and industry organizations advocated for TSTC. “We cannot grow the Texas economy without growing TSTC,” Bennett said. “We also support the other community colleges with their career technical programs. TSTC is valuable in that it narrows down to specific trades in high demand and short supply for young people and returning veterans to get in, get an education, and get out in the workplace.” Bennett said there will be plenty of work for graduates to do, especially in artificial intelligence, industrial maintenance, and power distribution in modernizing the state’s transmission grid and distribution lines. “That project is going to be massive and you just don’t walk in and start with high-powered wiring of that substantial voltage without being heavily trained,” Bennett said. The legal structure of the endowment is designed to safeguard and focus the funds. Interest generated can only be used for deferred maintenance, purchasing land, building, and upgrading infrastructure and acquiring instructional equipment. The proposition guarantees accountability by legally restricting the use of funds for general operational costs like advertising, marketing, salaries, and travel.
“It positions the college to respond to needs that will arise in the Greater Waco region,” Arnold said. “We have a lot of manufacturers moving to Waco. Access to this reliable source of capital funding will now allow us to work with community leaders to plan for the growth in the Waco region.” The idea of an endowment began in fall 2022 with a presentation made by TSTC leaders to business association representatives in Austin. A question was posed on how to scale up the work that TSTC does to train more people. Legislation seeking a proposition question was approved by both chambers of the Texas Legislature in 2023, but there were differences in the bill, Arnold said. The legislative session ended before a compromise could be reached. An effort was made to get the endowment proposition on the ballot during this year’s legislative session. “You never take anything for granted,” Arnold said. “With so many new members in the legislature, our advocates had to work harder this time.” TSTC was established by the state Legislature and opened for its first students in 1965. The campus has locations spread across the state from Sweetwater to Marshall and extending to Harlingen in the south. The Waco campus serves as the administrative home. TSTC is the only state- supported technical college system in Texas.
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