Residency issue needs solution

The law is clear. Two of the IU trustees -- not including the student trustee -- can live in the same county. No more.\nStephen Ferguson, an appointed trustee, lives in Monroe County. Fred Eichhorn, an IU trustee appointed by the governor, moved from Lake County to Monroe County in February. In June, Sue Talbot, another Monroe County resident, was elected to the board of trustees by alumni. \nThat makes three. There has been no resignation, no new appointment, no reelection. And the trustees' lawyers decided they are doing just fine.\nDecisions made by the trustees are perfectly valid in the eyes of the law, Trustee John Walda told the IDS.\nThat depends on who is looking. Law is open to interpretation, and the trustees are leaving themselves open to a lawsuit as soon as they make an unpopular decision.\nEichhorn still officially lives in Lake County even though he moved to Monroe County in February. \nWalda told the IDS that Eichhorn's residency at the time of his appointment remains the same throughout his term since he does not represent a geographicaly-specific constituency in the state.\nSue Talbot's June election edged the number of trustees who live in Monroe County -- officially or otherwise -- over the limit.\nWhen the limit was set to two trustees from one county, all the trustees were picked by the governor. The law was written to prevent the governor from favoring one county. The limit did not take the three elected trustees into account. But that doesn't put the current board in the clear. \nOnly two trustees can live in one county to ensure equal representation. \nThe trustees are supposed to represent the entire state and extend the availability of its resources to "provide excellent educational opportunity for all persons," according to the Indiana Code. \nEven if the trustees were operating within the letter of the residency law, they defy its 'equal representation' spirit.\nWhen Eichhorn comes up for re-appointment in July he will be considered a Monroe County resident, leaving him ineligible. By then the trustees hope for a change in the law.\nState Rep. Mark Kruzan, D-Bloomington, offered a bill that would have excluded elected trustees -- like Talbot -- from the residency law. The bill died this year, but chances are Kruzan will bring it up again. If that bill passes, then another Monroe County trustee can be appointed without a hitch.\nBut the fact remains: Talbot's election edged the trustees onto shaky legal ground. \nThe trustees may be open to a lawsuit if anyone claims one of the board's votes invalid. \nThe board makes decisions that have serious impact on students' lives and finances. As a group, they are IU President Myles Brand's boss. They should go on making these decisions, beyond the shadow of a possible lawsuit. Not within a cloud of legal black magic that could go up in smoke.