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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Forty-eighth Legislature – First Regular Session
Minutes of Meeting
House Hearing Room 5 -- 2:00 p.m.
Chairman Shultz called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m. and attendance was noted by the secretary.
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Vicki Anderson |
Art Harding |
Thomas Schoaf |
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Dr. Jay Blanchard |
Jay Kaprosy |
Joseph Thomas |
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Dr. Sandra Dowling |
Rita Leyva |
Martin Shultz, Chairman |
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Doris Goodale |
David Naugle |
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Susan Bitter Smith |
Kent Scribner |
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WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND REMARKS:
Chairman Shultz welcomed Commission members. He explained that Susan Bitter Smith is a new SDRC member who is unable to attend today’s meeting because she is in Washington D.C. in her capacity as a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Chamber of Commerce.
REPORT OF DOLLARS SPENT IN THE CLASSROOM BY THE OFFICE OF THE ARIZONA AUDITOR GENERAL
Sharon Walker, Director,
Division of School Audits, Office of the Auditor General, introduced
Ross Ehrick, Division of School Audits, Office of the Auditor General,
who presented an overview of the most recent report on Arizona Public School
Districts’ Dollars Spent in the Classroom FY 2006 (Attachments 1 and 2).
Mr. Ehrick responded to questions posed by Commission members as follows:
Ms. Walker explained that Arizona schools, as a whole, have lower administrative costs than the national average.
Mr. Thomas said he believed that the national “65 percent solution” for dollars spent in the classroom should not be used. He said that unification of school districts should be a way of creating larger districts that might have more buying power. He emphasized that each individual district has different issues.
Chairman Shultz explained that the responsibility of the Auditor General in doing the evaluation was to take a snapshot of “what is,” based upon the categories that were established nationally, in order to provide a baseline. He suggested that the principle of having an optimum size school district would allow school districts to spread fixed costs over a larger base, and ultimately drive the maximum amount of dollars into the classroom.
Mr. Kaprosy asked if there has been any research that ties school administrative spending to the academic achievement of pupils.
Mr. Harding responded he would investigate the issue further and report his findings to the Commission.
Mr. Kaprosy suggested the purpose of the Commission is to unify curriculum and move academic achievement forward.
REVIEW OF PROVISIONS OF SB 1164
Mr. Harding summarized Sec. 1 through 5 of SB 1164 (Attachments 3 and 4).
Mr. Lyle Freisen, School
Finance, Department of Education, summarized Sec. 6 of
SB 1164 (Attachment 4).
Mr. Harding summarized Sec. 7 and 8 of SB 1164 (Attachment 4).
Chairman Shultz suggested that the
Commission is not prepared to discuss available student capacity at existing school
facilities and superintendent contract buy-out, federal voting rights, and use
of the ward system for the election of governing board members (Attachment 4,
page 18). He said he would ask the appropriate legal team for an
interpretation of these items so that the Commission could discuss them at the
next meeting.
Chairman Shultz reviewed Question 32 of the SDRC Frequently Asked Questions About Arizona School Redistricting (Revised June 2007) (Attachment 5).
Chairman Shultz suggested that the Commission develop a plan for the next legislative session to ensure that the school districts have the information needed to proceed with redistricting in 2008.
Mr. Naugle proposed that the Commission form a working committee that would focus on the small school district adjustment. He suggested that the Commissioners representing areas other than Maricopa County participate in the committee, and that an action plan should be prepared and submitted to the Commission within the next 60 days. He further suggested that the committee should work with the SBA and legislative staff.
Chairman Shultz stated that the recommendation of the Commission is that Dave Naugle, Doris Goodale, Rita Leyva, Art Harding, and any volunteers, form a special committee that would work on the small school district adjustment issue. Upon receipt of a report from the committee, the Commission could submit a request addressing the issue to the Legislature.
Ms. Leyva explained that many small districts are interested in unifying but these districts will need a way to adjust for losing the small school adjustment monies.
Mr. Kaprosy said he believes the Commission should use caution in forwarding recommendations to the Legislature. He said there are many problems with Arizona’s school finance system.
Gretchen Kitchell, Chairman, Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA), said that ATRA has been opposed to some districts previous attempts to deal with the small school district adjustments. She said that ATRA would like to participate with the special committee that deals with this issue.
Dr. Blanchard asked if the small school district adjustment monies come from the tax base only.
Michael Hunter, Senior Policy Advisor, Arizona Senate, explained how the small school adjustment monies relate to the state tax base.
UPDATE FROM MEMBERS ON SDRC RELATED MEETINGS ATTENDED, AND DISCUSSION OF FUTURE SCHOOL DISTRICT MEETINGS
Mr. Naugle reported on his attendance at a School Board meeting in Palomino, Arizona.
Mr. Thomas reported on his attendance at a Mingus Union High District School Board meeting.
Dr. Blanchard reported on his attendance at School Board meetings in San Luis, and La Paz County.
Ms. Goodale said she would be attending a meeting with the combined school districts of La Paz County. She said that Representative Nancy McLain had contacted her and may also attend the meeting.
Mr. Schoaf reported on his attendance at the Phoenix Union High School Board meeting.
Chairman Shultz distributed SDRC Draft Redistricting Plan Reponses (Attachment 6) and various e-mails (Attachment 7) received as of June 28, 2007.
PUBLIC INPUT
William Allsbrooks, Bullhead City Elementary School District, referred to letters from the Bullhead City Schools Governing Board (Attachment 8) which support Plan 2, the two-district plan.
Luis Heredia, Somerton Elementary School District, said that Yuma County has five school districts and the boards of these districts have been meeting in an effort to respond to the SDRC recommendations. He said Yuma County believes that more public input is needed before a response is submitted.
Dick Lesher, Superintendent, Toltec Elementary School District, said Pinal County school districts will be submitting a response to the SDRC recommendations before the deadline of September 15, 2007.
Mr. Harding said, without objection, the Commission would send out a notice when the formal decision is made as to whether the deadline for input to the SDRC will be extended from July 31, 2007 to September 15, 2007.
Chairman Shultz said he would facilitate the first meeting of the SDRC special committee.
Chairman Shultz questioned when the next SDRC meeting should be held, and suggested a meeting after September 15, 2007.
Mr. Schoaf suggested the Commission should study the potential effect of the Voting Rights Act.
Chairman Shultz suggested that the Commission request an opinion from Ken Behringer, General Counsel, Arizona Legislative Council, as to the effect of the Voting Rights Act on State school districts.
Ms. Leyva suggested that the Legislative Council be asked for an opinion as to whether a unification proposal must have the approval of Arizona Indian Tribes before being placed on the ballot.
Chairman Shultz responded he would request the opinion of the Legislative Council on that issue.
Chairman Shultz explained that the enabling statute for the SDRC provides clarity as to the procedure for placing items on the ballot.
Without objection, the meeting adjourned at 4:10 p.m.
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Yvette O’Connor, Committee Secretary
June 28, 2007
(Original minutes, attachments and audio are on file in the Office of the Chief Clerk.)
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SCHOOL DISTRICT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION
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June 28, 2007
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