DATE: Wednesday, May 7, 1997                TAG: 9705070007

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 
                                            LENGTH:   49 lines

SCHEV NEW TEAM. WHAT NEXT?

A dissatisfied faction on the State Council of Higher Education gained full control last week. With the resignations of four board members who had opposed the ouster of Gordon Davies, the agency's longtime director, Chairwoman Elizabeth A. McClanahan and Gov. George F. Allen can operate undeterred by dissent.

Now we shall see what they can do with that freedom and power.

Davies and his cohorts helped to create a state university system that is among the nation's most prestigious. Davies was a defender of the need for spending on public education, but he also pushed for cost-saving reorganizations including greater reliance on technology and increased teaching loads.

In accepting the four resignations, Governor Allen implied the issue was his top priority for Virginia's colleges - a continued freeze on tuition rates, which are among the nation's highest. And he spoke disparagingly of ``those who do not mind skyrocketing tuitions.'' Yet three of the four board members who resigned were Allen's own appointees. And more is at stake than the cost of higher education.

Certainly, many parents will be grateful for the attention to their bottom line. But there are reasons beyond waste and avarice why Virginia tuition levels have trended up. One is that quality costs. Another is that Virginia ranks 44th nationally in state spending for higher education.

During the early part of the decade, the state let tuitions rise rather than put more public money into higher education. The move helped Virginia avoid a tax increase during a recession, but it also shifted a greater portion of the financial burden onto the shoulders of parents.

Many observers believe that the State Council is doomed to become an ineffectual anachronism because of recent changes. The staff is in disarray. Its most experienced members have departed. Lawmakers who were in sync with Davies and relied on his judgment are likely to view pronouncements by the current Council with suspicion.

Presidents, who held Davies' intellect in high regard, even as they chaffed under his criticisms, are unlikely to be as motivated or united by a Council or director for whom they have less regard.

Allen and his loyalists on the Council have acquired the control they coveted. But they have yet to show the vision that produces a great university system. Pushing for limited spending is not an educational agenda. And financial constrictions alone cannot create and sustain excellence.

The new team at the State Council of Higher Education has now taken the field. Virginians can only hope they've got a game plan.

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