HOW WE SEE IT Wake-Up Call To NWACC’s Trustees

WHAT’S THE POINT? Recent payroll problems at NorthWest Arkansas Community College require that the Board of Trustees step up its oversight of the administration.

— The NorthWest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees should assume a larger oversight role over the school’s administrators, especially when it comes to examining how money is spent.

This action is needed to start rebuilding the trust of the public and the state Legislature. That trust has been damaged because the school’s administration failed to follow proper procedures in the way it classified employees, added pay to certain positions for extra duties and communicated with the state Department of Finance and Administration on whatit was doing.

Last spring, the department issued a memo freezing state salaries due to lower-than-expected tax collections. However, the college’s 2010-11 budget included pay increases of various kinds for 32 employees.

When these pay increases were brought to the attention of state officials, the state finance department launched an investigation.

On Oct. 12, the department issued an initial finding that while 14 of those increases were due to legitimate promotions, 17 pay hikes were improper.

The status of one has yet to be addressed.

On Friday, the college issued what it called a “joint release of information” confirming that seven of those 17 questioned raises would be rescinded and the money paid out so far returned. Seven other pay increases were being referred to the Department of Higher Education for further review. Three others appeared to be in order after NWACC submitted additional documentation.

The bottom line, though, is that NWACC acted hastily when dealing with 2010-11 salaries, and did so at the worst possible time: When every other state employee had been told not to expect a raise. It was, at best, careless, at worst, callous and arrogant.

The consequences, however, can be far-reaching.

NWACC, which has for years lobbied the General Assembly for “equity funding” because it receives a smaller share of state revenues than its sister institutions around the state, now must explain its hasty actions to unsympathetic lawmakers.

In addition, the school’s supporters in Northwest Arkansas deserve an accounting for what went wrong and assurances it will be corrected.

That’s where the school’s board of trustees come in. NWACC has a popularly elected board. While most boards of this kind should largely stick to policy-making and leave day-to-day administration to the professionals they hire, they also must step in with greater oversight and involvement when problems arise.

And make no mistake: There is a problem.

The NWACC trustees need to look more closely at the school’s hiring and compensation practices.

It should heed the finance department’s concerns about the classification of job duties and the way that promotions are advertised and awarded. Doing so will help restore the public’s faith in what has always been a great asset to the community. And it will demonstrate to lawmakers that NWACC remains deserving of a hearing when it comes time to allocate the state’s resources.

However, if the board declines to get more involved, it runs the risk of losing the community’s trust and the Legislature’s support. At that point, it will be the voters’ turn to take a more active role in the administration of the college.

Opinion, Pages 6 on 10/24/2010

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