RIO GRANDE CITY, Jan. 22 – South Texas College may have to stop providing health insurance for its employees if state lawmakers implement House Bill 1 as it is currently written, says STC President Shirley Reed.
Another alternative to be considered by STC’s board of trustees, Reed told the Guardian, is a big increase in tuition fees. She said the elimination of programs would be the last thing to be cut.
“The stark option, if the state does not maintain funding, for our employee health insurance is do we not provide it for our employees,” Reed said, after a hard hitting speech to visiting state lawmakers at STC’s Rio Grande City campus.
“The board must decide what to do. Do we increase tuition to pay for the health insurance? Our tax rate is at the maximum, it cannot be increased. The state is cutting our funding, so we have very few options,” Reed told the Guardian.
Ugly choices are being forced on the board of trustees by state lawmakers. Under HB 1, which was introduced in the Texas House by the Republican leadership this week, funding for community colleges will be slashed. In the case of STC, a funding cut of 17 percent is proposed. The college has seen a 23 percent increase in student enrollment growth over the past two years. There will be no state money to pay for this growth, Reed explained.
Reed pointed out that the state of Texas pays community colleges for operational costs two years after the college has served the students. During the last two years, enrollment growth at STC has been 23 percent, Reed said. “We currently have 30,000 students. We project to have 32,000 students and then 35,000 students, but we will only have the money for 25,000 students,” Reed said.
HB 1 seeks to overcome a $27 billion state budget shortfall by cutting funding in public and higher education, health care, public safety and other state services. The bill does not tap into the $9 billion Rainy Day Fund nor propose tax increases to close the budget gap.
The visit by state lawmakers to Rio Grande City was organized by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. By touring a campus that local leaders agree has helped transform the quality of life of Starr County residents, Reed told lawmakers the visit was “supposed to be cheery.” However, she said she was dressed all in black after having read the contents of HB 1.
In a question and answer session, state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, asked Reed how much of a hit STC was taking as a result of HB 1.
“We grew 23 percent and you are going to cut our funding 17 percent. There is something wrong with that math,” Reed said. “You are not funding the growth and you are reducing the formula funding.”
Reed told Guillen there would be far less money to serve 23 percent more students. That might mean a cut in health insurance coverage for employees, she said. “You are probably looking at a bill of about $4 million a year to maintain employee health insurance,” Reed said. “We are going to be raising tuition so we have enough funds to pay the health insurance for our employees.”
Reed said there were other bad things in HB 1. Job training funds for the Texas Workforce Commission were being cut in half, she said. “That means less money to do workforce training,” Reed said. She said there was also a “real concern” that funding for dual enrollment would be cut. “We have 9,000 students participating in dual enrollment. If that (cut) goes through, that program is going to be history,” Reed said.
Reed said HB 1 also totally de-funds STC’s baccalaureate program. “That is what I have found so far. There is a lot of other good stuff in there,” Reed said of HB 1.
Reed told Guillen that the STC board has been expecting massive budget cuts from the state for the past two years. Accordingly, she said, it has been reducing its operating budget by ten percent each year.
“We are not going to cut services for students. That is our absolute priority. That will be the last thing cut,” Reed told Guillen and the other lawmakers. She said that when STC’s “virtual” campus, known as E-STC is up and running next year, online programs and tutoring to 10,000 students will be provided at a substantially reduced cost.
Another aspect of the cuts would be the non-purchase of new technology. “It won’t be long before our technology programs will be quite outdated,” Reed said.
Reed said she is often asked why STC does not simply stop enrollment. She said she responds by saying: “Is it your child I say ‘no’ to?”
Reed concluded her remarks to the visiting lawmakers by acknowledging things are going to get tough.
“There are going to be consequences. We understand the need. We are a willing participant, we want to do our part but we don’t think as much of the cuts should be on the backs of higher ed. Put it on somebody else’s back,” she said.
Asked later how big an impact the cuts to STC will have, Guillen said: “It’s a hell of a lot more than a 17 percent cut. I would venture to say the cuts to STC are closer to a 30 percent cut, all the way across,” Guillen said. “Our communities are very reliant on government programs. The cuts are going to have a huge, disproportionate impact on the border, bigger than in other parts of the state.”
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