By Millicent Valek and Rey Garcia
July 19, 2007 01:03 am
—
Gov. Perry says that community colleges are the backbone of Texas higher education. He is right. Every year over one million students pass through the doors of Texas community colleges in search of their dreams — from beginning the journey to a bachelors degree to acquiring the skills to grow the Texas economy.
Community colleges are the fastest growing sector of higher education serving over 70 percent of the lower division students. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in the visionary Closing the Gaps plan made clear that the future of Texas relies greatly on the success of the community college.
While we welcome Gov. Perry’s words of support, it is unfortunate that his beliefs were not shared with his staff who publicly and privately said that the governor does not support funding for community colleges. Community colleges are excluded from the pool of incentive funds for which the governor advocated.
The governor boasts of increases in community college funding over the last six years. These modest increases that did not keep up with our enrollment growth were completely erased with a single stroke of his veto pen, leaving community college students and supporters in shock.
The governor’s reason for his veto is an ill-informed belief that community colleges are out of step with the law. Nothing can be further from the truth. The issue commonly referred to as proportionality has been fully debated and considered by the Texas Legislature.
The Senate and the House of Representatives discussed this issue in 2003 after the governor’s State of the State address, made some changes in the funding method for community college employee health insurance, and also established new reporting requirements for community colleges through the Comptroller’s Office. In 2005 and in 2007 the issue was included in reports by the staff of the Legislative Budget Board. Both times the Legislature considered the issue and set it aside.
Contrary to the governor’s comments, the Texas Association of Community Colleges cannot appropriate state money and set state budget policy. It is not for the Association to decide or refuse to comply with state policy. The decision to appropriate funds in this matter is in the hands of the Legislature.
Consequently, the Association participated in the deliberative legislative process and we stand by the well-reasoned decisions of the Texas Legislature. The governor’s staff is not on record on this issue during the hearings held by the Legislature even though they were sitting in the room when the issue was discussed. Rather than usurp the constitutional authority of the Legislature with a post-session veto the governor should abide by the deliberate decision of the Legislature to fund health insurance benefits for eligilbe community college employees.
Funding for community colleges is based on a compact between the state and communities that choose to levy a property tax to support a college. The rules of the partnership are based on the 1969 Master Plan for Higher Education that directs funding for instruction and administration to be determined by a formula paid for by the state and directs that the colleges use their local tuition and property taxes to pay for the facilities.
At the conclusion of the 80th Legislature, the state support for its share of the agreement is down. Colleges have been using local tuition and tax dollars to fill in the gap created by the shrinking state commitment to its share of community college funding. In 1985, the state provided 64.5 percent of the budget for community colleges, and in 2005 the state is providing only 31.1 percent of the budget.
That is why when the governor notes that some state eligible community college instructors and administrators are paid from local funds it is a fact that is solely driven by the cuts in state funding.
We fully agree with the governor that the future of Texas economy is tied directly to the success of community colleges. We implore the governor to reconsider the ill-informed advice of his staff and work with the Legislature to restore his $154 million veto of community college health insurance funds.
No one wants to enact tuition and tax increases or to cut programs to raise the local funds necessary to make up for the loss of funds from the veto. The governor’s veto amounts to a penalty for providing student access.
A timely word from the governor to the Lieutenant governor and the Speaker of the House that he is willing to restore these funds will go a long way to keep Texas higher education affordable and accessible. There are many areas of agreement between the community colleges and the governor. We look forward to putting this issue behind us and working together to achieve our common goals of making Texas a better place and community colleges a place where students can continue to fulfill their dreams.
Valek is board chair and Garcia is president and CEO of the Texas Association of Community Colleges.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.