Faculty and staff press Howard County delegation to back transparency, anonymous surveys and trustee training at HCC
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Summary
Multiple Howard Community College faculty and staff testified in support of HOCO 1-25 and related amendments seeking restored anonymous employee surveys, routine public comment at trustee meetings, external trustee training and greater transparency after recent HR shakeups and contract outsourcing.
Faculty, staff and union representatives told the Howard County delegation that Howard Community College (HCC) needs statutory changes to restore transparency, protect employee feedback and strengthen trustee oversight.
Multiple witnesses — including associate professors, division chairs and union organizers — supported HOCO 1-25 with amendments that would require the HCC Board of Trustees to provide routine public comment periods at meetings, to make meeting recordings and materials publicly available, to undertake periodic external trustee training, and to restore an anonymous employee survey (the former QUEST survey) used to gather candid feedback.
“Transparency and accountability are the foundation of good governance,” Roberta Brown, an HCC faculty member since 2007, told the delegation. Several witnesses described a pattern of administrative decisions made without what they characterized as adequate consultation with faculty, and they said long-standing employee feedback mechanisms had been curtailed.
Speakers cited several concrete concerns: a recently approved roughly $7.7 million contract to outsource the college’s human resources function to an outside firm, multiple recent HR departures and suspensions, delays in paying faculty overload contracts, and leadership turnover. Philip Vilardo, a longtime HCC professor and former dean, warned the delegation that rapid outsourcing of core operations may expose the college to accreditation risk with Middle States, and he asked for closer board oversight.
Faculty urged restoration of an anonymous college-wide employee survey. Renee May, a humanities professor, said the prior QUEST survey “was abandoned in favor of a survey designed in house, which was not only not anonymous, but also asked only multiple choice questions with no room for qualitative responses.” Witnesses argued that anonymous feedback increases candor and accuracy of data provided to trustees.
Several presenters also raised allegations about targeted enforcement of a campus policy on postings and signage. Dr. Alejandro Musio described campus security removing union-related window signs and quoting a campus official who said, “the union signs gotta go.” AFT representatives said the action could violate labor protections and indicated they are pursuing remedies.
Union representatives and an AFT organizer urged passage of the bill’s amendments as a path to rebuild trust and restore stable operations. The witnesses said they want a college governance structure that better connects board-level oversight with on-the-ground realities for students, faculty and staff. Delegates heard sustained testimony but took no immediate legislative vote at the hearing.
The trustees, college administration and the county delegation will determine next steps as the bill moves through the session. Witnesses asked the delegation to consider restoring public comment protocols, requiring public posting of recordings and materials, and ensuring trustee training obligations.