Can Proposition 1 power the Big Country’s next wave of job growth?

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – TSTC Deputy Vice Chancellor for Government Relations Joe Arnold discussed a proposed constitutional amendment that would give Texas State Technical College (TSTC) an $850 million endowment aimed at directly benefiting current and future students.

Both the Senate and the House have introduced resolutions to place the amendment on the November ballot, which would generate funds for capital projects at TSTC.

“This is about a four-year project for us,” Arnold explained. “It first came up in 2022. We discussed it with leadership in the Senate and the House and at the governor’s office, and actually voted a bill out. It passed in ’23, but there were competing bills from the House and the Senate, and it didn’t get out of the conference committee in time. We came back with another shot in 2025, so this has been in the works for quite some time now.”

With 1.4 million vacant technical jobs across Texas, Arnold highlighted the need for skilled training, particularly in construction, transportation, and welding.

“For us, it’s all about getting every one of our students a job when they leave us. That’s why we have the money-back guarantee. If you don’t get a job, we’ll give you your money back or train you in something else. To date, we’ve never given anyone’s money back,” Arnold shared. “It doesn’t take you far to look to see the need. I mean, it’s out there. Employers are clamoring for well-trained technicians right now.”

Arnold emphasized that employers value skills over degrees. Sometimes students are hired before finishing their associate degrees.

“When you can give somebody a skill that they can take and build on for the rest of their life, they’re going to have a leg up out there,” Arnold said. “So if you give them those skills, they’re going to do better in life. A lot of our students, I’m telling you, it’s changing the trajectory of their entire family. They’re the first ones that have been able to go to a college and really come out debt-free, or near debt-free, and able to make it in this world and not just make it, but prosper.”

He added that the endowment would be funded from existing state funds, meaning there would be no tax increase.

“The endowment will never cause your taxes to go up. So it’s something you can vote on today with a good conscience that you know you’re not going to be footing the bill for this. This is money that the state of Texas already has,” Arnold expressed.

The $850 million would be managed by the comptroller’s office, not directly by TSTC.

“They invest that money in a special fund that will be there until the voters decide to change that fund on an annual basis, maybe every 15-18 months, the comptroller will say, okay, here are the earnings from that, and they’ll take the earnings out of that. They’ll pay the fees that they have to pay for managing the fund, they’ll put a small portion of the earnings back into the fund to adjust for inflation, and then what’s left over will go into the available Workforce Education Fund,” Arnold said. “That’s a fund that we will then be able to draw down on, so we wouldn’t see monies available to TSTC for at least 15, maybe 18 months from January. After that, there will be an annual flow of funds, if the markets are doing well and their investments are doing well for the available workforce, funds that we would be able to utilize.”

If approved, the funds would directly benefit students by expanding TSTC’s campus resources and footprint.

“The direct impact on the students is going to be operating on new equipment. You need to learn how to work on the same equipment that you’re going to work with when you get to industry. So we have to keep up, and this fund can be used for things like that. The fund can be used for equipment purchases. It can be used to purchase land, build buildings, build infrastructure, renovate buildings and create capacity,” Arnold explained.

Early voting begins Monday, October 20, and runs through the Friday before the November 4 election.