TACC partnered with Del Mar College to sponsor another successful Texas Tribune event at Studio 919 on March 7, 2019. Evan Smith, Co-founder, and CEO of Texas Tribune moderated the conversation between Senator Creighton and State Representative Turner.
Creighton R-Conroe, has represented Senate District 4 since 2014. He serves as chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee and vice chair of the Water and Rural Affairs Committee, and he sits on the Business & Commerce, Property Tax and State Affairs committees. Previously, Creighton served in the Texas House from 2007-14.
Turner, D-Grand Prairie, has represented House District 101 since 2013, after previously representing the district from 2008-10. He serves as chair of the House Higher Education Committee and vice chair of the Redistricting Committee, and he sits on the Insurance Committee. Turner also serves as chair of the House
The community colleges that educate about half the state’s higher education students are warning of possible tuition hikes if the Texas legislature enacts its sweeping property tax proposal.
The high-priority legislation would slow the growth of property tax revenue, which makes up an average 40 percent of community colleges’ funding, according to an association that represents them. The share for state appropriations for the schools, meanwhile, has plummeted from 66 percent in the 1980s to near 23 percent today.
Achieving the Dream announced Amarillo College as one of the two winners of the 2019 Leah Meyer Austin Award at its annual DREAM conference on February 19 in Long Beach, CA. Amarillo College and Columbus State Community College (Ohio) were recognized for their work measurably improving student outcomes through cultural transformation.
TACC was honored to once again host Community College Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Eager and engaged community college students met with their elected officials and advocated to advance the mission of their college and TACC’s legislative priorities for the 86th session. With an attendance of 1,151 students and faculty from colleges across Texas, the hallways of the state capitol came to life with students' desire to learn and lobby for issues they deemed crucial to their education and future. The day began with a rally on the capitol steps filled with school colors, inspirational words and motivating speeches from Senator Kel Seliger, Dr. Greg Williams, President of Odessa College, Texas Junior College Student Government Association, and Jacob Fraire, President and CEO of TACC. We closed the day with a robust discussion led by Young Invincibles (YI), founded in 2013
The Texas Success Center recognized five Texas community colleges for their work implementing and scaling mathematics pathways. The awards, given in conjunction with the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, were announced at Texas Pathways Institute #5 on November 14, 2018.
