Officials seek governing board

More than 365,000 students attend community colleges in Pennsylvania.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- Leaders of Pennsylvania's community colleges have made a pitch to a Senate panel for long-sought legislation to create a statewide governing board, saying the 14 schools lack a voice within state government in policy and funding decisions.
"What we're really trying to advocate for is [for you] to give us the opportunity to be our own advocates, and create a separate board that will allow us to sit at the big table, not at the card table in the living room," said Jerome S. Parker, president of Delaware County Community College.
Parker was among four community college presidents who discussed the legislation last week, as well as concerns about funding, at a Senate Education Committee hearing.
More than 365,000 Pennsylvanians attend community colleges, which offer two-year programs that enable students to either transfer to four-year schools to earn bachelor's degrees or work in fields such as nursing and computer technology after graduation. They also offer job retraining to displaced workers.
Concerned
Stephen M. Curtis, president of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, a private advocacy group, expressed concern that recent state aid increases have not kept pace with record enrollments spurred by a difficult economy. Schools have been forced to raise tuition and fees and reduce staff and programs to compensate, he said.
"Access is in jeopardy -- and for many Pennsylvanians, community colleges are the only avenue to higher education or to better skills for employment," said Curtis, who also is president of the Community College of Philadelphia.
Although the schools are public institutions, they are established locally through sponsorships by school districts, counties or municipalities.
College costs are shared by the local sponsors, students and the state, and the schools often charge higher tuition for students who live outside the local sponsorship areas.
The schools are receiving nearly $214 million in state subsidies for the current fiscal year, an average of $1,365 per full-time student, Curtis said. The state's funding formula calls for $1,500 per student.
"This is the first year in the history of community colleges that the state has not met its statutory obligation," Curtis said.
Legislation
Identical bills that have circulated in the House and Senate call for a board composed of 11 members appointed by the governor and four members appointed by legislative leaders. The House version was passed by that chamber in June 2003, and it is currently awaiting action in the education committee along with the Senate version, sponsored by Sen. James Rhoades, R-Schuylkill, the committee's chairman.
Rhoades said he would like the idea to gain some traction in the Legislature, especially in the context of recent legislation that has been passed to spur business development.
"If I'm going to create jobs, I have to have people trained to be able to fit into them," he said.
But Gov. Ed Rendell would veto the bill if it reaches his desk, spokesman Abe Amoros said.
"We do not believe a commission is the best way to go. We would be creating another layer of government," Amoros said.
The state has been working to help the colleges in areas such as work-force development programs, and Rendell has proposed increasing their state subsidies by 5 percent and providing a separate line item for capital projects in the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, Amoros added.
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