More on Perry's Battle With Community Colleges

Governor Perry, via the Waco Tribune-Herald, has attempted to further explain his decision to veto the community college health insurance appropriation for the 2009 fiscal year. (See this post for some background.)

You might recall that Perry’s official veto message accuses community colleges of falsifying their appropriations requests by inflating the number of state-paid employees. (State-paid employees are eligible for state-funded health insurance benefits.) Perry’s latest statement, like his veto message, does not contain any specific examples of falsification.

Perry’s latest statement also completely fails to address the question of why the governor did not voice his concern during the regular session, when legislators could address the issue.

In fact, the more I learn about this veto, the more outraged I become. For one thing, it is apparently virtually impossible to falsify the appropriations requests, at least as to the number of employees. In addition, Perry’s proposed budget included full funding for health insurance, and the Lege approved 90% of the proposed amount. Then Perry vetoed the 2008-2009 appropriation. Go figure.

Meanwhile, community college students will face higher tuition and fewer course offerings. The Austin Community College Board of Trustees has already approved an increase in tuition and fees. And I’m still not sure why Perry believes this is all necessary.