BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A constitutional measure on the Nov. 3 ballot lets North Dakota voters decide if changes should be made to the state Board of Higher Education, including nearly doubling the board’s size by adding seven members.
At issue is whether a bigger board will better serve the state’s higher education institutions or if an expansion might instead bog it down.
Eight members sit on the higher ed board. Constitutional Measure 1 if passed would increase that number to 15. State legislators and employees, elected officials, and employees of the 11 public colleges and universities under the board’s control would be prohibited from serving on the board. Members would serve six years instead of four and could be reappointed for a nonconsecutive second term, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
The measure’s history dates to January 2018, when Gov. Doug Burgum formed a task force to examine the board’s workload and look for ways to better oversee the state’s higher ed institutions. The task force weighed several options, including three- and four-board models with each dedicated to a specific area such as research or technical institutions, said state Rep. Shannon Roers Jones, R-Fargo, a task force member. Work done by the group led to the introduction of a bill in the House that she co-sponsored.
“How it started and how it ended up were very different,” Roers Jones said.
The bill ultimately set up a two-board model, each with seven members. One board would have overseen research universities and the other board would have handled the rest. Smaller universities felt they might become less important under the two-board system, Roers Jones said. The bill failed in the House.
A Senate-passed resolution that became Measure 1 on the ballot was seen as an option by legislators who disagreed with splitting the board, Roers Jones said. The proposed expansion of the board is substantial and would allow for members to be more specialized, but it might also make it more difficult for the board to build consensus and move forward, she said.
“Sometimes the bigger the board the more difficult it is to accomplish tasks,” she said. “If someone is going to have a problem with it, it’s going to be the number of board members it creates.”
She prefers the two-board model presented by the House because it would allow each board a more specific focus. Without changing the focus of the board or breaking it into two groups — one working with the research institutions and the other with the rest — the measure “doesn’t solve the problem,” Roers Jones said.
“There’s always going to be conflict between the two” types of institutions, she said.
The senate proposal was designed to create greater flexibility by bringing more areas of expertise to the board, said Rep. Corey Mock, D-Grand Forks. He said he could have voted for a split board or a bigger board but wanted something to go before the state’s voters.
“Let’s at least expand so we can form subcommittees and be more nimble,” he said.
An expanded board likely would “take some getting used to,” Mock said, as members would have to adjust to the size and the manner in which duties are delegated.
“They rely on each other with responsibilities,” he said. “Especially on subcommittees, they want to know and trust their colleagues.”
The resolution had support from both parties in the Senate. It passed by a vote of 27 to 17 with three abstentions. Nineteen Republicans and eight Democrats voted for the resolution, and 16 Republicans and one Democrat voted against it.
The measure is “pretty straightforward,” Roers Jones said.
“It’s just whether people think it’s the right move for the board,” she said.
The measure if passed would cost $147,000 per biennium. That breaks down to $10,500 per new board member per year. The amount reflects reimbursement to board members for travel and meal expenses when attending meetings. Board members are not paid.
Chairman Nick Hacker said the board will follow the vote of the people but would not comment further, saying “it would not be good practice” for him or the board to be involved in political activities that are the will of the citizens.
“I am proud of the work we have accomplished and at this point I am not taking a position on the measure,” Hacker said.
The measure if passed would go into effect as soon as the state canvassing board approves the election results, said Lee Ann Oliver, election specialist with the North Dakota Secretary of State’s office.
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