THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 28, 1996 TAG: 9606280470
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON BLAKE, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
LENGTH: 115 lines
Can Virginia Military Institute go private?
State officials, legal experts and VMI affiliates considered that question Thursday, a day after the Supreme Court ruled 7-1 that the school cannot accept public funds and remain all-male.
The answer depends on whom you talk with. And the issues of privatization range from how the state's property would be handled to whether opponents could launch a legal challenge forcing VMI to remain public.
Just about the only thing that everyone agrees on is that going private wouldn't be easy.
``That is an immensely complicated decision,'' said VMI board member Anita Blair. ``We as a board are not the only ones involved in it. The alumni, the state, the taxpayers, the employees are also.
``My personal test is: `Will what we do enhance excellence in education in Virginia?' ''
An eight-member committee of officials from VMI's alumni organizations has worked since spring to explore going private, said Edwin ``Pete'' Cox, outgoing president of the VMI Alumni Association.
The committee may have a recommendation in time for the July 11-13 Board of Visitors meeting, when the governing board will decide what to do.
If the school pursued privatization, which is expected to cost millions, the General Assembly and the governor ultimately would have to approve, attorneys said Thursday.
And the plan, which couldinclude the state's selling the VMI campus, is sure to spark fierce political debate.
``I would not vote for that,'' said state Senate Democratic Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax County. ``Why should we sell off VMI? Why not U.Va. and William & Mary?''
The value of the VMI campus has been estimated at near $150 million. VMI's current $180 million endowment might have to increase by as much as $200 million to replace the state's annual contribution of $10.3 million in operating funds.
Next year, VMI's operating budget is $33 million.
``That's the law of the land,'' Saslaw said of the court's ruling. ``When are we handing off state assets because alumni don't like a Supreme Court decision? I don't see it happening.''
In the House, Minority Leader Vance Wilkins, R-Amherst County, joined critics of the ruling.
``VMI has been a good school and done a good job,'' Wilkins said. ``I don't want to see it destroyed by a whim of a court - a strong whim of a court.''
Legally, the question of whether the court decision lets VMI go private remained debatable.
A law professor at the University of Virginia, A.E. ``Dick'' Howard, said he thinks nothing in the court's opinion stands in VMI's way. ``The issue simply was not before the court,'' he said.
``If VMI chooses to go private, one objection I'm sure would be made is that it is an effort to evade the Supreme Court,'' he said, adding that opponents would likely compare such a bid to efforts 32 years ago to avoid integration by privatizing schools.
But Howard added that he thinks the main barrier to privatization ``is likely not so much to be federal constitutional law as the practical realities.''
One of Howard's colleagues at U.Va., however, said the school runs a ``real risk'' of further legal action if it were seen as trying to do an end-run around the Constitution.
``The court has ruled, and unequivocally,'' said law professor Mary Ann Case. ``It's time for them to accept this.''
U.S Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin said the agency, which first brought suit against VMI in 1990, ``would have to consider what, if anything, we would do'' if the school tried to go private.
Bill Berry, the rector of VMI's Board of Visitors, said he had hoped the court would have clarified whether a private VMI would be legitimate.
``It's still a murky issue, as far as I can tell,'' Berry said.
Another hurdle to going private is that the move could prompt tuition to skyrocket.
``VMI has always prided itself that the student body comes from a wide range of socioeconimic backgrounds,'' Berry said. ``If you had to go private and had to double the tuition, you could lose that.''
Next year, in-state students will pay $8,790 in tuition and fees; out-of-state students will pay $15,255.
Aside from the $10 million in operating funds VMI needs, there remains the unique, state-owned campus. With its parade ground and hulking barracks, it is hardly a typical piece of commercial real estate.
The campus is a National Historic Landmark, which could further complicate a sale, Berry said.
``You can't say, `I'll tear everything down and build a Holiday Inn,''' Berry said. ``That's why, to me, an appraiser would have an extremely difficult time determining market value.''
Others interviewed Thursday suggested the property could be sold by the state, or perhaps leased to VMI.
The Contingency Planning Committee, whose meeting this week was canceled, has considered details including how to convert faculty from state to private employees, Cox said.
The committee includes two members of the college's Board of Visitors. If more than two were members, the committee's meetings would have to be open to the public, under state law.
Cox said he still hasn't decided what to do. ``I want to be sure we will have an institution that would be worth having,'' said Cox, noting that the school always has been characterized by a ``respect of constituted authority.''
Not all alumni support going private.
``The court has ruled, and unequivocally,'' said Cabell Brand of Salem, who graduated in 1944. ``It's time for them to accept that. I'm glad it's over. If we've learned anything, we've learned to take orders. We've got to accept the decision now and go on.
``I think it's ridiculous to talk about going private. It's not an option.'' MEMO: Dan Casey and Michael Croan of the Roanoke Times contributed to
this story. ILLUSTRATION: Challenges to going private: skyrocketing tuition,
selling the campus.
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA MILITARY ACADEMY by CNB