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THECB board approves legislative appropriations request and flags need-based aid as top exceptional item
Summary
The board approved its legislative appropriations request July 22, accepting a required 3% baseline reduction and designating need-based financial aid (aiming toward initial awards for 70% of eligible students) and several targeted scholarship items as exceptional-item priorities.
THECB staff presented the agency's legislative appropriations request (LAR) and budget timeline at the July 22 meeting and the board approved submitting the LAR, including priority exceptional items.
Chief Financial Officer Anthony explained that the governor's policy letter requires a 3% baseline reduction for submission; after statutory and technical adjustments the agency calculated a biannual baseline reduction of roughly $77 million. Staff emphasized that about 95% of the agency's budget is pass-through or institution-directed funding rather than internal operating expenses.
The board authorized inclusion of several exceptional items, chief among them additional funding for need-based financial aid programs (Texas grants, TEOG, tuition equalization) aimed at funding initial awards for approximately 70% of eligible students. Staff said the dollar value will depend on how the 3% baseline reduction is implemented but estimated an amount in the neighborhood of $144 million if no baseline reduction were applied.
Other exceptional items include funding to maintain recent expansion of cohorts and awards for the Texas Leadership Scholars and Texas Armed Services Scholarship programs and a baseline restoration item for the Office of the Ombudsman (which is administratively attached to THECB but reports to the governor). The board approved the LAR and directed staff to continue refining figures and scenario modeling.
