House approves board of trustees for community colleges

Alabama's two-year colleges would be given their own board of trustees under a bill passed Thursday morning by the House of Representatives.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, would take the two-year college system out from the oversight of the State Board of Education. Supporters said it would better align the priorities of the two-year system toward workforce training; critics, including members of the Board of Education, said the bill gave too much power to the governor and would undermine the academic mission of the system.

House members approved the bill on an 82 to 11, with almost no debate. The lower chamber made changes to the bill, which passed the Senate on March 19. The Senate will have to concur in the changes or form a conference committee.

Supporters have said the legislation would help the system refocus on training, and possibly help the state land businesses by augmenting the quality of the workforce. Rep. Steve McMillan, R-Daphne, cited the need for tens of thousands of new workers in the coming years, and said the reorganization of the governance of the board would help achieve that.

"This is a strong indication that our best way to meet workforce requirements and skills requirements and academic requirements will come from existing facilities," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Alabama Community College System said chancellor Mark Heinrich had no comment.

Betty Peters and Stephanie Bell, members of the State Board of Education, expressed concerns about the bill Thursday, particularly a provision allowing trustees to participate in meetings electronically, which they said would equate to a private meeting.

"I am really concerned that due to the lack of transparency in meetings and all, and the lack of accountability," Peters said. "That board will not be accountable to voters or to any parents or students."

Bell, whose she was also concerned about a provision in the bill that allows board members to participate in meetings electronically, which she said would mean less accountability.

Bell was also worried about the governor's appointment power and the effect on Board's ability to advocate for K-12 students in dual enrollment programs in two-year colleges.

"It boils down to a return to corruption for a system that is ripe for corruption," she said.

House Speaker Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, however, argued that a board with a business element would be better able to communicate their needs to a chancellor, and argued the new system would "take some of the politics out of it."

"You're going to have a chancellor who is an academician," Hubbard said. "He understands that sure, you're going to have students matriculate into the four-year system; that's always going to be a part of it. But the main focus is going to be workforce development."

The House version struck out language that would have banned political contributors to the governor from being appointed to the board. The bills as it passed the House says board members shall be "free from any contractual, employment, personal, or familial financial interest" in the two-year college system.

The board would consist of eight voting members, one from each congressional district and an at-large member. Members from congressional districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 would serve an initial term of two years, then four years afterward. The remaining members, including the at-large members, would serve initial terms of four years, and four-year terms following. No trustee would be able to serve more than two consecutive terms.