Education Interim Committee

from major national organizations. She described the interactive multimedia Web site that will provide high-quality science, math, and technology instruction to families in their homes, to students in the classroom, and to schools, libraries, and community centers throughout the state.
    
    Because of the recommendation from the Education Interim Committee to the Joint Liaison Committee, Wag has received support for the Utah Education Initiative. Not only will the Initiative partner the Utah Education Network(UEN) and UtahLINK, but it will promote some national partnerships. Utah has one of the best core curricula standards in the country. Also, the Wag site is designed so that families can access answers to their science, math and technology questions and teachers can use the site in the classroom. They will also have strong connections to higher education.

    Wag is requesting a Legislative appropriation to help fund the intitiative that represents less than 10 percent of its overall program budget, with the remaining costs of the program being funded nationally. Since the proposed Initiative will sunset in 2004 unless preauthorized, the project will be accountable to the state. Ms. Nibley stated that the budget request will be made by the UEN, but Wag is requesting an endorsement by the Education Committee at this time.

     MOTION:    Rep. Buffmire moved that the Education Interim Committee support the Utah Education Initiative.

     SUBSTITUTE MOTION:     In light of many programs that are available, Sen. Hillyard moved to ask the Joint Liaison Committee to review educational programs being proposed statewide, list and prioritize them (noting those that are currently being funded and those that are not), and make its recommendations for support. Included in the motion is a letter of support to the Joint Liaison Committee for this kind of policy. The motion passed unanimously.

    Commissioner Foxley said at the time the Initiative had been proposed to the Joint Liaison Committee, support had been expressed for it. She reminded the committee that during the 1998 General Session, the UEN line item was transferred from public education to higher education and support from both appropriation sub-committees, the Education Interim Committee, and Executive Appropriations will be needed for the planned expansion of UEN.

4.    Rural Schools Report and Recommendations for Small Schools Options - Dr. Adrian VanMondfrans, Co-director, Western Institute for Research and Evaluation, assisted by Ivan Beus, member of the State Rural Education Association, and Kirk Wright, President of the Rural Schools Association, reviewed the Utah Rural Schools Association Evaluation Report and listed the sources from which data was gathered. Their review included such topics as difficulty in scheduling AP classes, distance learning opportunities, teacher salary and incentives, and curricula and results of nationally standardized tests. In light of the current difficulties in offering more than the basic curriculum, the increase in the O&M budget, and the age of many rural school buildings, the report

recommends that the current formulas for funding schools in rural areas be reconsidered. The committee accepted the report and took no other formal action on this item.
    
5.    Extracurricular Activities Report and Recommendations - Kirk Wright, Past President of the Utah High Schools Activities Association, assisted by Evan Excell, Executive Director, Utah High School Activities Association, reviewed the organization of the Utah High School Activities Association, its budget, what it sponsors, and the recommendations and policy changes related to reducing the amount of class time missed for participants in extracurricular activities. They noted that the actual number of activities sponsored by the Association is limited, and an official report outlining what those activities are and the number of staff and students involved will be coming to the committee, possibly within the month. Because of the controversial nature of high school activities, a task force was formed in 1997 to review class time missed because of extracurricular activities. The task force membership consisted of members of the Utah High School Activities Association Board of Trustees, Utah School Board Association, and State Board of Education. Mr. Wright reviewed recommendations made by the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee, which is the administrative arm of the Utah High School Activities Association.

    Mr. Scott Bean, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, commended the Utah High School Activities Association for changes that are being made. He was concerned with statutory reporting mechanism required by the Legislature for gathering and reporting information on extracurricular activities.

    Mr. Steve Laing, Associate Superintendent, stated that information gathered by the State Office of Education during the past school year was used to measure time out of school for students and staff, but collecting information during the summer has been difficult. His concern is that the law requires reporting time out of school for all school activities, which is a monumental task. He noted that the annual report is to be given to the Legislature in December of 1998, and felt it might be incomplete because of the immensity of the task. He requested the legislation be modified during the 1999 Legislative General Session.

    Sen. Hull said he felt the Legislature's intent was only to gather information regarding time out of class, not the total time of all activities.
    
6.    Inspection of School Construction Audit Report and Recommendations - Leslie Marks, Audit Project Director, gave an overview of the Inspection of School Construction Audit and identified several areas of concern. Assisted by Wayne Welsh and Rick Coleman, she also reviewed recommendations of things the Utah State Office of Education could do to help resolve some of the concerns.

     Mr. Bean responded to the report and assured the committee that each superintendent does everything possible to guarantee safe schools, and that most of the construction has certified and

proper inspections. He suggested the law should be modified so the State Office of Education is not responsible for the inspection of school buildings; but so that each local superintendent ensures that proper and certified inspectors are used and a thorough plan review takes place by an independent architect, engineer, and inspector. He also assured the committee that no district superintendent will ever pressure an inspector to compromise the integrity of a building as was suggested by the audit. He also suggested that a procedural manual be prepared for the districts to use as a guideline. He said a committee is being formed to bring specific recommendations to the next meeting of the Education Interim Committee.

    Rep. Hogue encouraged the committee members to read the audit report carefully and not minimize the concerns expressed in the audit.

    Rep. Allen requested that the State Board of Education report back to the committee regarding the implementation of the audit recommendations.

    Sen. Steele reaffirmed the need for the committee to discuss oversight issues.
    
7.    Preschool and Kindergarten Literacy Proposal - Julie Baker and Jan Dole, State Office of Education - Because of time constraints, this topic will be presented at a later time.

8.    Coordination of Best Practices in Public Education - Legislative Staff - Because of time constraints, this topic will be presented at a later time.

    Sen. Steele noted that the committee had not scheduled a date for its September meeting. The committee agreed to meet on September 23, 1998 at 9:00 a.m.

9.    Adjournment

    MOTION:    Sen. Hull moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:45 p.m.. The motion passed unanimously.