Global Courant 2023-05-02 22:09:27
Changes in how North Carolina’s community college system is governed are moving forward again within the General Assembly after action on the legislation stalled last week.
The Senate Education Committee on Monday approved the measure desired by Republicans that would give more nominations from state community colleges and local board members to the General Assembly and take them away from the governor and local officials.
However, the measure was amended to remove many specific additional powers for the president of the state community college system that GOP lawmakers had sought to transfer from the system board. Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger suggested last week that granting those additional presidential powers was contingent on the legislature being able to vet the state system’s presidential candidates.
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Since the original bill was debated, the State Board of Community Colleges hired Wilkes Community College President Jeff Cox to become the next president of the 58-college system. Cox signed his employment contract last week, a State Community College spokesman confirmed Monday. The amended measure still says the election of the president by the state council must be confirmed by the General Assembly, but bill sponsor Senator Amy Galey of Alamance County told the committee it would apply to future hirings.
Most of the proposed nomination changes remained intact on Monday. The state council would eventually be reduced from 21 voting members to 18 by 2027, with the House and Senate each electing nine four-year terms. Currently, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper selects 10 members and the General Assembly selects eight. The lieutenant governor, labor commissioner and state treasurer would no longer be on the board.
Senator Phil Berger speaks in the Senate chambers in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 21, 2016. Berger spoke of a revised bill that would shift Governor Roy Cooper’s power to elect the boards of community colleges to the General Assembly. (Travis Long/Raleigh News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
As for local college boards, school district councils would no longer hold seats, leaving the positions elected by legislative leaders and district commissioners. In a concession to local governments that often help fund campuses, county commissioners could designate one person from their membership to serve on the local community college.
Republican lawmakers have said the changes will help address system campuses’ shortcomings in training students to fill positions in growing industries.
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“The overall intent of the bill remains to increase our workforce development capacity,” Galey said Monday.
She has also previously said that the state constitution gives the legislature the responsibility to elect higher education board members.
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Cooper’s office has criticized the proposal, calling the nomination change a political power grab that would hurt hiring efforts.
“I am concerned… that we are changing the governance of the community college structure far too quickly without consulting the necessary stakeholder groups,” said Democratic Sen. Jay Chaudhuri of Wake County, before the amended measure was passed by a vote . .
The measure is likely to be heard on the Senate floor this week.
