Uec. J.J J°f9i., -ua.n. :J, l'19'1 """\ lf\clo---1-1,,,,_ -:16 .M3U Clip sheetVES L · ··- EHEAD, KY 40361-1689 606 783 2030 EXINGTON· H~LEADER; LEXINGTON, Kv;c ■ SUNDAY, DECEMBER' 22, 1996 - - 11 POLITICAL NOTEBOOK complaining loud and long that the The Sunday Independent, Ashland, Kentucky, •git d~ system cost them too much money. December 22, 1996 l er e There was some general agreement 20 colleges H on the pieces needed for a major .. .- overhaul of the system, and a lot of bac· k tutor ~:IT beast legislators had signed on. ; yy The train already had a head of a1· ne : . steam before Patton got on board .. PrOpOS S ,P p . tt although without his strong lead~- WASHINGTON (AP) - _l Or . a On, ship it migh~ not h~ve gone any- Promoting . his goal · of . where. To his credit, he took over "shining the light of lit- ·-- and drove it. eracy" on millions, Presi- ·"t·ame With postsecondary education, dent Clinton said Satur- . there b/ls been no widespread cry day . he hopes to use a to for change: There isn't general new work-study program agreement on what it will take to to enlist an army· of lit- As college students cranuned to make the system considerably bet- • eracy tutors on college finish up finals last week, some ter, at least not yet, and therefore no campuses.. .. higher education advocates started consensus among legislators. Clinton .said 20 leading trying to turn up the volume in a Patton has taken a political risk college_ presidents have ~mpaign that could be a key factor by making improvements in post- pledged · to dedicate half m Gov. Paul Patton's next big test secondary education a centerpiece their federally fu.nded - making significant improve­ of his goals. But he knows how work-study slots to those ments in postsecondary education. tough a challenge he faces and he students willing to work At a meeting in Louisville, cur­ has laid some good groundwork. as reading tutors for rent and former members of the In the workers' comp debate, young children. Council on Higher Education Patton developed a key ally in busi- "Right away this sharply criticized the way higher ness. He'll cash in those chips now to should give us thousands education is governed in Kentucky get business il<lcking for whatever of new tutors, a down and called for radical change. pl~ he <:?mes up with on higher edu- payment toward our. goal Expect to hear a lot more of that . cation. Higher education needs sup- of enlisting 100,000 work- kind of talk; it's necessary to help port from business, so it listens study students to help · create a context when business talks. America read," the presi- for changes in . Patton also made great efforts dent said in· his weekly post-high school his first year on the job to reach out radio address. · education in Ken­ to legislators - Democrats and Last August, Clinton tucky. Right Republicans alike. He came out of unfurled an ambitious now, the public the workers' comp session with a $2.5 billion plan to com- doesn't under­ g?<Jd deal of political capital and · bat illiteracy and mobi- stand the issue high marks for taking on a tough lize the government and · well. issue that cost him support from his the nation to ensure that BILL There's no old labor allies. all children can read by EsT,EP question the sys­ The screen-saver on the computer the end of third grade. · tem needs Estep covers pole in Patton's office says, "You have to His "America Reads changes to take the bone with the pork chop." Challenge" suggested tics an_d govern­ improve quality ment for the Her­ 1 . 1:he forces inclined to block any 30,000 reading specialists ald-Leader. This and coordination , significant change in postsecondary and tutor coordinators - column includes between different ! education need to keep that in mind including 11,000 Ameri- his opinions and parts, cut dupli- ' We'll know by finals week next · Corps volunteers - to observations. cationand · spring how things went. help organize a national increase the · network of reading tutors number of students who graduate. to · give children indi­ But higher education is a com­ vidual attention. plex animal with so many political Clinton said;~th~e-new tentacles that governors have shied ! steps will make it pos­ away from trying to make signifi­ sible for college students cant changes in it for as long as to. work their way many observers can recall. through school by teach­ The regional universities the ing children to read. · University of Kentucky, the 'com­ munity colleges and the vocational­ technical schools all have their own pockets of influence around the state, rallying local pride, jobs and legislators behind them. The sys­ tem and its local governing boards lend themselves to fiefdoms and to turf fights between different pieces. That makes it very difficult to build consensus on doing anything to change the system because a lot of people involved in it fear change means loss. Some have pointed to Patton's recent victory on workers' compen­ sation as evidence he can tame the . beast, but that was a different fight. _ There were essentially only two sides to contend with in workers' comp - business and labor. And before Patton started push­ mg for major changes in workers' LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, LEXINGTON, KY. ■ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1996 Radical ideas wanted ~ ~fl.igher education demands an overhaul and a leader ;Gov. Paul Patton has reason to · solutions are not clear, but here are feel some holiday cheer about a few suggestions for guidance: :,- the next - and what he says First, give a thorough ·airing to ts: the biggest - item on his agen­ the idea of a "superboard." This a;i: higher education. system works well in North Caroli­ ,/ '. There's some bold and ambi­ na; other states have tried it and &tus talk about big changes in the backed away from it. But decide y/ay the state runs its universities once and for all whether this makes imd community colleges. sense for Kentucky. · : : This could lead to one of those If a "superboard" isn't the an­ #.re opportunities for historic im­ swer, then decide whether the coun­ P\°OVements - if Patton's vision is cil has enough authority. ci1ear and his leadership is strong, Frankly, the problem in the and if the General Assembly and past has been that the council has file universities resolve to avoid been thwarted by politically moti­ tjieir usual, selfish turf wars and vated governors and legislators, 11<it for the common good. and by university presidents whose : : Last week, in Louisville, a cho­ concerns don't extend beyond their cis of members and former chair­ own backyards: The problem might ~n of the state Council on Higher be that the affected parties always Epucation spoke out forcefully for find a way to upset the council's ritdical change. best-laid plans. :: For example, Joe Bill Campbell This is also the time for the ~vocated putting the public uni­ governor, the council, the legisla­ '-:ffrsities under the control of a ture and the universities to decide S:iitewide "superboard," like North whether the community colleges Carolina's (each Kentucky universi­ should remain under the University ~ now has its own board of of Kentucky's control, or whether trpstees or regents). they should be merged with the : : Another council veteran and for­ state's vocational-technical schools. mer chairman, Jim Miller, argued The resolution of this issue is vital tfuit the council, as a coordinating to the state's economic growth; it cfgency, simply lacks enough au­ should be resolved, and, once it is, tpbrity. the state should move forward. ~-: "What I have seen"' he said ' "is Which brings us to the com­ it. system of higher education gover- ments of council member Larry ltjnce in which no significant initia­ Hayes, a former chief of staff for t!'(es can really be proposed and Gov. Martha Layne Collins. The ul­ ~pved to fruition, but the system timate issue, he said, is not struc­ ca,n block almost anything." ture, but whether the state has the , . And one of the state's most re­ vision and the leadership to im­ spected leaders in higher education, prove higher education. Lpuisville financier David Grissom, This is where Patton comes in. s~d he and all other former council If he sets the drumbeat and doesn't chairmen agreed on the need for falter, the state won't find itself nothing less than "major, radical "dancing around the problems," as surgery." Grissom warned, but it will move ,_: This is how you get a healthy its universities and community col­ debate started. Patton and the tax­ leges to some historic improve­ p~yers should welcome it. All of the ments. The Daily Independent, Ashland, Kentucky, Saturday, December 21, 1996 At what cost? Most colleges subsidize athletics Decisions by Morehead programs reported a profit in State University and Austin 1995. However, those "prof­ Peay State University to dis­ its" turn into an average def­ continue football scholar­ icit of $237,000 when insitu­ ships raise questions other tional support is eliminated. state-supported schools In Division I-AA pro­ should be asking: grams, an average deficit of ► How much - if anything $469,000 grew to $1.67 million - should state-supported without university support. universities spend to subsi­ Morehead State and Austin dize intercollegiate athletics? Peay decided to drop football scholarships in an effort to ► Would money now being reduce subsidies to athletics.