Regent candidates don’t back governor’s proposed budget cuts

DES MOINES – None of Gov. Terry Branstad's three appointees to the state Board of Regents backed his proposed 6 percent cut for the state universities next fiscal year during a meeting Wednesday with key senators who will decide if they're confirmed to the higher education oversight panel.

Bruce Rastetter , 54, of Hubbard, Katie Mulholland, 63, of Marion, and Nicole Carroll, 57, of Carroll, also delicately handled questions regarding their views on collective bargaining – a political hot button at the Statehouse – during an hour-long meeting with members of the Senate Education Committee. The three candidates Branstad picked to serve six-year terms as regents beginning May 1 must win support of at least 34 senators – a two-thirds affirmative majority – to be confirmed for their new state assignments.

Mulholland, currently the Linn-Mar superintendent who earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Northern Iowa, gave a flat “no” answer when committee chairman Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, asked if they supported Branstad's proposed budget cut and to respond succinctly.

Carroll, an attorney who graduated from Iowa State University, agreed that she did not support the cut either, saying “I feel that this is the time to start reinvesting in our regent institutions. I feel pretty strongly about it.”

Rastetter, a University of Iowa graduate who serves as the chief executive officer of Hawkeye Energy Holdings, LLC, hedged his answer, saying raising tuitions by 5 percent as the current regents voted to approve Wednesday was not a sustainable strategy. At the same time, he said, the question has to be asked, if you don't cut the regents' budget by 6 percent in fiscal 2012, what do you cut?

“It's one of the very reasons why we need a longer-term plan of where these universities are going, where state funding is going to end up and whether we're going to be supportive of that,” he said.

Pressed by Quirmbach to specifically address Branstad's proposed funding reduction for next school year, Rastetter said: “I would be encouraging the governor to support the state universities and find other places to cut the budget.”

Carroll said it will be “a real challenge” to keep tuition affordable, noting that her four children will finish the college years with “humongous debt” She said one option would be to strengthen partnerships with community colleges so high-school students can accomplish their core requirements while holding down the cost with assurances that their credits will transfer to regent universities.

Asked about support for maintaining the rights of regent employees to bargain collectively, Rastetter said that was an issue to be decided at the Statehouse.

Carroll said her experience serving for 12 years as a local school board member taught her that using “interest-based” bargaining where the parties worked toward goals of mutual benefit for the overall good of the school system and its students was more effective than the traditional model where labor and management are more confrontational.

“I would like to see some exploration of that,” she said.

Mulholland said she will follow whatever law is on the books, but she noted that she did not support a “stealth move” three years ago where legislative Democrats voted to broaden the scope of bargaining – a move that was vetoed by then-Gov. Chet Culver.

“I favor evolving the current format that we use for collective bargaining, to have it evolve to a more interest based and talk about what furthers the institution,” she said.

“I object to doing any major changes in the collective bargaining unless they're really vetted and unless we understand and create models on exactly what the impact is going to be,” Mulholland added. “In this session, without talking through and vetting out things, I would be opposed to a change in this section.”

Branstad's choice to replace outgoing regents Michael Gartner, Bonnie Campbell and Rose Vasquez once their terms expire April 30 seemed to score high marks with the Senate panel.

“I'm very impressed with what I'm hearing in terms of your background and vision,” said Sen. Daryl Beall, D-Fort Dodge, while Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, called them very dedicated and excellent candidates.

The Senate is required to complete the confirmation process by April 15.