The Northeast Texas Community College Board of Trustees met for its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 28th.
During the president’s report, Dr. Ron Clinton gave an update from the Texas Legislature. He said that both HB8 and SB2539 (companion bills proposing major changes in community college funding) were favorably received in two important Higher Ed Committee hearings last week. It was noteworthy that in last week’s hearings, on both the House and Senate side, there were no negative testimonies brought against the bill. Clinton added that this was highly uncommon in legislative proceedings and speaks to the widespread support for this important legislation.
“HB8 was unanimously passed by the House Higher Ed committee and is now moving on to the full House for a vote, where we expect passage by the full House as well,” Clinton said. “We are very appreciative of our local Representative, Gary Vandeaver, for being a lead sponsor of this bill.”
On the Senate side, SB2539 is pending consideration by the Senate Higher Ed Committee as it waits for HB8 to pass the full House before moving forward with additional hearings on the bill. Texas community colleges, including NTCC, are supportive of both bills.
Clinton mentioned three other bills that impact community colleges that are being watched closely. SB458 involves the use of clinical sites by higher education institutions for health science training. This bill would prioritize Texas public colleges and universities over for-profit institutions when it comes to allocating clinical locations, which will be beneficial to Texas community colleges.
HB584 is also being supported by Texas community colleges. It relates to the development of a state information technology credential offered by public junior colleges or public technical institutes to address shortages in the state information resources workforce.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) is opposing HB3048, which would authorize Texas State Technical College (TSTC) to provide workforce training in community college service areas without permission.
“While TSTC is a valuable resource for training in Texas, we don’t believe this bill is in the best interest of the state and could potentially result in a duplication of services within college districts,” Clinton said.
Clinton also reported that the SIM lab construction in the former Physical Fitness Annex building is well underway and the college is looking forward to the increased capacity for health science programs to utilize simulation technology in their training. The new facility is slated to open during the fall 2023 semester.
In action items, the board approved the consent agenda and voted to hire Jon Evan as the new Head Men’s Soccer Coach. He comes to NTCC from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. Dr. Jonathan McCullough, Executive Vice President for Advancement, said that Evan brings a wealth of experience and is looking forward to making this area home with his family.
