Governor Rick Perry has reached an agreement to allocate $99-million for the state’s share of health benefits.
On Oct. 24, Gov. Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Tom Craddick, announced that an agreement was made on funding the state’s health benefits.
A $55-million transitional payment for fiscal year 2009 and an incentive funding program for the community colleges in Texas are a part of the agreement.
“Representatives around the state had to express their disappointment,” said EPCC President, Dr. Richard Rhodes, in order for Perry to rethink his veto of the health care benefits.
Rhodes and Artura Huerta, Board Chair, sent a letter asking the governor to rethink his veto.
Perry said these funds will be allocated through a combination of budget execution or other existing transfer authority by Sep. 1, 2008.
Funds removed from another appropriation for this purpose will be restored through a supplemental appropriation when the legislature reconvenes in January.
“It would have affected me,” said Saturnino Gonzalez, accounting instructor. “Now we don’t have to raise tuition or property tax or look for other ways to raise that money.”
Proportionality was one of the biggest issues Perry had with the funding. And the definition of proportionality was reconfirmed.
It states that proportionality calls for the state to only fund the portion of health care costs that corresponds to the number of college employees paid by the state.
Gonzalez said that the veto would have cut EPCC’s travel money which means fewer out-of-town conferences.
“We would have had a hard time staying up to date on or teaching nationally.”
Stacy Zeller-Mayo, sociology instructor and faculty development staff member, said “[The veto] would have cut the number of [faculty development] events or the number of people you could invite. It’s important to have the workshops and the out-of-town events, but I would not say travel isn’t as important as health care.”
Perry, Dewhurst and Craddick decided that they will appoint a task force to make recommendations, to be considered by the 2009 legislature, on how future incentive funds should be allocated.
As part of the agreement, the governor, lieutenant governor and the speaker will ask community colleges to rescind tuition, fee or tax increases adopted in FY08 and any tuition, fee, or tax increases under consideration for FY09 that have been designated to offset the original veto, according to the governor’s website.
“Community colleges are an integral part of our higher education system in Texas and, through incentive funding, we can begin to hold all our institutions of higher education accountable for the students they produce rather than just those they enroll,” according to the website.
