Sonia Gallivis, District 16 — Introduces and begins presenting House Bill 815 on behalf of Answer Charter School.
Dave Lent — Chairman/Dave Lent is addressed by name during opening remarks, then later presides over the vote on House Bill 815 and introduces House Bill 849, which he presents as the next item. The sequence also includes a request for him to state his name and representation for the record, all within the same hearing context.
Dave Lent — Chairman Lent is addressed by the witness during opening testimony, with the witness thanking him and the committee. The exchange then transitions to the chair’s response, where he thanks Dr. Jansen and opens the floor for committee questions.
Dave Lent — Dave Lent closes by arguing that the measure addresses workforce retention and advancement in a practical two-step way: first bringing people in by recognizing prior experience, then helping them move up the career ladder. He says that if employees go four years without a raise, inflation effectively cuts their pay, making it harder for districts to recruit and retain staff. He adds that relying on contracting is more expensive than keeping employees, and urges members to support the bill with an aye vote.
Heather Dennis — Former executive director of Answer Charter School begins testimony.
Joy Jansen — Joy Jansen is initially listed as an online witness, then appears to testify but apologizes and explains that she registered for the wrong bill. She clarifies that she intended to testify on a different bill, and the chair tells her they will come back to her on the next bill instead.
Jessica Salazar — The chair lists Jessica Salazar as an online witness for the bill and then transitions to her in sequence, indicating the committee is moving on to hear from her.
Jessica Salfeater — Jessica Salfeater, a District 22 resident speaking for herself, testified in support of House Bill 815. She explained her family and professional circumstances, including running the office of her husband’s psychiatric practice, and described how transportation funding and busing would affect her family and child, noting that they would like to use busing next year. She concluded by offering to answer questions.
Sarah Wilson — Sarah Wilson, operations director at Answer Charter School, testified about the school’s transportation program and the funding challenges it faces. She explained that transportation is central to Answer’s learning model, but the historical transportation funding calculation leaves the school with a significant ongoing gap. She noted that this issue is unique to Answer and not an ongoing fiscal impact for newer schools, and concluded by asking to be treated the same as other schools that operate transportation programs.
Carrie Semmelroth — Made the motion to send House Bill 815 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.
Kevin Cook — Kevin Cook asked whether the bill would apply to any other schools and whether the numbers had been checked, and the follow-up identified the speaker in the presentation context.
Kevin Cook — The speaker addressed Senator Cook.
James Woodward — Representative Galavis is referenced by name in the discussion; the transcript says 'Representative Galavis' and 'Representative Galviz' in response to Senator Cook.
James Woodward — The transcript says 'Representative Galavis/Galvez' inconsistently, referring to the bill presenter who is asked to state their name.
James Woodward — Referenced as one of the members who had helped explain parts of the career ladder earlier in the discussion.
James Woodward — A senator is addressed in the course of yielding time; the transcript likely refers to a committee member, but the exact member is unclear.
James Woodward — Senator Woodward seconded the motion to send House Bill 849 to the floor with a do pass recommendation, and was then asked whether he had any discussion or an alternate motion during the vote process.
Jared Taitro — Jared Taitro is introduced to explain the handouts and career ladder changes, and he identifies himself as being with the Legislative Services Office and the Impact Review Team.
Dr. Joy Jansen — Dr. Joy Jansen, Director of Special Services and Federal Programs for the Lake Ponday School District, introduces herself and testifies in support of House Bill 849. She explains that her comments focus on pupil services staff, noting that these positions fall under her responsibilities and are relevant to the staffing challenges she is addressing.
Dr. Joy Jansen — Her testimony was cited regarding the cost of contracting services.
Dr. Jansen — Closed testimony and asked for support of House Bill 849.
Cindy Carlson — The chair called on Representative Galavis for a question, and Galavis immediately responded by thanking the chairman and Senator Carlson.
Tammy Nichols — Senator Carlson asked for clarification about whether the bill places career and technical education instructors and pupil service staff on the career ladder, and then followed up to confirm whether pupil service staff had been on the ladder previously. The response clarified that pupil service staff were not previously included.
Van Burtenshaw — Makes the motion to send House Bill 849 to the floor with a do pass recommendation.