Community colleges: long on students, short on funds
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Although those efforts were unsuccessful, some funding was made available to community colleges, but not for construction and renovation. Garcia said $500 million per year from 2010 to 2014 will be available for career training grant programs. "This is additional money for an existing program," he said. The TACC official compared the program to the Skills Development Fund, a Texas job-training program. Most of the funds are for training or equipment to assist with training, but none is earmarked for the construction and renovation needs these colleges face as they outgrow existing facilities.
Although the construction costs community colleges are facing will not get additional funding, Garcia said there will be increases in PELL grants, federal needs-based grants. "That's good," he said. "That will help us."
Growing numbers of students seeking admission to community colleges is resulting in an increasing number of communities seeking to become part of those colleges' districts. "We are definitely seeking a spike," said Garcia. "Every couple of years, there would be a couple of annexation elections. But now we're seeing more." Garcia said Austin, west Harris County and east Fort Bend County are among the areas most recently seeking to become part of existing community college districts.
There's a reason for that. Would-be students would rather pay in-district tuition costs than out-of-district costs. Garcia said the state average for in-district students is $62 per credit hour and the out-of-district cost is $91 per credit hour. However, he noted many districts are going even higher on their out-of-district costs. Austin Community College, for instance, charges $55 per credit hour for in-district students and $153 per credit hour for students outside the district.
Several communities - Bastrop, Elgin and McDade - are exploring becoming part of the Austin Community College district, said Garcia, with a goal of having a satellite campus in those communities, either in a single campus or in multiple sites to serve the different communities. Communities to the south - San Marcos and others in Hays County - are also being looked at as possible additions to a community college district. "Each of these communities is looking for more direct services at a cheaper price," said Garcia. He added that other community colleges are following ACC's lead in nearly tripling the cost per credit hour for out-of-district students. "Essentially, colleges are asking them (out-of-district students) to make up the difference that property tax payers in the district would have to pay," he said.
To become part of a community college district, entities must first file a petition bearing the names of 5 percent of the registered voters in that area. An election would then be called. If the election issue passes, a tax supporting the community college would be levied the following year. The community college would then be responsible for providing facilities and services in the annexed area.
"There is a burgeoning community college population in a number of parts of the state," said Garcia. "That is resulting in an increasing demand for services. The state's contribution to community colleges has been flat or declining in recent years, so the only place to turn is to non-state revenue sources." And that usually means property taxes or tuition revenue.
That's why community colleges were hopeful the proposed $12 million federal investment would hold up through the congressional appropriations processes. So far, it has not. "It was like being invited to the dance, but then not being asked to dance," said Garcia.
