Himschoot's Bill Goes to Governor

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Category: Local News

Created on Tuesday, 21 May 2024 15:17

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Rep. Rebecca Himschoot hopes the bill she successfully ushered through the 33rd Legislature will provide school districts with effective tools to recruit and retain experienced teachers.
    “Districts are struggling to staff schools,” said Himschoot, whose House District 2 includes Sitka, Petersburg and dozens of small Southeast communities. “We’re trying to add more tools for districts to fill positions with the best teachers they can get,” she said.
    House Bill 230, sponsored by Himschoot, is an education reform package that includes elements of other bills sponsored by Sen. Jesse Bjorkman and Rep. Maxine Dibert. All three are teachers by profession.
    The three provisions of the legislation should 1) remove barriers for recruiting experienced teachers from out of state; 2) increase the number of allowable days retired teachers can serve as substitutes, by 33 percent; and 3) create an incentive for teachers to gain national board certification.
    “It became a better and better bill,” said Himschoot, noting the provisions of SB215 and HB147 included in her bill. “I hope the governor signs it and it becomes law.”
    Dibert, a Democrat from Fairbanks, is a member of the Alaska House Coalition of mostly Democrats. Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, is a member of the Senate Majority. Himschoot is nonpartisan and is a member of the House majority coalition.
    HB 230 is intended to address a teacher shortage around the state, and create incentives for hiring and retaining more experienced – and generally better – teachers.
    Sitka and other larger districts in Southeast are cutting teaching positions, but Himschoot said, “If we find key policy changes that we can implement statewide, and we help any district, it’s a huge win.”
    Himschoot, a retired Sitka School District teacher, got the ball rolling by introducing a bill that will give districts greater latitude in recruiting teachers from out of state, and allow them to be placed higher on the salary scale.
    The current statute allows teachers from out of state with bachelor’s degrees to bring up to six years of pay seniority from their previous position, and incoming teachers with master’s degrees can carry eight years. HB230 will remove that limit.
    “That limit made sense when we had a defined benefit (retirement) program,” Himschoot said. “It’s a small measure we can take to hire experienced teachers, which we generally know are the best teachers.”
    Himschoot noted that removing the limit was one of the recommendations from Gov. Dunleavy’s teacher recruitment and retention task force, and should allow the state to attract more experienced teachers to schools in Alaska.
    Himschoot said Bjorkman and Dibert had other bills on pay incentives in the works, which worked well to include in her Himschoot’s original bill.
    Dibert’s additions would increase the number of days retired teachers can serve as substitutes, which will help districts facing teaching staff shortages. The current limit is 120; the new limit would be 165.
    “This gives you time to find a teacher by putting in a retired teacher,” Himschoot said.
    “This bill is a common sense solution, incentivizing our retired teachers to return to the classroom, while bolstering the educational landscape of Alaska,” said Dibert in a news release from Himschoot’s office.
    Bjorkman sponsored a bill to encourage certification under the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, by offering a $5,000 annual bonus for teachers to complete four training modules and HB230 includes a provision to reimburse teachers for the training.
    “Not everyone makes it through but you become a better teacher for trying,” Himschoot said. “This incentivizes the creation of black belt Ninja teachers. It incentivizes teachers to get their certification, and to stay current.”
    A total of 215 teachers in Alaska currently have this certification.
    Bjorkman said in the news release:
    “We know we need to do more for our schools in Alaska, and this merit-based bonus will help ensure that each dollar we spend to incentivize teachers to stay will get the most return on investment by not only putting money in teachers’ pockets, but also ensuring that those pockets belong to the most highly qualified teachers in the state.”
    Sitka Schools Superintendent Deidre Jenson said the challenges of teacher recruitment and retention are somewhat different here, where cost of living is a major obstacle. But she said she sees ways the bill will help in filling long-term sub positions here, and boosting salaries to help other districts fill positions with out-of-state teachers.