Bill would resolve curator seat conflict

The bill would allow the governor to appoint two curators from one district

By Andrew Denney

Published Feb. 13, 2009

Missouri legislators have proposed plans to maintain nine seats on the UM system's governing board, and a student advocacy group still contends that one of the seats should be filled by a student.

The board is supposed to have one seat per district, according to the Missouri Constitution, and Missouri is projected to lose a congressional district after the 2010 U.S. Census. The Senate Education Committee heard testimony on Wednesday regarding a bill which would allow the governor to assign two curators to a single congressional district in order to maintain nine seats on the UM system Board of Curators.

Steve Knorr, UM system vice president for government relations, presented written testimony on behalf of the board in support of the bill.

Curator Doug Russell stated in the testimony that curators are not chosen to represent a particular group, but are rather a group of laypersons that can represent the concerns of the public.

"This wider view provides the best outcome for the university as a whole, taking into consideration many viewpoints," Russell said. "This bill would ensure a lay board."

Joe Karl, a legislative intern for the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, provided testimony against the bill, arguing that allowing two curators to represent a single district could put urban and rural interests at odds.

"We really want to avoid a plan that leaves the board susceptible to bias," Karl said.

Karl also argued in support of filling the seat with a voting student curator from the UM system. He said a student would best suit the job of representing the more than 64,000 students within the UM system. Investment into the system's budget constitutes 48 percent of its largess, whereas state funding makes up 39 percent, according to their 2008 budget.

"Students pay vastly more and yet have no say," Karl said during the testimony.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, said, while he shares the concerns of the students for a voice on the board, the seat could be filled with someone from another group that is not represented on the board, such as medical professionals or minorities. None of the curators have a background in the medical profession and, since the departure of Cheryl Walker in January the board is made up solely of white members.

"I think there are other voices as well that need to be represented on the Board of Curators," Schaefer said.

Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, who sponsored the legislation, said he wants to keep nine seats on the board to prevent a tie vote on decisions. He said he did not support the notion of another UM system leader, such as President Gary Forsee, providing a tie-breaking vote instead of maintaining an odd number of curators, and also said he did not support the reservation of a seat on the board for a UM system student.

But Pearce said his bill would not preclude the appointment of a student by the governor, who currently holds the authority to choose the members.

A similar bill was filed in the House last month by Rep. Gayle Kingery, R-Poplar Bluff, but has not been heard in a committee and is not on the calendar for next week. Last session, a bill to give voting rights to the board's student representative passed through both chambers but was vetoed by former Gov. Matt Blunt.