Unfortunately, there are enough votes in the Legislature for LB1157 to go through without it, he said.

(Advertisement)

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ron Raikes and which Christensen has voted against, would mandate a statewide system of testing instead of the current method of districts coming up with their own testing.

LB1157 would amend the Quality Education Accountability Act that would include testing in grades three through eight and one grade in high school and also a statement of purpose that the system would "comply with federal assessment and accountability requirements."

According to Christensen, an online testing system developed by Paul Ekberg, technology adviser to Chase County schools, is being used by 96 schools, from Class A to Class D schools, such as North Platte, McCook, Cambridge and Chase County. An in-state provider of a testing model would be preferable than using one from another state, he said, adding that Sen. Raikes seemed surprised about the number of schools using Ekberg's online testing.

But to Christensen, the concept was a no-brainer.

"If it's working, why re-invent the wheel?" Christensen said. In discussions with teachers and superintendents in his district about a state-wide testing, he's found that "Teachers don't want another written test."

Although he said he understands how uniform tests can be beneficial, some schools can appear to perform poorly if other factors such as poverty aren't taken into account. In addition, Christensen said he would like to see an amendment that would create a committee of teachers for input on statewide testing.

In another school bill, Christensen said LB988, also introduced by Raikes, would change the structure of formula needs for school districts and would be back before the Legislature later today.

The bill would base school district budget authority on a new needs calculation that would compare school districts of similar size to determine a basic funding level.

This bill, if approved on final reading, would not affect the McCook School so much, Christensen said, as it would lower the expected increase in state aid. But schools in smaller, sparsely-populated areas such as Chase County, Benkelman and Hayes Center, along with a school district in Omaha, may lose a significant amount of state aid, he said.

The senator said he's been working behind the scenes and "digging into" the issues to see if the bill is fair for students in every school and believes that he will ultimately vote against it.

"I can't see voting against my district," he said.

The bill does include an amendment calling for a 95 percent stabilization to allow smaller schools to plan for the decrease. Final reading of the bill will occur sometime after Friday, he said.

Christensen weighed in on other issues, including:

* The location of the State Fair is still in limbo, as the matter has not moved out of committee yet. An agreement is still needed between the University of Nebraska and the State Fair Board but no definite location, whether Grand Island, Lincoln or elsewhere, has been determined yet.

* a new tax on gasoline, based on price and not amount sold, was approved on first round approval and would raise costs to 4.5 cents per gallon and garner the Roads Department about $30 million. Christensen the increase would be used for maintenance on state roads but not allow for new road construction.

* the vacancy left by the recent resignation of Ann Bleed, Director of the Department of Natural Resources will be difficult to fill unless the pay is increased significantly, Christensen said. It will be difficult to find an engineer to take the job and the responsibility it entails at the current salary of $109,000. The job requires a person with good public relation skills, he said, as the individual would have to be able to work with natural resources districts, irrigation districts, the legislature and the State of Kansas. Chrisensen had no word when the position would be filled.