Tape No. 99-7, 99-8, 99-9 A only

LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

ON RESTRUCTURING EDUCATION

MINUTES

Meeting of November 8, 1999

The Legislative Oversight Committee on Restructuring Education met at 9:45 a.m. in Room 10

of the State House, Montpelier, Vermont.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Senators Cheryl P. Rivers, Chair; Nancy I. Chard; James H. Greenwood; Jeb Spaulding; Representatives Martha P. Heath, Vice Chair; Karen M. Lafayette; Robert H. Rusten; Gaye R. Symington.

STAFF PRESENT AT VARIOUS TIMES: Emily Tartter and Rachel Levin of the Legislative Council; Steve Klein and Mark Perrault of the Joint Fiscal Office.

Senator Rivers said she had tried to fulfill Committee members' requests for witnesses and testimony. She said due to all of the changes at the Department of Education, Acting Commissioner Marge Petit said she was triple booked and requested she testify at the next meeting. Senator Rivers agreed to send a letter on the Committee's behalf to Acting Commissioner Marge Petit following up on the day's meeting and requesting she testify on November 23.

REVIEW AND APPROVE OCTOBER 28, 1999 MINUTES

Representative Heath made a motion to approve the October 28 minutes as submitted. Senator Chard seconded the motion. Senator Rivers asked if there was any discussion. Hearing none, the Committee unanimously approved the motion on a voice vote.

DEPARTMENT OF TAXES

Commissioner Sean Campbell said the Committee had the latest information on "prebates" and Bill Johnson was ready to report on other issues.

Bill Johnson, Director of Property Valuation and Review (PVR), as a follow up to the Committee's questions, distributed a list of education and training sessions PVR had held during 1999. Bill Johnson also mentioned an article he had written for School Boards' and the Vermont League of Cities and Towns' newsletters, updating them on Vermont's Equalization Study. The Committee asked for copies of the letter, which he delivered to them before the end of the meeting. Bill Johnson and the Committee discussed what local officials' responses had been to the Equalization Study and the recommendations PVR was instituting. Bill Johnson said local officials generally felt the changes made sense, but were concerned the result would create more work for them. Commissioner Campbell said those recommendations being implemented now were designed to be a minimal additional workload for listers. Bill Johnson added there was very little additional work listers were being asked to do this year.

The Committee discussed the need to provide more educational training opportunities for listers.

Senator Chard suggested audio taping training sessions so the tape and written materials from the meeting could be provided to local officials who were not able to attend. Bill Johnson said it was a good idea, but listers preferred one-on-one training.

Bill Johnson said PVR was still trying to fill a district advisor supervisor position which had been under recruitment and, in addition, Commissioner Campbell was in the process of requesting a position adjustment from the Department of Personnel for a commercial appraiser. He said due to the tight labor market and the challenge of finding someone with the skills needed, PVR was having difficulty filling those positions. The Committee requested Commissioner Campbell come to the next meeting and brief the Committee on the actions he had taken to fill the positions. Senator Rivers agreed the Department of Taxes needed support in taking actions to get the positions filled. Senator Rivers agreed, on behalf of the Committee, to write a letter to the Administration in support of the Department of Taxes getting the positions filled.

Bill Johnson reviewed a list of towns using CAPTAP and NEMRC software. He said PVR was not ready for all towns to use CAPTAP 2, because the software needed more work and, also, PVR support resources were spread thin. Senator Rivers said towns deserved the best support possible. She requested Bill Johnson and Commissioner Campbell come to the next meeting prepared to make a suggestion to the Committee about what additional resources were necessary.

Bill Johnson distributed and reviewed a grid listing improvement strategies for PVR's Equalization Study. The Committee thanked Bill Johnson for the grid and said it was very helpful. Bill Johnson said Commissioner Campbell and Charles Merriman, an attorney for PVR, deserved credit for assisting in the preparation of the grid. Senator Rivers said Bill Johnson had presented exactly what the Committee needed.

Bill Johnson updated the Committee on the status of the possible changes in the Property Transfer Form. He said he had been showing a draft to every audience he could, and taking feedback. He said the only immediate changes he would recommend would relate to information PVR needed and getting accurate and complete information was what was most important. The Committee requested Bill Johnson come to the next meeting with a specific plan on how the Department of Taxes was going to make sure the forms get filled out properly; who is responsible, what was going to be done to get the forms filled out properly, why people were not filling out forms correctly, and how to better understand the problem. Senator Greenwood suggested the Vermont Bar Association could provide useful information. Charles Merriman said currently town clerks should not accept incomplete forms and it would be important to look at law as it currently existed and assess whether it was being applied.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Bill Reedy, Department of Education General Counsel, reviewed a memo he had written to the Committee on Technical Center funding. First, he pointed out a correction in his memo. (Please see attached memo).

Senator Greenwood also asked about workforce development centers which were governed by the State College system. Bill Reedy said there were questions on governance, funding, tuition, the technical education formula and other issues which may be for the legislature to determine. Senator Chard said the present system of technical education was not a system, and had rules which were not applicable in a changing environment.

SPECIAL EDUCATION MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT

David Yacovone, Director of Administration Services for the Agency of Human Services; Bill Talbott, Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Education; and Doug Dows of the Department of Education presented the Committee with information they had requested during the last meeting. David Yacovone distributed documents on an operations overview with an organizational chart for the program, a flow chart of funds, a spreadsheet showing participation rates, and a list of which schools were in which supervisory unions.

In reviewing the organizational chart, the Committee discussed the role of the Department of Education and who was responsible for quality assurance. The Committee agreed the expertise of schools was not in that area. The Committee discussed the advantage of having schools submitting completed forms electronically and asked how this was progressing. David Yacovone said the goal was to have most school districts submitting electronically over the next 6 months; Doug Dows said it would be difficult to say it could happen in 6 months. Senator Rivers said she appreciated the honesty of the response to the question and asked what could be done to help. David Yacovone said the field director said the goal could be accomplished in 6 months.

The Committee discussed participation rates and asked what the role of caseworkers and special education teachers was. The Committee requested additional information on participation rates broken down between elementary and secondary school, the length of time each school district has been participating, and the brochure on the program which was sent out to parents.

The Committee said it was important to understand what the obstacles to low participation were, and said it was interested in making sure the program was continually evaluated and monitored.

EDUCATION FUND UPDATE

Steve Klein of the Joint Fiscal Office and Bill Talbott reviewed key areas of the education fund balance sheet. Senator Rivers requested, in the future, Steve Klein provide the Committee with an actual balance sheet for reference. Senator Rivers asked if Tom Kavet had analyzed the reason for the drop in corporate income tax receipts. Steve Klein said the Joint Fiscal Office was in the process of taking a look at the corporate income tax and whether there was anything the drop could be attributed to.

Bill Talbott distributed and reviewed information on the block grant in relation to growth rates of equalized pupils, local yield amounts, a revenue explanation, and the preliminary general state support grant recommendation for FY 2001.

The Committee recessed for lunch and then reconvened.

SPECIAL EDUCATION FISCAL REVIEW PANEL

Senator Rivers welcomed the witnesses, asked them to introduce themselves and then asked Committee members to introduce themselves. Bob Devaney, panel member, parent and vice president of Vermont Gas Co.; Dr. Susan Hasazi, University of Vermont (UVM); Kristin Reedy, panel member and director of Northeast Regional Resource Center at Trinity College, provided the Committee with copies of the September 1999 Special Education Program and Fiscal Review Panel, First Year Summary, as well as a comparison of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Special Education and the Special Education Program and Fiscal Review Panel.

Bob Devaney gave an overview of the Panel's work, noting the Legislature created the panel, their work was ongoing and it would continue next year. He said the Department of Education had supported and staffed the Panel well and had done a good job; the UVM study team, under the direction of Dr. Hasazi, was first rate and had framed the questions which would be used to evaluate schools. He said the purpose of the reports was to help with policy deliberations and to help the schools. This was done by selecting five diverse schools, visiting and studying them to inform the work of the Panel in learning ways to address costs.

Bob Devaney said the first five schools provided some areas to think about and, as the Panel looked at the next five schools, it would have more information to make recommendations.

Kristin Reedy reviewed the Panel's recommendations, which included funding the educational support system required under Act 230; developing the capacity of the educational support system; developing guidelines for the use, training, evaluation and supervision of paraeducators; developing an immediate long-range plan for the recruitment, retention and support of special educators and related services personnel; developing Vermont's capacity to produce qualified and licensed special educators and other specialists; preventing special education by investing in prevention and early intervention; determining why boys are being identified as disabled and eligible for special education at more than twice the rate of girls; addressing the needs of students with emotional and behavioral problems; making sure all students are included in the statewide assessment system; and developing and implementing a comprehensive literacy program in every school and community.

Dr. Hasazi discussed factors which contribute to effective and efficient services for all students, including leadership and vision; teachers with the knowledge and skills to teach increasingly more diverse learners; ongoing professional development for teachers and paraeducators in best practices related to instruction, and positive behavioral approaches; educational support teams that are comprised of general educators, counselors, special educators and administrators; comprehensive, empirically-based literacy programs in the elementary and middle grades;

inclusion of students in standards-based assessment and curriculum; paraeducators who are well trained and supported by general and special educators; and data that is utilized from a variety of sources to inform program improvement efforts.

Bob Devaney said everybody should be responsible for cost-effectiveness and it was important to look at the capacity of the general education system. The Committee discussed what leadership meant and who was responsible for it. Senator Rivers thanked the witnesses for their excellent testimony and recommendations.

The Committee then discussed potential agenda items for their November 23 meeting and agreed their final report would focus on the continuation of implementation activities.

The Committee adjourned at 2:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Levin