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Legislative Update

Alabama Educational Technology Conference September 30, 2008. Legislative Update. Lisa A. Woodard School Superintendents of Alabama Director, Research and Legislation. Review of the 2008 Regular Session. Education Laws and Resolutions Education Budget. Education Laws and Resolutions.

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Legislative Update

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  1. Alabama Educational Technology Conference September 30, 2008 Legislative Update Lisa A. Woodard School Superintendents of Alabama Director, Research and Legislation

  2. Review of the 2008 Regular Session • Education Laws and Resolutions • Education Budget

  3. Education Laws and Resolutions • HR 564 -- Examiners of Public Accounts sent into school to collect data currently on file with SDE: list of each public school system; salary of the superintendent; number of individuals employed within the central office; and the total payroll for the individuals employed within the central office of each public school system. • ACT 2008-281-- Provisional Certificates: expands opportunities for obtaining a provisional teaching certificate (ABC) to include middle school; extends the time from 3 to 4 years; raises the fee to $30; and allows three paths for admission to the program. • ACT 2008-379 – Competitive Bid Bill: increases the minimum amount for which competitive bidding is required from $7500 to $15,000, and includes city and county boards of education in the list of awarding authorities that may establish local preference zones for contracts that will be competitively bid. Exempts purchases made by boards under joint purchasing agreements; allows school boards to enter into regional purchasing consortiums with county and city governments; allows local authority to make purchases or contracts through a reverse auction procedure; and allows for consideration of life cycle costs in competitive bidding. • ACT 2008-543 – Add Back Bill: provides for the collections of certain corporate income taxes not previously collected. Over the next two years, it is estimated to produce an additional $74M for the ETF. • ACT 2008-508 – Education/General Fund Rainy Day Account: repeals and reestablishes an Education Trust Fund Rainy Day Account (ETFRDA) within the Alabama Trust Fund and creates a General Fund Rainy Day Account (GFRDA).

  4. ACT 2008-379 (Competitive Bid)Title 41, Chapter 16 • Purpose: Increase the quality of and obtain the best price for goods and services • Raises the threshold to $15,000 • Pest Control • Optional bid bond • Lawn care • Joint purchasing, expanded options • School boards may join any joint purchasing agreement as long as certain conditions are met • Can use U.S. Communities Joint Purchase Agreement • Online bidding (reverse auction) • “eBay” • Lifecycle Option • Allowed in situations where the life cycle costs can be “reasonably ascertained” using “industry recognized and accepted sources.” • Talk to your CFO

  5. Education Trust Fund Budget Comparisons *By increasing the percentage of the split for K-12 we were able to prevent an additional $118,652,400 in cuts.

  6. FY09

  7. FY09– Classroom Reductions ($11.7M) Negative numbers are actual decreases from FY08. BLUE numbers were presented to SBE on 09/25/08 as a Proposed Draft of FY10 Budget and will be discussed further next month.

  8. FY 09—System Reductions ($17.1M) • High Hopes • ESL • Advanced Placement • Pre-School Special Ed • Career Tech • Technology Coordinators (-$950,000) • SBE Proposed Draft (+$1.95M) • Rewards to Schools • Teacher Recruitment • Teacher Mentoring

  9. Education Trust Fund Growth* • 2003 2.82% • 2004 9.5% • 2005 11.5% • 2006 10.6% • 20076.5% • FY07 budget was based on 8.62% growth • $118M less than lawmakers expected • 2008 1.29% (9/23/08) • FY08 budget was based on 5.04% growth • Current growth rate is 1.29% (09/15/08) * Source: Alabama Finance Department

  10. Where will the money come from to prevent proration before the COB today? • Possible revenue: • $90M remaining in PPA • $30M in unpaid income tax refunds not refunded until Oct. 1 • $40M in early collection of tax payments from corporations • $10M from AIDT (Workforce Development Funds not used because of Air Tanker rebid)

  11. FY2008 Source: Legislative Fiscal Office

  12. FY09 • FY09 assumes trust fund growth of 4.9% and $64M from the Proration Prevention Account • LFO projected growth estimate is 2.77% • Current growth rate is 1.29% (09/23/08) • $134M ETF FY09 budget shortage on 10/01/08 • $64M from the proration prevention account • $30M for FY 08 Income taxes not paid • $40M for early collections of corporate taxes (4th Qtr. FY08 paid in Sept. 08 instead of Dec. 08)

  13. Reserves • Rainy Day Fund --$248M • Alabama Trust Fund earmark • “Credit Card” • Must be repaid in 5 years • Withdrawals limited to the average of the estimated available revenue certified by the Finance Director and the LFO • Alabama Constitution Amendment 709 • Proration must be declared by the Governor to access • 25% of what is borrowed goes to County and Municipal Improvement Trust Fund and is NEVER paid back to the Alabama Trust Fund. • Proration Prevention Account-$0 • More flexible • Savings Account • Legislature repays at its discretion…up to $75M • Alabama Code: 40-1-32.1 • Act No. 2008-544 passed in the 2008 Session: • Removes the $75M minimum for the account • Does not require repayment to account during years of proration • Requires that 75% (up from 20%) of the ending balance in the ETF from the preceding fiscal year of “unanticipated and unappropriated revenue” be appropriated to the PPA

  14. ACT 2008-508 (New RDF) *FY07actual=$5,854,027,193 x 1.015 (FY08) x 1.015 (FY09)=$6,030,965,000 Sources: Dr. Henry Mabry, AEA Financial Consultant and Dr. Ira Harvey, SSA Financial Consultant

  15. Debt Ceiling Floats from FY to FY Amount withdrawn in a fiscal year may not exceed 6.5% of the previous fiscal year’s ETF appropriations

  16. Amendment 1 Payback Schedule 1% ETF growth = $60M

  17. SSA’s FY10 Priorities • Student Based Funding • 72% of the total ETF for K-12 • Teaching and Learning • Restore $37M lost from FY08 • OCE • Actual costs for operations and support salaries • Fuel Costs • Must be based on current price at the pump • Technology Funding • Maintenance, upgrades and replacement ($125 per student) • Information Technology Services Program ($125,000 per system) • Additional Units for Middle and High Schools • Flexibility in how and where assigned • School Nurses • Actual costs based on required salary matrix

  18. What should technology coordinators do? • Assess what is essential to the operation of your technology program • Hardware • Software • Humans • Other • Schedule a meeting with your superintendent to discuss this.

  19. The Budget Timeline • SDE submits the agency budget to the State Finance Department on or before Nov. 1 • Must be approved by the SBE before that date • Governor uses 95% of this recommendation in his budget that he submits to the Legislature. • You need to make sure that what is important to you is in the SDE budget.

  20. Playing Well with Others How do you advance your agenda?

  21. Where do you want to go with technology? • Discussions that focus on funding alone will not be successful. • Must address larger issues: • Maintenance of the technology investment • Accuracy of data • Staffing to support the investment • 21st Century Skills • Workforce Development • College Preparation • Technical Literacy

  22. Build a Coalition • Become Familiar With the Environment • Who else has the same interests as you? • Who else benefits from your agenda? • Establish Organizational and Personal Credibility • Do elected officials know who you are? • How can you strengthen name recognition? • Can you utilize the strength of your business members? • Build Consensus • Compromise and balance • Mobilize and Engage Your Membership

  23. Build Consensus • Identify friends • Governor Riley • Dr. Morton, Mr. Pouncey, Dr. Bice • Superintendents • State School Board members • Business members • AEA • Meet with your friends during the month of October • Listen to what your friends say • Revisit your priorities • Look at revenue projections • Compile the data from your friends • Establish your priorities

  24. Stay on Message • Talk to your superintendent. • Talk to your legislator. • Makeyour message important to your elected official. • Providea one page fact sheet or platform. • ASK for support. • Follow up with your legislator between now and February 2009 (Legislative Session). • Talk to the Governor.

  25. Communicate with your colleagues • Sharereports of legislative meetings on your listserve. • Identifyadvocates/neutralize opponents. • Designatea subgroup of your members that will attend budget hearings and key committee meetings in Montgomery. • Can AETA have someone in the State House every Wednesday?

  26. Remember…. • A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities. Charles de Gaulle • There is no education like adversity.Benjamin Disraeli • Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.Henry Ford

  27. Questions? • Lisa A. Woodard lisa@ssaonline.org 334-262-0014 work 334-235-3553 cell http://www.ssaonline.org

  28. Supporting Data Slides

  29. Total Cost to ATF for ETF and GF by Amendment 1

  30. Fy09 *FY09 Budgeted less (projected growth +PSCA debt service)-Amendment 709 funds

  31. FY10 *(FY09 level funding x 6.5% = $413,400,000 cap for borrowing) less $389,034,836 borrowed in FY09

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