Texas Legislation Troubles Local College
By: Monica Tassoni
Updated: January 19, 2011
" Things are going to be okay, Texas has serious budget problem and there are some institutions that are going to have cuts, but Odessa College will not be one of them because there is no case for targeting Odessa College." Said Rep. Tryon Lewis of District 81.
Odessa College has made big strides in the past couple of years. enrollment is up, and just last November, voters approved a multi-million dollar bond to build new facilities around campus.
"In the last couple of years has shown tremendous growth and tremendous expansion, the support from the community with the passage of the bond, and looking to a bright future. " Said Cheri Dalton, Director of Media Relations.
So if there is no reason to target Odessa College, why is it one of the four colleges on the chopping block? Well, it boils down to this - the number credit hours taken has not grown much since 1990.
"Quality of education wasn't looked at, the strength of the college and its faculty wasn't looked at at all. This was a pure numbers game with no attempt to look behind that one statistic. " Said Rep. Tryon Lewis.
Another very large statistic- 6000 students are currently enrolled in Odessa College. So, closing the school could be a huge loss.
"They know the importance of what we offer our students not just in the community but across the state and across the nation." Said Cheri Dalton.
