Unfettered Letters

Private colleges serve state’s neediest

Independent colleges and universities are an incredible value, enrolling nearly 40 percent of Missouri’s collegiate population and awarding nearly 50 percent of all degrees annually, including more than half of those in education and health care. Missouri’s financial contribution to these degrees is only $956 (32 percent of the national average) whereas for a public institution degree it is $34,144 (78 percent of the national average). Equalizing Access Missouri awards (3/31, Opinion) would decrease the $956 and increase the $34,144. Is this fiscally responsible?

Many of Missouri’s neediest students attend independent institutions, with an average family income lower than for students at public institutions. More minority, first-generation, rural and “at risk” students attend independent colleges than public institutions. Independent students are more likely to earn a degree in four years, with a 40.35 percent graduation rate for independents and 21.8 percent for publics.

Access Missouri serves students and provides them choice of the best institution for them. Don’t change it.

Marianne E. Inman
President, Central Methodist University
Fayette, Mo.

College privacy law

The federal government puts parents in an impossible situation with information about our college students (3/20, A-1, “Should schools tell parents about drinking problems?; A privacy law often keeps colleges from revealing grades, health or legal troubles”).

The federal government won’t help pay for college if your FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) indicates a family can pay. However, parents don’t have the right to know anything about their student or the education they are paying for unless the student allows it because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

If parents are expected to pay for college, we have a right to know what is happening to our students and our money. Parents, be strong and insist your child sign the waiver authorizing the university to release information to you if they want your money for college. Otherwise, let the student pay for college. Our children’s lives may depend on it.

 Martha R. Hadfield
 Leavenworth

JCCC Board of Trustees

At February’s Johnson County Community College board meeting, leaders inappropriately justified the distribution and brief verbal discussion of typed budget items during a non-public portion because the budget barely related to the president’s private evaluation (ratings include “fiscal management”).

I must correct some statements that have since come from JCCC. Namely, that JCCC has a top-notch record regarding the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA). No way.

The most obvious violation occurred four months ago. Only three trustees may legally meet privately to discuss government business (a “meeting” is communication by any means). A violation of KOMA occurred the moment four trustees agreed to submit a letter published by The Star. To be fair, was this a huge deal? No, but it showed a lack of understanding by all members involved, including President Terry Calaway, who instructed an employee to write the politically-oriented letter. That leads to more questions.

And two weeks ago, in a Gardner News article, Calaway and Chair Shirley Brown-Van Arsdale attempted to argue that as long as budgets are not verbally discussed, printed budget items can be distributed during closed meetings. That’s absolutely incorrect.

JCCC leaders need to learn — and then follow — the open meetings law.

Benjamin Hodge
Johnson County Community College trustee
Overland Park

Editor’s note: Hodge is running for re-election to the JCCC Board of Trustees

Johnson County Community College trustee Benjamin Hodge deserves support.

Perhaps like me, you haven’t followed JCCC’s Board of Trustee elections closely, and maybe you haven’t previously cast your vote with much care. This time you should. It’s more important now than ever in the 40-year history of the college for it to manage our tax dollar investment wisely. Take a look at your property tax bill to see the tax amount paid to JCCC. Now look at its financials in the latest board minutes. Like the rest of us, the college’s realized year-to- date investment and other income sources fell way short of what was budgeted, yet the expenditures year to date remain consistent.

The college’s fiscal year ends June 30. Unlike the rest of us in these tough economic times, the college has not cut back.

The fact that trustee Benjamin Hodge, as he has so adamantly been accused, “leaked” cost cuts under consideration is a good thing. What is unfortunate is that the over-reaction and very public condemnation of Hodge has taken the focus off what really needs to be asked. Why shouldn’t this institution consider, adopt and make expenditure cuts? The rest of us have.

Tammy Clem
Stilwell

Kansas City University?

Great cities have great universities. Denver has Denver University, Chicago has the University of Chicago, and Memphis has, well, Memphis. Kansas City, on the other hand, has UMKC, four letters that mean something to you and me but essentially nothing to anyone living outside the Kansas City region.

UMKC is making tremendous strides, investing millions in new construction, adding more student housing and continuing to have several programs at or near the top of their respective fields nationally. It is a superb institution, churning out some of the brightest and most talented students in the Midwest. Yet, my presumption is that many of these accolades get discounted primarily because of the school’s lack of an identity.

I am most certainly not proposing that UMKC should leave the University of Missouri system. Rather just a simple name change, similar to what Missouri-Rolla recently did. Kansas City University ... has a nice ring huh? The name pays homage to the university’s roots and would serve as a face and identity for a great school.

Nicholas Grunauer
UMKC alum
Kansas City

‘Overload payments’ or bonuses?

“Before he became the athletic director at Kansas State, Bob Krause was paid nearly $250,000 by K-State’s athletic department” (2/14, Sports, “Payments to Krause detailed”).

K-State president Jon Wefald likened the payments to Krause of six annual checks ranging from $35,000 to $52,500 to “overload payments.” Overload payments were described as payments to university employees and professors deemed by their superiors to have assumed extra workload or responsibilities.

“Overload payment” is an obvious euphemism used to disguise “employee bonus” as used in the private sector. Given the explosive increases in college tuition, it seems obvious to me that tax-supported institutions such as K-State should be required to give a full accounting of bonus amounts and the justification for paying them.

Publishing annual salaries means nothing if a professor earning $95,000 is also paid a 25 percent bonus.

Bruce A. Bedier
Kansas City, Kan.

Employers invest in education

Hearing that college costs are rising faster than family income comes as no surprise to families in the Kansas City area (12/3, A-1, “College burden piled on families; Report shows larger chunks of Kansas and Missouri family incomes are paying for tuition” ). This is concerning, as we face an economic crisis from which we will only recover through the growth of new industries needing skilled workers.

While government can do more to offset the cost of education for working adults, we can also work in partnership with employers and workers who are interested in going back to school.

Missouri and Kansas are doing this through OneKC WIRED’s pilot of Lifelong Learning Accounts. With LiLAs, a worker’s investment in his or her own education is matched by the employer — helping us put postsecondary education and training in reach of more workers in order to build a stronger regional economy.

For more information about LiLAs, visit MyLiLaNow.com

Suzy Makalous
Director, lifelong learning, OneKC WIRED
Kansas City

Rising costs of college

The Star’s recent article reporting that both Kansas and Missouri are receiving an F in college affordability is no surprise (12/3, A-1. “College burden piled on families”). But don’t expect things to get better.

The recent call for a possible 15 to 25 percent cut in the higher education budget is going to devastate public higher education and make college even less affordable. This after Missouri colleges and universities have already drastically cut spending after recent cuts in state funding.

How is it that in tough financial times we have tax dollars to spend on tax breaks and bailouts for big corporations, yet can’t fund higher education so that it’s affordable? How is it that we reward the people who created the economic crisis while hurting the very people who are already in pain?

One of the reasons is that many lawmakers believe that higher education is a private good and they would want nothing better than to see public education privatized. Then only the children of the well off will be going to college. That’s not the way forward.

Scott Laurent
Kansas City

A tasty slab of jazz

Monday evening’s UMKC Conservatory Concert Jazz Band’s performance of Bobby Watson’s Gates Bar-B-Q Suite was extraordinary. Watson’s composition was masterful, and the band could not have performed it better.

What a great evening of music it was!

Laurie Fisher
Kansas City

KU-MU games at Arrowhead

Yael Abouhalkah’s position on the KU-MU series entirely misses the point and spirit of the rivalry (11/29, Opinion, “Showdown welcome on the border”).

First of all, I didn’t realize that the litmus test for a college football game was the value to local merchants. As an alumnus of KU (’82-’86), I would have been furious if that game had been taken away from campus. We had very little to play for in those days, so rivalry was everything. Now there’s much more at stake, and it should be decided on the respective campuses.

As to having to go to a hostile environment to see your team play: boo hoo. Isn’t that what rivalry is all about? I doubt the Wolverines feel very comfortable in Columbus, but I don’t see anyone clamoring to play that game in Detroit. Maybe we should go to a flag football system and have a “5 Mississippi” rush to limit any hard feelings.

This decision saps all of the spirit of rivalry and tradition from that game. It’s about only one thing: money.

Harlow D. Schmidt
Leawood

‘Praise’ for Pinkel

Yessiree Bob! That Gary Pinkel is some kind of a football coach.

The people at Missouri sure made a big mistake. They should redo the new contract they just gave him and make it $5 million a year for his lifetime. Maybe even let him come back and coach a couple of years after he is dead, because that is what he looked like he was doing on Saturday against the hated Jayhawks.

Richard W. Dahms
St. Joseph