The "height of irresponsibility," and "outrage" are just two expressions offered by leaders of the Texas Association of Community Colleges concerning the stunning proposal in the House to eliminate funding for four two-year institutions. (Please see previous posts for background.)
The four schools are Brazosport College, Odessa College, Ranger College, and Frank Phillips College. State officials said that their growth in contact hours was slower than other institutions.
TACC president Rey Garcia is quoted in the Texas Government Insider, saying the appropriations bill put forth last week was designed to "gut them like a trout and hope they die."
In a letter hand-delivered Wednesday to House Speaker Joe Straus and Rep. Jim Pitts, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee and who put forth the bill in the House, Dr. Garcia said TACC was making an "extraordinary request" for them to "renounce and retract" the recommendation to close the four colleges. He listed several problems the recommendation is causing already—from possible lawsuits if current construction projects are halted, to the impact the recommendation would have on fund raising, bond issues, and faculty contracts for next year.
Here's the entire letter, but note this key passage concerning faculty:
Faculty Contracts: In about 6 weeks, the colleges will have to renew or terminate faculty for Fall 2011. With a recommendation to close the college hanging over their heads, the respective boards of trustees of each of the colleges will have to exercise their fiduciary responsibility and terminate their faculty. This is not a step that is easily reversed. These colleges are located in areas of the state where recruitment of qualified faculty is a challenge. It takes years to build a quality faculty, it will take moments to destroy it.
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