Community colleges get a boost

BOISE – Idaho needs to set up a statewide community college system now, education leaders told the Legislature’s joint budget committee in a special hearing Monday.

“The feeling of the board is that we do need to move forward this year … to begin a community college system in this state,” state Board of Education President Rod Lewis told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

Lawmakers have two proposals before them: One from Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to provide $5 million in “seed money” to establish community college services in unserved areas, and one from Rep. Ann Rydalch, R-Idaho Falls, and Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, to set up a statewide, state-funded system of five community colleges.

Goedde, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee during a two-hour special hearing that the proposal he’s backing would allow those who live near the state’s two existing community colleges – North Idaho College and the College of Southern Idaho – to vote on whether they want to join the state system or keep their existing college structure, including a locally elected college board of trustees. If they voted to join the state system, they’d no longer pay property taxes to support the local college.

“They’d have the option of retaining what they’ve got,” Goedde said.

Rydalch said, “It’s my opinion that community colleges ought to be broader based and not on the backs of the property taxpayer.”

Currently, only residents of Kootenai, Twin Falls and Jerome counties pay property taxes for college services. Elsewhere in the state, both two-year and four-year colleges have been fully state-funded.

In Idaho Falls, residents twice rejected property tax measures to form a community college district – but they got the two-year Eastern Idaho Technical College anyway, at state expense.

Under HB 699, each of the new community colleges around the state would have a board of trustees with half its members appointed by county commissioners and the other half by the governor.

Selection of college presidents would fall to the state Board of Education, with input from local community college boards.

With that exception, the boards would have duties similar to the current elected community college boards.

Rydalch estimated her plan would cost the state an additional $13 million next year, and ensure that community college services are available throughout the state. Eastern Idaho would become a community college, Lewis-Clark State College would open a community college division, and a new college would be added in the Boise area.

Kempthorne’s proposal empowers the Board of Education to establish community colleges where none exist using $5 million in competitive grants. Existing public colleges and universities could apply for funds to set up the new classes.

Finance-Appropriations Co-Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, was skeptical.

“This $5 million seems like such a patch on such a much, much larger issue,” she said.

The governor’s plan also calls for students’ home counties to pay the new community college operations a per-credit fee from their county liquor funds, just as they do now for students who attend NIC and CSI.

NIC President Michael Burke noted that NIC has had success with outreach campuses in Shoshone and Bonner counties, and is talking with Boundary County.

“Today is a testament to the success that CSI and NIC have enjoyed,” Burke said. “I want to applaud your recognition of the community colleges and the power they have to transform a community.”

When Rep. Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, asked why NIC and CSI don’t expand statewide, Burke responded, “At this point in time, we’re committed to stay in our service area, the five northern counties.”

“With what the governor has proposed,” he added, “we could be in Benewah County by next year.”

Boise State University President Bob Kustra said BSU has everything it needs – except state funding – to start a Boise-area community college. Students at BSU pay twice as much per credit as community college students.

Committee Co-Chairman Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said, “We’ve got a tough decision in front of us.”