FY24 Budget Positioning For Smart Growth

This year, the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees approved the Alamo Colleges District's 2023-2024 operating budget of $503 million. This budget year is historic, as the State of Texas invested an additional $683 million into community colleges in Texas, and the Alamo Colleges received the largest increase of all 50 community colleges. This funding supports the students we serve at the Alamo Colleges District and provides an investment in creating the workforce of the future.

In addition to the unprecedented investment, the State Legislature also overhauled the community college funding model to focus on student-centered outcomes, rewarding colleges for:

• The number of credentials of value awarded that position graduates for well-paying jobs.

• Credentials of value awarded in high-demand fields.

• Successful student transfers from community colleges to four-year universities.

• Completion of a sequence of dual credit courses to set students on early pathways to success.

Thanks to our dedicated faculty, staff, and students, and the systems we have in place to aid in student success, Alamo Colleges’ budget allocation far exceeded our peers, with a new revenue increase of $65.1 million (includes state and local funds). This budget influx, which has specific parameters for investment, is a rare and significant opportunity. It will allow us to enhance our already robust systems and programs to aid our current students on their success journeys and to implement new and enhanced innovations for future students, with a focus on our targeted populations.

In preparation for the substantial responsibility of this fiscal investment, we embarked on a journey to gain input and insight from our experts, the faculty, and the staff who work daily to lay paths for success for our students. We also gleaned insight from the students themselves. We launched an AlamoENGAGE budget stakeholder input process with a web page, an #AlamoTogether Summit, employee and student surveys, and input, a “shark-tank” style Budget Innovation Pitching and Planning Session to garner new and innovative ideas, and several work sessions to inform our 2023-24 budget.

The board is heavily investing in two main areas: Enhancements and Innovations (Student Success and Talent): $31.9 million Core Operations (Advising Model and Talent): $33.2 million

Investment Overview

These goals are part of our two major initiatives:

Enhancements and Innovations – $31.9M

Student Success – $13.2M

Our leadership prioritized several initiatives to match the weighted categories in the State’s budget funding model. The model emphasizes economically disadvantaged students, academically disadvantaged students, and adult learners 25 years and older, providing additional resources for those in most need of support.

The following investments strengthen our focus and impact on those populations:

Talent – $18.6M

All enhancements and the core programs and services need talent to operate and succeed. The board expressed their goal of competitive employee compensation in the Board Charges to the Chancellor with an organizational goal to build an employee compensation program that is competitive among nationally recognized, high-performing community colleges. Their commitment is clear in the following talent strategies that are scheduled to begin on September 1, 2023:

6.5% Market Rate Adjustment for Faculty and Staff (with a minimum $2,000 market increase for every employee) or the hourly equivalent of $0.96/hour if employed part-time High-Wage/High-Demand Stipend Market Adjustments Completion of Staff Equity Pay Adjustments (College Services, Academic Support and remaining job families) Faculty Lab Loading Rate Increase from 0.75  to 0.80 Update to Living Wage by providing for a minimum rate for existing full-time and part-time staff of $18.05

Core Operations Additional – $33.2M

In addition to the enhancements and innovations in student success and talent the Board also invested $33 million additional in core services to support institutional reserves, employee fringe benefits and operational growth and the expansion of services listed below: