Tuition Revenue Bonds

The rates of student enrollment and completion for higher education have been on the rise the past few years. According to the editorial “Tuition Revenue Bonds are Necessary” from the San Antonio Express News, Texas enrollment has increased 53 percent since 2000, which gives us 1.56 million students today. Texas has had a goal of getting this number up to 1.65 million by 2015. Giving the institutions funds to make improvements and give them resources needed for the growing number of students would make sense, but instead, lawmakers have decreased the funding for these institutions by about $1 million in the last biennium. Many universities need this funding to complete projects, such as an experimental science instructional building for the University of Texas at San Antonio and a science and technology building for Texas A&M in San Antonio. Sen. Judith Zaffirini has filed a bill to allow state colleges and universities to issue tuition revenue bonds in order to meet the growing needs on the campuses this session. Fifty state school and institutions are now requesting these tuition bonds. The editorial argues that it is “unreasonable to challenge college and universities to increase attendance and then ignore the serious academic space needs.”

I agree with this because without money or the needed projects, the goal number of students won’t be met. As the enrollment number grows, so is the number of projects needed to do. It doesn't make sense to set a goal for these institutions, then not help them get there. 

Safety in School

Safety in schools has always been a major concern for parents. According to a news article on KVUE, there is a new bill to step it up a notch, the “School Marshal Program.”  This program would put a new kind of law enforcement in schools. This opportunity would be available to any of the employees who would like to serve as a marshal and are willing to go through the 80 hours of training. The article states the school would have a limit to one marshal for every 400 students and their weapon would be stored away safely, but still within reach if needed. There is also a regulation for the ammunition used by the marshals.

The article is a good read because it is something that may happen and affect us in the future. Parents should know what is going on and what may possibly be brought into their children’s school. I personally believe it is a good idea because it makes the school a safer place and there would be people there to protect the children in case an emergency, such as the recent shootings, happens in their school.