Armbrister says mid-October is the drop dead date for Community College solution

September 6, 2007 12:51 PM

By Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com

The Big Three continue to work on finding the money while they wait for lawmakers to determine policy issues.

During testimony before the House Select Committee on Higher and Public Education Finance this morning, Ken Armbrister said he anticipates some resolution of the revenue shortfalls from the governor's recent community college funding veto before a designated mid-October drop dead date.

Armbrister's testimony followed testimony from Rep. Ruth McClendon (D-San Antonio), who expressed her shock at the unexpected veto and noted that the issue of the vetoed funds was never brought before the Appropriations subcommittee that handled the funding for K-12 and higher education.

Talking to reporters after his testimony, Armbrister said the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House continue to hash out how the state will pay for the vetoed funds, which Armbrister anticipates will come out of undesignated tuition revenue bond funding. Designating those funds will require a meeting of the Legislative Budget Board.

The policy issue -- how the state will address the core issue of proportionality of state and local funding -- will have to be determined by the state's policy leaders in the House and Senate, Armbrister said.

It would be the preference of the Governor's Office to re-open the issue of incentive funding in the community college arena. Armbrister said the issue was supported by the community college community during the session.

The mid-October date is necessary so that community colleges understand whether tax rates or tuition rates need to be adjusted this year. The one thing that no one wants, Armbrister said, is a community college that is "double dipping," benefiting from both local increases and state funding increases.