“We need to be cautious, and now is the time for change. Every option should be on the table in this process.”

While “cautious” and “every option should be on the table” might seem incompatible concepts, when the subject is the state’s public college and universities, it’s good to convey pragmatism rather than approaching the challenges with a bulldozer and trusting someone else to sort out the rubble.

Today, the House Higher Education Committee is scheduled to conduct a hearing on House Bill 5037, the Fixing Illinois Higher Education Funding Act. The speaker of the opening quote is state Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, who filed the bill Feb. 4. It has since picked up two co-sponsors, state Reps. Paul Jacobs, R-Marion, and Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights.

DeLuca’s addition is interesting not just because it makes the sponsorship team bipartisan, but he was on the Bloom Township High School Board from 1995 to 2003 before spending six years as mayor, heading into his General Assembly career. He graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School and Elmhurst College, while Keicher is a Northern Illinois University product. Jacobs, who has been an optometrist for almost 50 years, has useful experience on the Higher Education Appropriations Committee.

That’s only three of 118 House members, but it’s a good sampling of folks you’d want leading this sort of movement.

Keicher’s remarks come from a March 12 story by Camden Lazenby of Shaw Local’s Daily Chronicle. Among the options Keicher wants discussed are “expanding or downsizing some campuses or relocating, or shifting to a specialized focus that is more cost-effective and focused on career readiness.”

He further said the current structure doesn’t adequately address the underlying reasons for declining enrollment. I’ve written before about birth rate drops that began around the same time as this year’s high school graduates were born – largely attributable to economic uncertainty – but that shouldn’t be seen as providing an excuse to higher education officials, many of whom surely know how to process actuarial tables and had enough lad time to plan accordingly.

Many public and private schools nationwide are struggling to adapt as demands change. But we can’t blame societal changes in reproductive timing for a 29% drop in enrollment since 2009, a statistic that came from Keicher’s office. Nor can there be unbounded optimism for outliers like NIU having its second-largest freshman class since 2014.

Keicher’s bill calls for developing “a comprehensive, 10-year plan to ensure the long-term performance and sustainability of higher education … that ensures funding supports education outcomes, assesses the affordability of higher education … and supports long-term economic and workforce development goals.”

If we’re going to keep investing in public schools, it’s only logical to strategize so that those funds are well spent.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.