Byrne
Opelika-Auburn News Editorial Praises Reforms to End Double Dipping in 2-Year Colleges Hubbert’s Opposition “an obvious attempt to keep the trough open for legislators” Byrne’s proposals worth taking note and applauding Opelika-Auburn News Thursday, August 9, 2007 Alabama two-year college chancellor Bradley Byrne wants to require lawmakers who hold salaried positions within the troubled system to get his permission first before taking off work to perform legislative duties. Looks like the new school chief is talking tough. And why not? In order to clean the system from the scourge of legislative corruption, he must govern with a strong hand. Byrne has also proposed rules that would prevent legislators from holding jobs within the legislature and the system. It was discovered last year that 42 legislators or their family members drew paychecks from the system, a revelation that compromises public trust and ethics. What’s drawn the ire of Alabama Education Association executive director Paul Hubbert, however, is Byrne’s demand for "permission" to take time off from work within the system to play their other role of lawmaker. Clearly, Byrne wants separation. Does Hubbert? "If the board approves this, they will be forcing these legislators who were voted into office just nine months ago to leave those positions if they want to feed their families," Hubbert said in a story published by the Birmingham News. "The longer this goes on, it is becoming more and more apparent to me that this is about disenfranchising 125,000 educators across the state, about undoing their votes in an effort by the governor to get new elections in districts where he didn’t like the outcome of last year’s voting." But Hubbert is yet to articulate why a system shone to be corrupt should be protected. Perhaps he should be reminded that 37 of the 42 legislators shown to have payroll ties to the two-year system were Democrats. Hubbert has also the vice chairman of Alabama’s Democratic Party. Byrne was a Republican legislator appointed into the chancellor’s role by Republican Gov. Bob Riley. (NOTE: The Chancellor was appointed by the State School Board, not by Governor Riley. The newspaper has been contacted about this error.) Education and politics … the two can’t help but collide. When Byrne was appointed, our only concern with him was that he came from the legislature. But now it’s apparent that he sees, along with the rest of us looking in on the corruption that has brought this system to its sorry state, that it’s time to kick the legislature out of the public’s pocketbook. We praise Byrne for his strong stand trying to distance politicians and two-year colleges. The move by Hubbert is an obvious attempt to keep the trough open for legislators who have put this system into the situation that it’s in already.
