Since Senate Bill 1230 was signed in 2021, Texas 2036 has engaged in discussions with more than 40 experts about our current community college finance system, and the structure and features an online tool like this would need to accurately portray how the system works today – and how it can be improved for the future.
We convened an advisory group of community college leaders and advocates to inform the development of the tool and guide its future capabilities. Advisory group members include:
- Dr. Pamela Anglin—President, Paris Junior College
- Armin Cantini—Trustee, Galveston College
- Emily Cormier—Assistant Commissioner, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
- Dr. Mark Escamilla—President & CEO, Del Mar College
- Chris Fernandez—Director of Policy Analysis, Texas Association of Community Colleges
- Dr. Brenda Hellyer—Chancellor, San Jacinto College (co-chair)
- Dr. Brenda Kays—President, Kilgore College
- Dr. Joe May—Chancellor, Dallas College (co-chair)
- Betty McCrohan—President, Wharton County Community College
- Richard Moore—Executive Director, Texas Community College Teachers Association
- Dr. Wynn Rosser—President & CEO, T.L.L. Temple Foundation
- Dr. William Serrata—President, El Paso Community College
- Todd Williams—Chairman & CEO, The Commit Partnership
Many of the tool’s basic capabilities rely on publicly available data about community colleges’ spending and income. However, Texas 2036 in partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas received approval to access more data through Texas’ Education Research Center to expand the possibilities of financial simulations to show, such as data about students from different backgrounds. Texas 2036 has leveraged this data to model the recommendations of the Texas Commission on Community College Finance, allowing for various simulations within those recommendations..