NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Officials at Hocking College said they were not involved in a statewide change to the technical college trustee appointment process that was central to a controversy at the college last year. Technical college boards will have more power in the new member selection process.
Since 1995, a select number of technical college trustees have been appointed by a caucus of representatives from school districts and educational service centers in each college’s service area. Last year, when Hocking College convened such a caucus to appoint members to its board, the caucus voted to oust longtime board members in favor of fresh faces.
One caucus member, Nelsonville-York City School District Board of Education President Micah Covert, belonged to a group of current and former employees critical of the Hocking College administration and President Betty Young. The group sought to replace Young and other top administrators, in part by supporting the caucus’s attempted overhaul of the board, which oversees Young’s employment.
Trustee Stuart Brooks said at the time that Hocking College leaders disagreed with the caucus’ decision to replace himself and other board members, and therefore identified a procedural error Hocking itself had made regarding the composition of the caucus. Hocking reconvened the caucus as a result. With its composition changed, the caucus then voted to reappoint Brooks and member Leon Forte, while replacing member Mark Dean.
Changes included in the state biennium budget, signed into law earlier this summer and taking effect Jan. 1, 2024, will make such caucuses a thing of the past.
According to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission analysis of the state’s biennium budget bill, technical college trustees will be appointed by a selection committee chosen by the college board’s executive committee. Selection committee members will comprise three to five local business, civic or nonprofit leaders who are not trustees of the college.
The board will nominate trustee candidates for consideration by the selection committee, although the committee may consider other prospective board members, too. Board members must live in the technical college district, should hold leadership positions within “significant industries” in the technical college district, and must be appointed with “the advice and consent of the Senate.”
The governor’s appointments to technical college boards also require the “advice and consent of the Senate,” although the current school board caucus process does not.
“Hocking College did not have anything to do with the legislation,” Young said in an email. “It is my understanding it was proposed 2-years ago, did not pass, and was reproposed this round.”
“I cannot speculate as to how the process will work,” she added.
State Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville), who represents Ohio House District 94, was the primary sponsor of the biennium budget bill. Edwards said the change originated from Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, due to Huffman’s issues with appointments at Rhodes State College. Huffman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I’m just as frustrated with some things that are happening at Hocking Technical College as anyone,” Edwards added.
Comparison documents for the biennium budget bill show that the changes to the technical college trustee process originated in the Ohio Senate’s Finance Committee as it amended House Bill 33.
Ohio Senator Matt Dolan, who chairs the committee, also did not respond to the Independent’s request for comment. A member of Dolan’s office staff said that information about how something makes its way into the biennium budget bill is “not information we typically have.”
Ohio Senate staff did not identify any public records in response to the Independent’s request for Dolan’s communication about the technical college trustee appointment process.
Covert also did not respond to the Independent’s request for comment.
This story has been updated to reflect comments from Edwards.
Keri Johnson contributed to this story.
