Board's action 'an affront,' Riley says

BYLINE: BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE News staff writer

TWO-YEAR COLLEGES

MONTGOMERY - Gov. Bob Riley scolded state school board members Thursday, accusing them of unfairly claiming his staff and former interim Chancellor Thomas Corts worked out secret deals to spend $20 million on work force training projects.

''All of a sudden, you are impugning a whole system that offers the best work

force training in this country. I have a real problem with that,'' Riley told board members during a nearly hour-long meeting with them.

He criticized them for freezing the $20 million in training money last month, a move he said jeopardized the state's ability to make good on promises to companies locating here. The Alabama Industrial Development Training Institute needs the money to fulfill those training promises, he said.

''Ladies and gentleman, in my opinion, that is not the fault of the chancellor. It's not the fault of the governor's office. It's not the fault of AIDT. It is the board's fault,'' Riley said.

Board members reversed themselves Thursday, reinstating the agreements that Riley and Corts worked out earlier this year. Board members had voted March 2 to cancel those agreements and withhold the training money as system officials investigated the contracts.

Riley said he is concerned that board members tried to link the agreements covering the $20 million in training to unrelated questionable deals under scrutiny in the two-year college system with consultants and others.

''There has not been one instance of any work force money ever being misspent,'' Riley said. ''And you should not paint work force development with the same broad brush.''

Some board members defended their earlier action, telling Riley they were attempting to stop Corts from doing what former Chancellor Roy Johnson did the day before he was fired in July. Johnson sent out letters to each college in the system distributing $57 million in discretionary money that Riley and others have said was supposed to be used for other purposes. Board members said they thought Corts had handed out the $20 million on the day he resigned last month.

Board member Ella Bell of Montgomery said, ''What Dr. Corts did was the identical, same thing.''

Riley interrupted her, his voice rising as he said, ''It was not even close.''

Riley pointed out that the training money in the system's budget was discussed for months. Corts told board members in December that $20 million of the $57 million in discretionary funds was set aside for training. Riley said no board member called him to ask about the money.

''I don't have the time or the inclination to call every board member,'' he said. ''But I think you should take it upon yourself if you want to understand what these appropriations are. You're going to have to be proactive. You're going to have to call.''

Riley said he also didn't appreciate some board members claiming the training money was being diverted away from colleges to economic development. Board member Stephanie Bell of Montgomery told Riley she ''never said we were funneling money.''

Riley shot back, ''Well, Mrs. Bell, you did say that. And that's an affront to me and everyone who works in work force development.''

Some board members said they didn't like the tone of Riley's comments. ''I think we need more communication and less lecture,'' board member Betty Peters of Dothan told him.

But Riley told Peters she could have had her questions answered had she asked him. ''I cannot remember a time that you ever placed a call to me,'' he told her.

Some express regret

Other board members apologized to Riley if their actions hurt the state's economic development efforts.

Mary Jane Caylor of Huntsville said she offered the resolution on March 2 to stop the training money because she did not know how it was being

spent. ''I really deeply regret it if it caused any kind of delay or difficulty,'' Caylor said.

Board member David Byers told Riley he appreciated his administration's efforts to bring companies to the state.

''I don't think that you have to be concerned that this type of thing will continue to occur,'' Byers said.

Riley told board members he accepted their explanations for their earlier move to block the training money, but their incorrect assumptions bothered him.

''Ladies and gentlemen, all of this rhetoric is great,'' he said. ''But there was an assumption made that there was something wrong with the transfer that had been worked on for months. And that assumption was unanimously supported by this board.

''Not one time did we have a conversation, did someone say, 'Let's call the governor and ask.'''

EMAIL: bblackledge@bhamnews.com