Northwest College tracks bills in legislative session

Posted 2/2/17

NWC President Stefani Hicswa was in Cheyenne recently representing the college, and will be heading back next week for budget bill readings.

One bill Hicswa and her staff are paying close attention to is House Bill 136, which had passed the House …

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Northwest College tracks bills in legislative session

Posted

Campus carry, employee salaries at forefront

As the 2017 Wyoming Legislative Session prepares to wrap its fourth week, a number of bills before legislators have Northwest College leaders paying attention.

NWC President Stefani Hicswa was in Cheyenne recently representing the college, and will be heading back next week for budget bill readings.

One bill Hicswa and her staff are paying close attention to is House Bill 136, which had passed the House by a 40-19 vote on Wednesday. The bill would allow gun owners with a concealed-carry permit to carry firearms on Wyoming college campuses.

“There are lots of people that have strong positions on that bill due to safety and gun rights,” Hicswa said. “We are opposing it because it takes away the local control that we currently have to make decisions on our campuses. Also, the projected cost of implementing such a bill at a time when we’re cutting budgets just doesn’t make sense.”

Included in those projected costs would be the adding of additional security, liability insurance and emergency training, she said.

“It’s a different way of operating on campus,” Hicswa explained. “So that’s something we’re watching closely.”

HB 136 will next be heard in the Senate.

Another bill, Senate File 132 (ENDOW initiative), is also of interest to NWC, as it would provide $1.5 million in funding to community colleges for economic development.

“If that bill goes through, we’ll use that funding for program development to respond to workforce needs,” Hicswa said, calling it a bill that “we’re pretty excited about and support.”

SF 132 has passed its third reading in the Senate on Wednesday, 23-7, and will now be heard in the House.

The state budget bill is being hashed out this week, and Hicswa said the Joint Appropriations Committee is reviewing the budget. A draft is due by the end of the week, leading into a first reading on Monday.

Meanwhile, House Bill 233 would allow the Legislature to implement salary cuts on every level of Wyoming public education, including the University of Wyoming, the state’s seven community colleges and K-12 schools; it’s garnering a lot of attention as well. Naturally, NWC leaders are opposed to it.

“The opposition we have of HB 233 is from a market competitive standpoint for our employees,” Hicswa said. “In order to recruit and retain high-quality staff and faculty, we have to make sure we watch what our markets are doing, both regionally and nationally. We’re starting to fall behind in various areas.”

The NWC president said she tried to fill two dean positions in the fall and was unable to do so.

“Some of the best candidates withdrew their names from consideration because of the salaries offered,” Hicswa said.

There are consequences to salaries continuing to erode, she said, saying further cuts will hurt students in the long run.

“My fear with this bill is that, much like HB 136, we lose that local control,” Hicswa said.

She said the college has to look at its budget and prioritize appropriately, while HB 233 would legislate those priorities.

“I know budget cuts have to be made; I’m not naive to think that we don’t,” Hicswa said. “I just think that this bill wouldn’t be good for community colleges.”

As Hicswa prepares to travel to Cheyenne for next week’s budget bill readings, she said she feels things are going well with the session and praised local legislators.

“I’m really pleased with how hard our Big Horn Basin legislators work, and how closely they work together,” she said. “Bigger cities have a lot of power in the Legislature, so our legislators, all nine of them, work together for the good of the Big Horn Basin, and they’re just fantastic.”

Hicswa said this area is “well-represented” and that she appreciates the opportunity to represent NWC at the Legislature.

“I love it that we have a citizen’s Legislature in Wyoming, and that we have the opportunity to talk and get to know our legislators,” she said. “It’s an honor that we have a democracy that allows us to participate in this process. The fact that I get to be a part of setting state policy for community colleges is pretty cool.”

Community colleges are also represented by a lobbyist — Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees Executive Director Erin Taylor — who is at the Legislature “every day,” Hicswa said.

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