Tuesday

Gov. Perry's Outrageous Veto

Gov. Rick Perry has dealt a crippling blow to junior colleges in general and WTC in particular in his decision to veto funds approved for health insurance.

His decision took legislators by surprise as he had given no warning of a veto and legislators had followed commission guidelines.

There is great cynicism as to his stated reason for the cuts of fraud by the junior colleges when it has been shown that most colleges are actually in compliance with rules governing health insurance.

Speculation as to his real motivations range from pressure by the large colleges to bring junior college costs in line with theirs to a personal vendetta against certain people who supported his opponent in a previous election.

Whatever Gov. Perry’s motivation, his actions hurt education in Texas at a time when having an educated workforce is one of our most important assets.

Junior colleges educate well over half the students in the state at a very reasonable cost compared to four year colleges.

Large junior colleges in the cities near major universities may be able to absorb the cost and keep running without cutbacks, but rural junior colleges such as WTC who have to scramble for their students cannot afford the large unexpected cuts.

Gov. Perry’s actions are outrageous.

They harm education in the very region where he grew up.

They hurt economically disadvantage students.

They hurt education in Texas.

If you want to protest his actions, there are petitions being circulated in Snyder.

You can also call or e-mail Gov. Perry’s office. (www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/)
(800-252-9600).

Or you can call state representative Drew Darby (325-653-8830) or state senator Robert Duncan (800-546-9928).

We need to keep pressure on Gov. Perry and hope he will do the right thing for education in Texas.

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I signed the petition. I am curious about one thing, why does WTC fund the senior center and the museum? Neither one really falls under education.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The above issue was misreported in the newspaper, twice.
First, the college only administers the money for the senior citizens center. THE COLLEGE COLLECTS NO TAX MONEY FOR THE SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER. This comes from grants or state or federal money specifically for the center.
Second, most of the money for the museum from the college comes in the form of maintainance of the building. This was part of the original bond issue which included money for other college buildings. The museum building is part of and enhances the campus and the college maintains it.
The museum gets the majority of its operating revenue from fund raising, memberships, its endowment, donations and the county. The college contributes some cash for opertating since it uses the building for receptions, classes, and storage.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So does the college pay the salaries at the senior center or are they paid by grants or fund raising? I can see the museum does enhance the college grounds, but how does the senior center tie in with the college?

Thursday, July 12, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Funding for the senior center comes from federal and state monies, which are essentially grants, the city, the county, fund raising and donations for meals.

The college oversees and administers the paper work for the center and bids out major purchases such as vehicles.

The college also picks up the insurance for the center's vehicles and retirees. The out of pocket portion paid by WTC amounts to about $30,000.

The point Dr. Dreith was making in his speech to the senior center, which started all this, is that WTC is involved in many ways in our community and is a true "community" college.

The senior center is a wonderful resource for our community.

It is very well run and many parts of the town and county are working together to make this happen

Thursday, July 12, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Governor Goodhair gives republicans and the state of Texas a bad name. He is an equal opportunity offender,though, and has irritated just about all segments of the state with his shoot from the hip veto style. Hopefully, Senator Hutcheson will run for the job next time.

Thursday, July 12, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't have a problem with the senior center at all--I was just surprised when the local paper said the salaries were paid by WTC. I didn't think that was right, but soo many people believe everything they see in print.

Thursday, July 12, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Also, we certainly appreciate WTC in our community and want it to stay and grow!. Maybe some of the students there could go to work at the SDN eventually and report the current news correctly.

Thursday, July 12, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lots of negative comments on the newspaper.
I'm curious, did the newspaper get facts wrong or simply report what was said by WTC officials.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gov.Perry is an idiot! His comments on the current TDCJ guard shortage are ridiculous! He says our Prisons
don't need any more support and could be run by "a bunch of trained monkeys". Well, I would like to invite him to step into the jungle himself and try it! He should probably be in Prison himself anyway.
TDCJ is short 4,000 guards statewide.
His cure for the shortage..give more prsioners early parole...that will cure it!...DO YOU FEEL SAFE IN YOUR HOME NOW!!!

Friday, February 01, 2008  

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