The Texas Legislature has been hard at work this month trying to come up with a budget. And among those watching the proceedings closely, says The Texas Tribune, few have more to lose than Texas’s colleges and universities.
Even as enrollments continue to rise statewide, many schools are likely to see funding cuts. That means less money for more students.
The House’s proposed budget cuts funding for higher education, but those cuts are meager in comparison to the Senate’s budget, which would slash funding for universities significantly.
Thus, like many issues during the recent legislative sessions, the issue basically comes down to a struggle between the differing ideologies of Speaker of the House Joe Straus, a centrist Republican, and the Senate of far-right firebrand Dan Patrick, a Tea Party darling.