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Editor's Notes
The Birmingham News has been bird-dogging the situation for sometime now (and picked up a Pultizier Prize for its good work) and has discovered that fully onethird of our elected state lawmakers have financial ties to the twoyear college system, either through jobs or contracts for them, their relatives or businesses. In too many cases, it appears that lawmakers are on the payroll simply because they are lawmakers who can help champion their particular school's, or the entire system's financial and legislative interests. That appears to be the job of Rep. Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, who held positions at both Shelton State Community College and Bevill State Community College, each one paying him about $48,000 annually. Rep. Guin resigned the Bevill position (we won't call it a job) after making the news. Gov. Bob Riley and some Republican legislators have proposed solving the problem by prohibiting state educators from holding elected legislative office. The buzzword is to stop the "double dipping" of educators also drawing legislative pay. A few observations on the effort: First, it seems that the real problem is not so much with legitimate teachers but with legislators hired by education institutions after they have been elected who previously never had any ties to the education profession. They become consultants or directors of this or that special program when in fact all they really do is work as a paid legislative lobbyist. The school system should be called to task for such a flagrant misuse of taxpayers' money. Legislators who take the jobs with little or no education experience or knowledge should be ashamed of themselves. The problem with real teachers serving in the Legislature is that it takes them away from their classrooms and students too much. State Sen. Rusty Glover of Mobile County, a high school teacher, points out that he is docked every school day that he is away working on legislative matters. However, he is also quick to point out that his students don't suffer by his extended absences. I'm not so sure about that. Even though it might end his political or teaching career, Sen. Glover says he favors legislation that would prohibit educators from serving in the Legislature. This isn't just about a little double dipping, of course. The larger problem is the control legislators have over state budgets that fund the agencies they work for. While reforms are needed, we aren't sure this one has a realistic chance of passing. Why? First, with one-third of legislators holding education positions, it is ludicrous to think that they are going to vote themselves out of a job. The votes simply aren't there to pass such a monumental piece of legislation. Not only with legislators affected be against it, think about others who have a lot at stake. Do you really think AEA's Paul Hubbert is going to sit back and allow AEA's clout to be diminished? Second, and more importantly, a document called the U.S. Constitution gets in the way. The Constitution lays out simple standards of age and residency for one to hold public office. The Constitution doesn't prohibit certain professions or classes from holding office, as well it shouldn't. Where would we draw the line if that was the case? Would we ax lawyers or something in some specific business? No. And the federal courts would promptly shoot down any law that would prohibit educators from being elected to the Legislature. Educators have just as much right as anyone else to hold public office- even if it does create a mountain of problems. The way to deal with this problem is for the two-year college system to have better ethics and scruples to begin with in who they are hiring and for what reasons. Of course I'm not sure that is going to happen, either.
Jim Cox is editor and publisher of The Clarke County Democrat.
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