TEXAS — As millions of Texans prepare for the November elections with more than a dozen proposed constitutional amendments, Proposition 1 will allow voters to decide whether the state should create an $850 million fund for Texas State Technical College (TSTC).
What You Need To Know
With 11 campuses across the state and increasing demand for HVAC technicians, electricians and plumbers, officials within the college system say it needs the funds to keep up with Texas’ demand for skilled workers
The Texas Workforce Commission estimates that by 2030 there will be a shortage in the trades workforce
If approved by voters, the state would take $850 million out of the general revenue fund to put into the Texas Institution Infrastructure Fund. Then the comptroller’s office would disperse the funds into a new Workforce Education Fund for the technical college to access
Critics say that if passed, Proposition 1 would create a funding process outside the normal budget process
“With that money, we can buy land, we can build buildings, we can renovate buildings, we can do infrastructure and we can buy equipment,” said Joe Arnold, TSTC’s deputy vice chancellor for government relations.
With 11 campuses across the state and increasing demand for HVAC technicians, electricians and plumbers, he says the college system needs the funds to keep up with Texas’ demand for skilled workers.
“There is a skills gap right now. There’s a shortage of technicians across Texas. There’s about a million jobs open in Texas right now in the technical fields. So the need is absolutely out there,” explained Arnold.
The Texas Workforce Commission estimates that by 2030 there will be a shortage in the trades workforce.
If approved by voters, the state would take $850 million out of the general revenue fund to put into the Texas Institution Infrastructure Fund. Then the comptroller’s office would disperse the funds into a new Workforce Education Fund for the technical college to access.
Critics say that if passed, Proposition 1 would create a funding process outside the normal budget process. But Arnold says that won’t be the case.
“All of these funds were set up to do one particular thing. And, and that’s all that money can be used for. The other thing I’ll say about that is the legislature themselves, overwhelmingly, voted to put this on the ballot. If at some point in time the Legislature wants more oversight, they can vote to put it on the ballot again to take it away,” he said.
Unlike other community colleges across the state, the Texas State Technical College system receives performance-based funding from the state.