College officials make state funding requests

Texas college officials started meeting at the Texas Capitol in Austin on Tuesday to make requests for funding from the state during its 87th legislative session.

“It’s going to be a whirlwind. It’s going to be fast, and we’re all going to have to work together to recover the state’s economy,” Houston Community College Chancellor Cesar Maldonado said.

This year’s legislative session is taking place during a global pandemic that forced many colleges campuses to close and adapt hybrid formats while placing additional pressures on students — particularly those with lesser resources and lower family income, said Jason Smith, vice chancellor for government relations at the University of Houston.

Texas Higher Education Commissioner Harrison Keller told the Senate Finance Committee that in addition to the hundreds of millions of dollars lost during the pandemic and the “collapse of multiple revenue streams,” state institutions will likely bear the costs associated with last week’s winter storm. It will take weeks to assess the damage, he

said.

College officials noted in legislative appropriation requests that the pandemic put a financial bind on higher education, and that the state forced government officials to ask colleges to return 5 percent of their revenue last summer to offset possible financial restraints in the future.

Some institutions like San Jacinto College and Lone Star College, however, have decided to make no requests, according to documents provided to the state.

“Lone Star College is aware that there is a budget shortfall. Therefore, our legislative priorities are not built around asking for more money but in holding steady the current funding formula,” said Kyle Scott, Lone Star’s vice chancellor of Strategic Priorities.

Texas Southern University interim President Kenneth Huewitt said TSU has felt the pressures of the country’s economic downturn and resulting budget cuts like other colleges.

Still, “we decided we’re going to ask for what we need. It’s not a wish list. It’s a needs list,” Huewitt said of Houston’s only historically Black university.

Texas colleges want the following from state lawmakers:

Prairie View A&M University: Restoration of state budget cuts and an additional $70 million for programs, including $6 million for the Health Houston Initiative, which aims to improve the quality of life in Houston area communities through outreach education; $4 million for the Juvenile Crime Prevention Center, which does research, education and training to prevent and reduce juvenile crime and delinquency in Texas; and approval of $10 million debt service that will

allow construction of a $60 million multi-use classroom and student support services facility.

Houston Community College: With an expected increase in enrollment, HCC has requested $134 million, the same amount it received last biennium, Maldonado said. HCC has also joined a collaborative request from all community colleges in the state for a combined $50 million for the Texas Reskilling & Upskilling through Education initiative to prepare students for in-demand careers.

Texas A&M University: Officials want the 5 percent budget cut restored; $25.7 million for the biennium to hire 128 faculty members, and roughly $35 million in debt to update the Biological and Chemical Sciences Complex.

Texas Southern University: Requested $157 million for university enhancements, including renovations to academic buildings

to accommodate new projects; $142 million to improve campus infrastructure, and $4.5 million to advance on-campus technology, particularly to assist with new restraints during the pandemic.

University of Houston: Officials requested about $150 million, with $20 million allotted for the UH College of Medicine and $9 million for the College of Pharmacy. UH also wants funding for new buildings and operations, and for mental health initiatives including hiring more counselors, said Smith, UH vice chancellor for government relations.

UH officials are also asking the legislature to allow them to investigate the economic impact of UH being named a Top 50 school in the U.S. News and World Report’s annual college rankings, Smith said.

“We hope to look at … how being a top 50 school would have an impact on UH and the city of

Houston, and Texas, essentially,” Smith said.

UH-Clear Lake: Requests restoration of state cuts to its budget, as well as funding for STEM facilities and community-based support programs like the Center for Autism and Development Disabilities.

UH-Downtown: Wants $13.4 million from the state, with about $3.6 million going to public service projects and enhancements for the university.

UH-Victoria: Will similarly request funding to compensate for budget cuts and to enhance the campus.

University of Texas at Austin: Requests a total of $30.5 million, which includes $12 million for the Texas Advanced Computing Center, a resource center for computing researchers, and $5.3 million to develop UT’s Texas Viral Pathogen Testing Network.