The $100 million and $111 million recommended for community colleges by the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee workgroups, respectively, falls far short of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s $600 million recommendation; however, we fare better than some of our counterparts. For instance, the leadership made $750 million available for education; $550 million of that amount is mandated for public education under the new funding mechanism passed in the special session last year. Only $35 million has been recommended for four-year general academic programs.
While we remain hopeful and confident that our $100 million recommendation will be increased, it is no small sum. For DCCCD, this increase would mean an extra $2 million to $3 million over our current allocation.
Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will discuss community college funding. This meeting will give us a sense of the full committee’s thoughts on the workgroup’s recommendations. Following this meeting, we will provide you with tools to assist us with our advocacy efforts.
