New direction not needed at FVCC

In one corner, the “challengers.”

In the other corner, the “incumbents.”

It may not be on par with an Ultimate Fighting Championship cage match, but the contest for Flathead Valley Community College trustee positions shapes up as an interesting choice for voters — and perhaps the most important election of the year in the Flathead Valley.

The battle lines are clearly drawn between the slate of five new candidates against four current board members. The issues have been less clear, since most of the division appears to be over process and not substance.

The challengers say they want to change the way the college is educating students, but they don’t say what they would change.

They say the college is generally doing a good job, but could be doing better — but they don’t say how.

In short, the newcomers present no compelling reasons why they should replace longtime trustees, other than to argue that they are new and the old guard needs to go.

At its origins, the campaign by the challengers seems to have been fueled by the perception that some secret cabal was trying to keep them off the ballot. That prompted a flurry of late filings that put the five challengers on the ballot.

And although the college insists it has done everything according to the laws of Montana, there is at least some question about whether nominations were incorrectly being halted at 40 days before the election when they should have been allowed up to 30 days before the election. (See Montana Code Annotated, Title 20, Chapter 15, Part 219, Subsection 2.)

But mere election-filing misgivings, however, are not reason enough to qualify candidates to oversee a college. They need to have a vision for the future, and that has not yet been established.

We do not like to lump the candidates together into two camps as “incumbents” and “challengers,” but that is how the campaign has been waged. Yes, we understand that one of the incumbents has barely served on the board for more than a month, and yes, the challengers may not all see eye to eye.

But ultimately it is up to each challenger to make a compelling case for change, and not just propose change for its own sake. We have seen the result of that empty promise in other elections and expect better of our local candidates.

While we welcome people to step up and seek public office, we also hope they have new ideas and energy and the desire to help, not just adhere to some vague, quasi-conspiracy-theory agenda.

If FVCC were a dysfunctional, broken-down institution needing radical repair, one could make the case for a wholesale change in its board.

But our college is far from that.

Indeed, it is a bright spot in the community and a pillar of strength in challenging economic times. College leaders have, most impressively, been adroit enough to adapt to the economic downturn and the changing demands of students and prospective employers.

Why would we want to jeopardize that?

The old adage that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” certainly applies here.

Undoubtedly there are times in the history of an institution of higher learning that it’s necessary to change leadership and pursue new directions.

This is not one of those times.

Keep the trusted leadership at the helm of Flathead Valley Community College.