Budget would give UNC board permission to hire its own staff

The state budget approved by the House and Senate includes a provision allowing the UNC Board of Governors to hire its own staff, independent from UNC President Margaret Spellings’ General Administration staff.

But will that come to pass?

A previous version of the budget set out specifics of the board staff, which would have included up to three staffers and $300,000 in salary for the new employees. The new budget language is less specific, only saying that the board can hire staff “deemed necessary” to report directly to the board.

But it’s unclear if that will actually happen. Some members have warned that an independent staff would only foster an adversarial relationship with the president, and Board Chair Lou Bissette said this week it had never been a board priority.

“I have always believed that the President and the General Administration staff essentially work for the Board of Governors and I have never experienced a problem in getting straightforward answers and information from Margaret and her highly professional staff,” Bissette wrote in an email. “They do an excellent job of working with our Board and I would expect this to continue.”

Other board members have complained about getting timely information from the General Administration staff and have said they want to be more in-the-know on issues such as lobbying the legislature on education issues.

It could be an issue of debate as new members for the board are sworn in next month.

This story was originally published June 23, 2017 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Budget would give UNC board permission to hire its own staff."