Op-Ed Columns

The dust-up between Chancellor Bradley Byrne and Paul Hubbert, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, over the control of the two-year college system is the result of decades of scheming and manipulation, more recently characterized by fraud and corruption.

Resolution requires a better understanding of how we got where we are. To do this, it is helpful to review the events relating to public education in Alabama for the past 50-odd years.

In keeping with his strong populist beliefs, the George Wallace era produced profound changes in the state's education system. The seeds of the two-year system had been planted in 1961 with the legislative authorization of two junior colleges during the previous administration. It was, however, the passage of the Trade School and Junior College Authority Act in 1963 that provided for the establishment of the statewide system administered by the State Board of Education.

In those days, Wallace enjoyed having coffee with the local press in the cafeteria of the old Capitol. On one such occasion, according to the late Bob Ingram, dean of the capitol press corps, the group set about suggesting names for the junior colleges: Jefferson Davis, Patrick Henry, and the like. When one of the reporters noted that they had created more names than they had colleges, Wallace promptly replied, "We'll just start some more then!" And so it grew to the plethora of campuses and branches we have today.

Prior to that addition of authority, the State Board of Education was primarily occupied with the administration of the public schools. Ancillary to that responsibility was the administration of the state teacher's colleges at Florence, Jacksonville, Troy and Livingston. In 1967, however, the teacher's colleges were removed from the jurisdiction of the State Board of Education, each given its own independent board of trustees, and given the charge of being a state university.

Also, the State Department of Education was further politicized; the board, formerly appointed, was made elective, and the superintendent, formerly elective, was made appointive by the board.

This expansion of the state's educational enterprise gave the governor an opportunity to repay many political favors and reward his loyal supporters by appointment to the governing boards or as presidents of the new universities, junior colleges and trade schools. The governor is the de facto chairman of the board of all the educational governing boards in the state.

Two further events occurred during the 1970s. First, the Legislature changed from biennial budget appropriations to an annual appropriations schedule. Secondly, passage of the ethics law and establishment of the Ethics Commission brought about changes in the Legislature. All state employees were required to furnish pertinent information about their financial resources/obligations and other facets of their professional/business life. One of these requirements was the reporting of business clients, which hit particularly hard at some professionals. Attorneys, historically well represented in the Legislature, were among those most affected. For proprietary reasons, many were unable or unwilling to divulge their firm's client lists and consequently chose not to run for re-election.

The AEA was quick to seize this opportunity. The AEA selectively supported candidates loyal to their causes. Many of these candidates were employed in the education system or were in some way connected to education, leading to the current double-dipping problem. Since at least the early 1970s, Alabama has been renowned among the Southern states for the number of education employees serving in the state Legislature. Byrne's efforts strike at the root of this problem.

Current pending legislation, Senate Bill 292, would require the State Department of Education to submit all of its administrative procedures to the Legislature for review. This would include the pending rules changes eliminating "double dipping." Since this would affect a substantial number of legislators, it is highly unlikely that the proposed changes would pass muster by a group whose members include many who viewed the change as a threat to their livelihood.

There is a clear solution. The Post Secondary Division of the State Department of Education should be removed from the purview of the State Department of Education. A separate administrative board should be created for the two-year college system, an independent Board of Trustees with the authority to hire its own staff and develop its own administrative procedures. This board should stand in the same relationship to the executive and legislative branches as do the universities.

This is not a new idea, but it is one whose time has certainly come.

John F. Porter Jr. was executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education from 1973-82. He lives on Dauphin Island.