6.17.15 House Education Minutes

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

STATE OF DELAWARE LEGISLATIVE HALL

DOVER, DELAWARE 19901

411 Legislative Avenue, Dover, Delaware 19901

Office: 302-744-4142 Fax: 302-739-2313

[email protected]

COMMITTEES Education, Chair

Veterans Affairs, Chair

Health & Human Development

Labor

Transportation/Land Use and

Infrastructure

EARL G. JAQUES, JR.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

Twenty-Seventh District

Education Committee Meeting Minutes

6.17.15

Chair Jaques called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m. Committee members present included Reps.

Jaques, Williams, Barbieri, Heffernan, Matthews, Bolden, Osienski, Potter, Lynn, Ramone, Dukes,

Hensley, Kenton, and Miro. Non-committee member Rep. Briggs King was also present. For a list of all

individuals present, please see the attendance list below.

Rep. Potter introduced SB 122, AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14, CHAPTER 10 OF THE

DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION AND THE REORGANIZATION AND

CHANGING OF SCHOOL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES. Rep. Potter said this bill is enabling

legislation to reorganize school district boundaries in Wilmington and allows the State Board of

Education to change the boundaries and submit them for approval to the General Assembly and the

Governor. He acknowledged many members of the WEAC committee that were present, including Dr.

Tony Allen.

Chair Jaques said that no citizen of Delaware ever voted for the current district configuration in

Wilmington. He said a federal court imposed it. Chair Jaques said WEAC has engaged the public and

begged for input from the pubic. He said it is time to end the fact that some children in the state do not

receive a quality education, while others do. He said there is a lot of work to be done, but this bill is

progress. Chair Jaques invited Merv Daugherty, Red Clay Consolidated School District Superintendent,

to comment on the bill.

Dr. Daugherty, said he supported the bill on behalf of the school district and the school board. He made

three important points regarding their support: 1) Red Clay was involved in the process, 2) the

appropriate funding must be in place, and 3) an open discussion about the plan should take place.

Chair Jaques said Red Clay will be involved and is a substantial part of this plan moving forward.

Dr. Tony Allen, WEAC, said there is no other way to achieve success than involving the stakeholders

and working with members of communities. He also said the State Board of Education (SBE) will be

provided a significant tool belt before any action is taken. He also added that Delaware law says the

General Assembly is prohibited from drawing the lines; therefore, SBE will have a time-limited

authority to do so.

Dr. Allen said teachers, retired administrators, and community leaders all are represented on WEAC and

in the conversations about this bill.


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Rep. Williams asked if there is a plan in place to ensure residents are talked to about this bill and what it

will mean for them.

Dr. Allen said yes, once the commission is started. He said WEAC held public meetings once per week

for four and a half months; had a 1,500-member Facebook page, and an educational forum for over 700

people in person and thousands online. He said this process would continue.

Rep. Potter said the Wilmington City Council and New Castle County Council have endorsed the bill

and have done a great job communicating it to their constituencies.

Rep. Williams thanked Dr. Allen and WEAC for countless hours and weeks of hard work in this

process. She said WEAC has thoroughly consulted the stakeholders and she thanked them for that.

Rep. Heffernan said current state law reads that SBE will require a referendum in order to redistrict. She

said she did not see that as a part of this bill and concerned about its absence.

Dr. Allen said the current configuration was not subject to referendum and said, if referendum was used

in this case, voters in one district could affect the citizens of another district.

Rep. Heffernan said the current district was the result of a federal court order and that she still has a

major concern because the law says a referendum should occur.

Chair Jaques said he does not think there will be a great outcry for a referendum, partly because

Colonial and Brandywine are not substantially affected by the possible design. He said he was assured

that extensive public engagement would occur.

Rep. Matthews thanked Dr. Allen for his work on this and for a new path forward. He also added that

Delaware is on the wrong path about how it tests and evaluates its curriculum. He concluded by saying

Wilmington does not have an academic problem; it has a poverty problem.

Mike Matthews, Red Clay Education Association, said he supports the bill, but is also concerned that the

work of WEAC accurately reflects the challenges of Red Clay. He said the funding piece must be fixed.

Yvonne Johnson, Delaware Parent Teacher Association, thanked Dr. Allen for his hard work and the

work of his team. She said she wants to make sure that children get what they need and community

involvement is important.

Dr. Allen read a letter to the committee (attached).

A motion was made by Rep. Bolden and seconded by Rep. Potter to release the bill from committee.

Motion carried. Yes 10 (Jaques, Williams, Barbieri, Heffernan, Matthews, Bolden, Potter, Lynn, Kenton, Miro); No 0; Absent 4 (Osienski, Ramone, Dukes, Hensley). SB 122 was reported out of committee with an F=1, M=11, U=0 vote.

Rep. Williams introduced HB 186, AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 14 AND 29 OF THE

DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO OVERSIGHT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS. Rep. Williams


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said she would strike HB 53 and HB 154 and replace them with this one bill. She said currently, all

school districts, including vocational schools, are subject to the Auditor of Accounts (AOA). She said

there is presently no legislative authority to require charter schools to submit to AOA processes. She

said this bill adds charter schools to the list of entities for audits through AOA.

Rep. Williams took offense to form letters have been sent out by the Delaware Charter Schools Network

(DCSN) stating that this bill would add to their financial burdens. She said AOA stated the audit would

cost relatively the same to what it costs now and economies of scale may lead to cost savings.

Kendall Massett, DCSN, said she did not send out any false information. She said DCSN does not

believe there is fact behind the economies of scale argument. She said all schools are different;

therefore, some smaller schools could pay more because they may have to pay for more than what they

need. She said DCSN does not support this bill.

Pam Baker, Certified Public Account in Delaware, said every charter school must currently submit

financial statements and under present regulations, there are distinct differences between traditional

schools and charter schools. She said DDOE requires completed financial statements by September 30

with an annual audit, which includes GAP compliant statements. She said DDOE monitors charter

schools at a lot of levels. She said some charter schools are submitting more than a traditional school.

She said this bill takes away responsibility from the board to select independent auditor and takes away

the opportunity for charter schools to do that effectively. She said this problem could be remedied by

mandating the audit be given to AOA and not directly to DDOE.

Nitin Rao, DCSN, spoke on behalf of the business manager of Newark Charter School in opposition to

the bill.

Kathleen Davies, Chief Audit Administrator at AOA, said AOA does not have any firms under contract

that conducted any charter school audits. She rebutted that the IRS filling mentioned by Pam Baker is a

non-audit service and those fees are not part of the audit work. She said there have been a lot of terms

thrown around and the only requirement for charter schools, with regard to oversight, is GAP compliant

financial statements. She said there are currently seven investigations on charter schools underway

because of mismanagement of funds. She said fraud and abuse were never brought to anyones attention for these seven schools. She said AOA has subpoena power and a firm, under AOA contract, cane be

used to address the issues found. She said those seven charter schools got a clean bill of health with no findings and no body to identify issues. She said this bill would change that.

Chair Jaques asked for clarification that issues were present that were not discovered.

Ms. Davies said they were not identified and the audit provided would have misled someone.

Chair Jaques asked if that has occurred in traditional public schools.

Ms. Davies said not to her knowledge since she has been in Delaware and there are no current

investigations into traditional school districts.

Rep. Miro asked if there is a criterion given to the firm from the charter school that must be followed.


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Ms. Davies said she is not a party to those contracts, so it could vary. She said AOA uses yellow book

and peer review compliance.

Rep. Miro asked if it were possible that different charter schools may have conducted audits that were

not done the same way as AOA.

Ms. Davies said that is possible.

Rep. Miro asked what the cost to the school is when AOA conducts an audit.

Ms. Davies said a fee is paid and it is difficult to compare traditional schools to charter schools, but both

pay audit costs.

Rep. Miro asked if the district requests the audit or if it is initiated by AOA.

Ms. Davies said it is required to complete a district CAFR, but AOA has some proactive components in

the audit process.

Rep. Miro asked what the potential cost to a charter school for an AOA audit.

Ms. Davies said AOA believes the economies of scale argument for repeating similar procedures

applies. She said some charters might see their costs decrease and some may see increases.

Rep. Miro asked if AOA could give the criteria it looks for to the charter schools and have them give

that to an independent firm that conducts the audit.

Rep. Lynn asked what the definition of post audit is, since it is not directly in the bill.

Ms. Davies said it is an old phrase that was dropped decades ago, but it remains in the bill because to

remain consistent with the code. She said audit and post audit are synonymous and no additional audits

are required.

Rep. Lynn asked if audits would be completed by October 1.

Ms. Davies said that is correct.

Rep. Ramone asked what the word audit means.

Ms. Davies said that is a loaded question. She said a yellow book audit must meet GAO standards, must

contain financial audits, must have agreed upon procedures, may contain an A133 audit as a federal

requirement, and may contain an inspection.

Rep. Ramone asked, if he owned a charter school, what the law currently requires him to do in terms on

an audit.


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Ms. Davies said DDOE requires a GAP compliant annual audit, and if debtors or federal rewards are

present, they may impose additional audit requirements.

Rep. Ramone asked to whom the audit is given.

Ms. Davies said GAP compliant financial statements to DDOE.

Rep. Ramone asked who is monitoring and policing what is being handed in.

Ms. Davies said DDOE monitors and polices that.

Rep. Ramone asked if DDOE would be able to produce those audits.

Ms. Davies said she cannot speak to DDOE record retention.

Rep. Ramone asked what this bill changes.

Ms. Davies said, from beginning to end, AOA ensures a yellow book audit through a firm that is peer-

reviewed, has references for work, and has quality past work. She said AOA works as an intermediary

and works to make sure things are clear for the school.

Rep. Ramone asked why schools hand audits in to DDOE.

Ms. Davies said that is a question for DDOE.

Rep. Ramone said he has concerns about changing from DDOE to AOA, the level of how much moving

the audits to AOA stops corruption, and asked if AOA were to raise the bar to where schools are

incapable of being held accountable.

Ms. Davies said there is no way to ensure that fraud will be eradicated. She said this bill helps to identify

fraud and abuse year after year.

Rep. Ramone cautioned that if Delaware did a better job explaining what is expected of charter schools

it would result in a better policing mechanism. He said he understands the purpose of the bill.

Rep. Dukes asked if the definition of audit and post audit are the same thing.

Ms. Davies said they are synonymous.

Rep. Dukes asked how many charter schools are under investigation.

Ms. Davies said seven.

Rep. Dukes asked if they were serious infractions.

Ms. Davies said some of the investigations are far enough along to know it is really bad.


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Rep. Dukes said integrity and honesty is paramount and asked if the work would be done by AOA or

contracted out.

Ms. Davies said a firm under contract will do the audit work and we will share profile documents on that

school with the firm.

Rep. Dukes asked if this would be a greater cost to charter schools.

Ms. Davies said it depends on the types of internal controls the schools currently have in place.

Rep. Matthews asked, based on seven open investigations, if this bill were law that AOA could have

caught some of the infractions.

Ms. Davies said with AOA review it would not have gone on for so long.

Rep. Miro asked why a fiscal note was not addressed for this bill.

Mike Jackson, Office of the Controller General, said this bill does not have any state-wide impact at this

point.

Rep. Miro said OCG would need additional information to create a fiscal note.

Mike Jackson said this bill is just changing the process, not adding an additional audit. He said it

depends on economies of scale, the size of the school, and AOA contracts.

A motion was made by Rep. Potter and seconded by Rep. Barbieri to release the bill from committee.

Motion failed. Yes 7 (Williams, Barbieri, Matthews, Bolden, Osienski, Potter, Lynn); No 6 (Jaques, Ramone, Dukes, Kenton, Miro, Hensley); Absent 1 (Heffernan). HB 186 remained in committee.

Chair Jaques introduced SS 1 for SB 79, AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE

CODE RELATING TO EDUCATIONAL DATA GOVERNANCE. Chair Jaques introduced

Christian Wright of the Delaware Department of Justice.

Mr. Wright said the Student Data Privacy Protection Act would enable students and educators in

Delaware public schools to use technology to enhance student educational opportunities without

compromising the privacy and security of student data. He said it is modeled after the California law and

will also create a taskforce to bring together stakeholders to make additional policy recommendations.

Chris DiPietro, Microsoft, said Microsoft is in full support of the legislation.

Cheryl Heiks, Google, said Goolge is also in support of the legislation.

Joni Lupovitz, Common Sense Media, said her organization supports the bill and sees it as very

important for students and families.


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A motion was made by Rep. Miro and seconded by Rep. Potter to release the bill from committee.

Motion carried. Yes 12 (Jaques, Williams, Barbieri, Matthews, Osienski, Potter, Lynn, Ramone, Dukes, Kenton, Miro, Hensley); No 0; Absent 2 (Heffernan, Bolden). SS 1 for SB 79 was reported out of committee with an F=1, M=8, U=0 vote.

Rep. Ramone introduced HB 175, AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE

RELATING TO EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN. Rep. Ramone said unified sports programs help to

build self-esteem for children and those who interact with the programs. He said the environment

created is for children to enjoy sports and interact with others to learn an immense amount.

Chair Jaques said there is a very successful program at Special Olympics Delaware and expanding it to a

larger pilot program through this bill is a great step forward.

Rep. Hensley said his daughter participated in a unified sports team and he watched overall participation

increase. He supported the bill.

A motion was made by Rep. Osienski and seconded by Rep. Miro to release the bill from committee.

Motion carried. Yes 8 (Jaques, Williams, Osienski, Ramone, Dukes, Kenton, Miro, Hensley); No 0; Absent 6 (Barbieri, Heffernan, Matthews, Bolden, Potter, Lynn). HB 175 was reported out of committee with an F=2, M=7, U=0 vote.

Rep. Williams introduced HJR 7, RE-ESTABLISHING THE COMMITTEE TO ADVANCE

EDUCATOR COMPENSATION AND CAREERS TO DEVELOP AN ALTERNATIVE

COMPENSATION STRUCTURE AND CAREER PATHWAY FOR EDUCATORS IN

DELAWARE. Rep Williams said this bill re-establishes the Committee to Advance Educator

Compensation and Careers in addition to establishing two sub-committees: the Educator Work Group

and the Technical Advisory Group. She said the committee will continue its work in developing a plan

for an alternative compensation structure and career pathway for educators aligned with the parameters

set forth in SB 254, including providing educators with a meaningful career pathway, including higher

starting salaries and recognition for working with high-needs students, and significant leadership

opportunities for career advancement that keeps talented educators in the classroom.

Rep. Kenton said this bill allows Delaware to move forward with additional perspectives on the issue.

Lindsay OMara, Office of Governor Jack Markell, thanked Reps. Williams and Kenton for serving on the committee for this issue.

A motion was made by Rep. Miro and seconded by Rep. Kenton to release the bill from committee.

Motion carried. Yes 9 (Jaques, Williams, Bolden, Osienski, Ramone, Dukes, Kenton, Miro, Hensley); No 0; Absent 5 (Barbieri, Heffernan, Matthews, Potter, Lynn). HJR 7 was reported out of committee with an F=0, M=10, U=0 vote.

Rep. Baumbach introduced HS 1 for HB 152, AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE

DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION. Rep. Baumbach said this bill has been brought

forward as a result of seeing decisions that districts feel they are compelled to make. He said Delaware


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has a changing system for funding education and this bill does not solve that. He said that libraries are a

cornerstone to our society and to our public schools. He said this bill makes a statement that the

legislature recognizes that Delaware cannot let that cornerstone crumble. Rep. Baumbach said a fiscal

note is attached to this bill, but posed the questions as to whether or not the Education Committee agrees

that libraries are a cornerstone to Delaware public schools.

The following individuals spoke in support of HS 1 for HB 152:

Jen Delgado, President of Delaware Association of School Librarians

Andrea Rashbaum, Literacy Coach

Molly Keohane, Librarian

Stephanie Wagner, Appoquinimink School District

Laurel Ferris, Delaware Library Association

Jennifer Haugh, Librarian

Susan Austin, Librarians of Appoquinimink

Peggy Dillner, Delaware Library Association

Annie Norma, State Librarian, Delaware Division of Libraries

Mike Matthews, Red Clay Education Association

Kevin Carson, Delaware Association of School Administrators, said DASA takes great pride and

concern about libraries and library services. He said librarians are important to school administrators. He

said sometimes administrators are in a regrettable position with a significant challenge. He said DASA

stands with librarians in a time of limited resources.

Due to a lack of sufficient committee members present for action, a motion was made by Rep. Miro and

seconded by Rep. Hensley to walk the bill for release from committee. Motion carried. Yes 6 (Jaques, Williams, Dukes, Kenton, Miro, Hensley); No 0; Absent 8 (Barbieri, Heffernan, Matthews, Bolden, Osienski, Potter, Lynn, Ramone). HS 1 for HB 152 was walked for release.

Chair Jaques announced that HJR 4 would remain in committee due to insufficient committee members

present to take action.

Chair Jaques adjourned the meeting at 5:17 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark Rucci, Legislative Fellow


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Addendum:

Letter from Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha

Letter from Tony Allen, 1

Letter from Tony Allen, 2

HB 152 Letters of Support

Education Committee Meeting Attendance List 6.17.15

1. Chris DiPietro, Microsoft

2. Michael Wagner, community member

3. Dianna McKellar, Lib Search

4. Sandra Millan, University of Delaware Library

5. Tracy Dorman, Delmar School District

6. Erin Daix, University of Delaware Library

7. Kendall Massett, Delaware Charter Schools Network

8. Pam Baker, Barbicare

9. Nitin Rao, Delaware Charter Schools Network

10. Christine Payne, Appoquinimink Libraries

11. Kathy McKay, Christina School District

12. Jen Delgado, Red Clay Consolidated School District

13. Cheryl Heiks, Google

14. Andrea Rashbaum, Literacy Coach

15. Molly Keohane, Elementary Librarian

16. Stephanie Wagner, community member

17. Laurel Ferris, Delaware Library Association

18. Jennifer Haugh, Librarian

19. Susan Austin, Librarians of Appoquinimink School District

20. Peggy Dillner, Delaware Library Association

21. Dr. Anne Norman, State Librarian, Delaware Division of Libraries

22. Joni Lupovitz, Common Sense Media

23. Yvonne Johnson, Delaware Parent Teacher Association

24. Kim Read, New Castle County Vo-Tech School District Librarian

25. Kevin Carson, Delaware Association of School Administrators

26. Christian Wright, Delaware Department of Justice

27. Debbie Marnelli, Red Clay Consolidated School District Librarian

28. Mary Jane Marraffini, Colonial School District Librarian

29. Mike Matthews, Red Clay Education Association

Documents

6.17.15 House Education Minutes