for October 23, 2015 Chairperson Highland asked if there are federal guidelines for the accounting of classroom instruction and whether these guidelines can be found on the KSDE website. Mr. Dennis replied in the affirmative to both questions. Senator Abrams asked for clarification about whether the Accounting Handbook provided by KSDE is a federal document. Mr. Dennis indicated the Accounting Handbook provides federal guidelines used by all states, but that it has been adapted for Kansas. Kansas is required to report certain information to the federal level, so only limited changes can be made to the definitions found in the Accounting Handbook. Senator Arpke asked for a definition of adjusted full time equivalent (FTE). Mr. Dennis indicated the number is based on an average of the prior year’s enrollment, the current year’s enrollment, and a three-year average. Senator Hensley asked if a printout of KSDE SF016-007 column 12 could be prepared showing cost per pupil from high to low. Mr. Dennis agreed to provide this information. Mr. Dennis discussed KSDE SF16-008, which details the 2100 series of instructional costs. Mr. Dennis indicated there would be a lot of blanks for smaller districts in this spreadsheet of sub-functions for student support services. Many of the services are special education related, and the figures for the districts which sponsor a cooperative will be higher. The Chairperson inquired whether these employees will typically be licensed but not as a teacher. Mr. Dennis indicated this to be true. Senator Arpke asked Mr. Dennis to clarify whether this spreadsheet provides in more detail the 2100 series costs indicated in previous spreadsheets; it does. Senator Abrams asked if there is a way for the data to be separated to reflect costs per student in each district even though services are provided by the cooperatives and interlocals. Mr. Dennis provided information on cooperatives and interlocals. The Chairperson asked how many interlocals there are in Kansas. Mr. Dennis indicated there are 15 to 20 interlocals involved in special education across the state. Chairperson Highland asked Mr. Dennis to provide information on how the interlocals