Editorial
Testing higher education

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Legislative leaders must revive a stalled opportunity to try something different in their relationship with higher-education institutions.

Companion bills in the House and Senate propose an experiment in which the state negotiate performance contracts with a few institutions. The six-year contracts would give the schools more management flexibility while still requiring accountability to state officials. The proposed legislation suggested the pilot project include a research university, a regional university and two community colleges.

The universities are in the best position to respond quickly to changes in demand for services or requests from industry. They say the constraints they now labor under inhibit them from delivering on their obligations in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. That should concern lawmakers who have tightened the budget screws across state agencies.

Having to wait for the Legislature's next two-year budget cycle can certainly dampen the universities' role in economic development, where state officials increasingly acknowledge they play a critical role. That's why this proposal is a recommendation in the just-released Washington Competitiveness Council report and is supported by the Washington Roundtable.

The bill has strong bipartisan support. The House bill passed out of the higher-education committee 11-0 and out of its Senate counterpart 5-1. But neither bill was approved by their respective fiscal committees by last week's deadline.

Opposition to the bills is fueled by concern the Legislature might be giving up too much of its authority over state-funded colleges, such as tuition-setting authority. But the Legislature would be able to reject any contract its members felt gave away too much.

Considering the Legislature has been fairly clear on its desire to retain control over tuition-setting, neither the governor nor the schools would negotiate contracts they knew would be snuffed.

The proposal does not call for wholesale change, but simply an experiment. Legislators would be remiss in not even allowing an exploration of the advantages of performance contracts for the taxpayers.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company