NLC Students lobby Austin legislators

Lobbying Austin legislators started well before the 4 a.m. bus departure to Austin on Feb. 17. The group of students, mostly Phi Theta Kappa members under the leadership of Student Government Association President Dawn Lassiter, met twice with Dr. Gabriel Bach, government instructor, who introduced them to lobbying techniques and information about the key legislators to visit. It was a first for the students, as none of them has ever visited the Texas Capitol before.

Like 1,000 other community college students from across the state, the North Lake group assembled on the steps of the Capitol for a “family picture” and then headed over to the House gallery and later on to the Senate.

Their first meeting was with Linda Harper-Brown, the Irving State House Representative, and a member on the House Committee on Higher Education. Lassiter and Grace Brauser emphasized to her the need to restore funds to institutions of higher education and an additional $357.9 million to the community and technical college formula for FY 2006-07. They also urged the Legislature to restore full funding of employee benefits in order for community and technical colleges to retain competent and dedicated faculty and staff.

Representative Harper-Brown was very interested in North Lake College’s related key goals: Dual credit funding, PreK-12 partnership, public funding for outreach students from traditionally undeserved populations and public funding for new and incumbent worker training programs, all supporting the local and regional economic development of North Texas.

Jillian Lowry, Hana Worede, Guss Mask and Aaron Thompson, among others, pitched in and shared their experience and knowledge of these different programs.

Harper-Brown was not satisfied with generalities and, like a cost control administrator she is, told the group, “I get daily visits of people who want funding for their programs. I may be able to help you if you can provide me with past and current numbers, and future trends not just for NLC but also for the state, as I believe these educational goals are essential to our Texas economy.”

While the group with a thousand other students enjoyed a BBQ lunch on the lawn outside the Capitol, Bach briefly lobbied representatives Hubert Vo and Rafael Anchia, both favorable in restoring these funds. In the afternoon, as Senators Florence Shapiro and Judith Zaffirini, Representatives Tony Goolsby, vice-chair, and Geanie Morrison, chair of the House Committee on Higher Education were in committees, the NLC urged their chief of staff or administrative assistants to forward our requests to them.

Senator Royce West’s committee director on Higher Education explained the intricacies of the bill currently in committees, and was as inquiring as Harper-Brown about their funding requests.