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tion Committee. Once again this year, I have been charged with the responsibility of chairing House Tax. In most cases, our committees have had organizational meetings and have heard from the departments that will be testifying most often before us. While some bill hearings have taken place, most committees will hold their first hearings this-coming week.
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• On the House floor, we heard two resolutions that emerged from the Interim Education Funding Formula Study Committee. The first one discussed the importance of schools working together to provide as many educational opportunities as possible to their students. It recognized that distance-learning has become an integral part of delivering educational services while overcoming geographic barriers and achieving more efficiencies that were not possible in days-gone-by. That resolution passed 68-0.
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• The second resolution proved to be more controversial. It came out of the summer study with less support from the committee than the first resolution, and it met with opposition on the floor, as well. While I support much of the resolution, I felt compelled to speak against it because of language contained within the first line. As many of you know, I grew up in Doland. I was educated by some of the finest teachers in the state. Many of those teachers remained in the Doland school system for 20 & 30+ years. Likewise, I have substitute taught in four rural school districts for the past 14 years. I have seen first-hand the dedication of many staff members who have devoted their lives to their students, their schools, and their communities. That said, back to the resolutions...the first sentence says, "...school districts (Continued on page 7)
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