College could drop out of association due to dispute about vo-tech control
BY: Jack “Miles” Ventimiglia, Editor

Legislation that appears to threaten community college control over vocational-technical education programs left several Johnson County Community College trustees seeking answers and Ben Hodge seeking retribution at last week's board meeting.

Hodge said he does not like the Kansas Board of Regents overseeing a new group formed to handle vo-tech education issues. Senate bill 2556 establishes a 12-member group, under the State Board of Regents, with authority reserved formerly for community colleges.

“I'm of a mind that this will take money from community colleges,” Hodge, a Kansas House member, told the board.

Hodge said more bureaucracy could cost taxpayers more money and he criticized the regents.

“I do not consider the Board of Regents a friend to taxpayers,” Hodge said.

He began flogging regents on a separate issue, for backing university maintenance funds, but trustees Chairman Lynn Mitchelson suggested focusing the discussion on the vo-tech issue.

Hodge slammed the Kansas Association of Community Colleges Trustees for failing in lobbying efforts to prevent SB 2556's passage. He said Johnson County Community College should consider withdrawing from the association and saving about $45,000 in annual dues.

“If we walk away, the association in my opinion doesn't exist,” Mitchelson said.

The college provides about 25 percent of the association's funding.

“It may come down to whether JCCC wants to be a team player,” interim college President Larry Tyree said.

Money community colleges spend on vo-tech makes local control vital, trustees' lobbyist Robert J. Vancrum said after the meeting. He estimated community colleges, which draw funds from local tax dollars, provide 70 percent of vo-tech instruction to Kansans.

“These technical colleges who provide only 30 percent of the total credit hours in technical training are now getting their own governance organization – which implies control over our vocational education,” Mitchelson said.

Rather than punt the association over a perceived lack of effort to kill the bill, Tyree during the meeting suggested asking an association member to explain the situation to the board.

After the meeting, Vancrum said he did not know everything that might be lost by withdrawing from the association.

“You would lose some coordination, some collaboration, with the other 18 community colleges,” he said.

Mitchelson said the association's inability to defeat the bill should not be held to a higher standard than the board holds Vancrum, who lobbies for the college directly.

“It's time for us to sit down with Mr. Vancrum and see what he's done (in cooperation with the association to defeat the bill),” Mitchelson said, “We need to determine, was it out of their control or could they have influenced it a little bit more?”