Panel wants top education officials to be appointed

A proposal for the most dramatic changes in education leadership in 60 years should help propel a legislative debate about who will run state schools and colleges in Missouri.

The Missouri State Government Review Commission wants to give governors the power to directly appoint the heads of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Higher Education.

Giving the governor power to name the state's top educators would, according to the commission, make the governor responsible for the results of education policies.

The commission also wants to overhaul the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, replacing the current membership with seven campus leaders from across the state and two non-educators.

The proposals are designed to at least generate debate about education leadership, especially about the authority of the coordinating board, said commission member Charles McClain of Columbia.

"The coordinating board was crafted to be weak and ineffective by design, and it has lived up to its reputation," McClain said.

McClain was commissioner of higher education from 1989 to 1995. Prior to that he was president of Northeast Missouri State University, now Truman State University, when it transformed into a liberal arts college.

The ongoing dispute between Southeast Missouri State University and Three Rivers Community College highlights deficiencies in the coordinating board, many state leaders say. Three Rivers established six new education centers in the Bootheel this fall after Southeast decided to take over three centers the two schools ran jointly.

Three Rivers filed a lawsuit in March alleging breach of contract.

The coordinating board has no power to impose a resolution of the conflict. The extreme step to coordinate higher education would be to turn over authority over the budget and top personnel to the coordinating board, McClain said. Lawmakers probably wouldn't go that far to remove authority from institutions in their districts, he added.

"In my view, you can spell out all the powers you want, but unless the coordinating board has the power to hire and fire presidents, there is really no way to bring about discipline," McClain said.

The commission's proposal for the coordinating board includes two permanent seats for the University of Missouri, for the president and a campus chancellor; two presidents from other four-year state colleges or universities; two community college presidents; and a president of an independent college.

Putting the college presidents and chancellors on the board in place of members from the public would bring "cohesiveness and accountability" to the higher education, the commission says in its report.

Not since 1945

The proposed changes would require legislative action. The last time such leadership changes took place was in 1945, when a new state constitution replaced the elected superintendent of public instruction with a commissioner of education appointed by the state school board.

Higher education received a similar structure in 1974, when a new department was created and the Coordinating Board for Higher Education received the power to name the commissioner.

Many legislative and education leaders agree that the structure of higher education needs a careful review. But the president of the state board of education said he doesn't believe any changes are needed in leadership for the public schools.

The most important aspect of leadership to make schools better is continuity, said Peter Herschend of Branson, founder of Silver Dollar City and a board member since 1991. Changing leaders when the state changes governors could disrupt the department and its efforts to improve schools, he said.

"Just as you and I would see the question of education differently, the likelihood of us having a parallel or identical agenda is darn near zero," he said. "It isn't a matter of good or bad or right or wrong. It is a function of continuity."

Lawmakers approved the Outstanding Schools Act in 1993, a package of tax hikes and school improvement programs. This year, the Missouri Legislature approved an overhaul of the way schools are funded.

'They don't have a voice'

The board is responsible for directing implementation of those legislative initiatives, and the commissioner reports to the board, Herschend noted. The biggest responsibility of the agency, he said, is helping children.

"We have a system that is getting academic results for our constituency," he said. "They don't have a voice. They are the ones the board and the administration really represent."

The improvements in student achievement aren't coming fast enough, said state Rep. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield. Cunningham chairs the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

A governor-appointed department head would push for results, she said. "You would more likely see more movement from the department, with more creative ideas and more innovation," Cunningham said.

Imposing an educational vision can take years, she noted. State board members serve for eight years, the maximum time a governor can serve, she noted.

Most legislators asked about the commission's higher education proposals didn't express much enthusiasm.

The question of who names the top officials in each department is a minor point, said Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin and chair of the Senate Education Committee.

And giving college presidents seats on the coordinating board just sounds like a bad idea, he said. "That would get a pretty chilly reception in the legislature," Nodler said.

Rep. Gayle Kingery, R-Poplar Bluff, has said he plans to craft a solution to the dispute between Three Rivers and Southeast if it isn't settled by the time lawmakers return to work in January. Kingery could not be reached for this story.

Arbitration inadequate

But Nodler said lawmakers may need to do that at the same time they are considering what extra power to give the coordinating board.

Their role as arbitrator in the current instance is inadequate, he said. "It is a case study in why the coordinating board needs to be strengthened."

Exactly how much power to give the coordinating board is a matter for debate, Nodler said. The power needs to be balanced to fit the problems, he said.

The current commissioner of higher education, Gregory Fitch, took over in January after being hired by the board. That same month, a new governor, Matt Blunt, took office.

The board has sufficient authority to coordinate higher education, Fitch said. A coordinator is not a controller. "The strength of the Missouri system is local autonomy to respond to local needs," Fitch said.

He did not make a recommendation on what authority the board should have. He did agree that to settle a dispute like the one between Southeast and Three Rivers, additional authority would be required.

Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins wants that authority to be budgetary. When a school doesn't comply with coordinating board policies or recommendations, he said, the board should have the power to withhold state funding.

A solution to the dispute between Three Rivers and Southeast was mediated by Fitch in March, Dobbins said. But it was rejected by the Three Rivers board.

"If you have the ability to withhold until everyone is in compliance, that is a good solution," Dobbins said.

As far as putting college presidents on the board, Dobbins said that is a bad idea. "You could have representatives only from the I-70 corridor," he said. "You need to have a balance."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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