Thanks to a WTAW listener who asked us to confirm that the pay raise that Texas A&M employees will receive the next two years.
The listener told us that employees at the flagship will not get what a Texas A&M system news release stated in a news release on Monday as “5% pay increases for agency employees in each of the next two years.”
A system spokesman told WTAW News “In the state budgeting process, state agencies and higher education are in different portions of the appropriations bill. While the Legislature gave ALL state employees, including those in our state agencies, the 5 percent pay increase, the Legislature leaves it up to the individual universities to determine pay raises for their employees. So Texas A&M University will make the decision on pay raises.”
That led to a WTAW News request to a Texas A&M spokesperson about the status of future pay raises. As of Friday afternoon, we are still waiting for a response.
Original story:
The Texas A&M system announces record new spending has been approved by the governor.
The $1.19 billion dollars in new spending includes money to freeze undergraduate tuition and fees for Texas residents the next two years.
There is also a five percent pay raise each of the next two years and paying a high portion of employee health care costs.
News release from the Texas A&M system:
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday approved a record $1.19 billion in new spending for The Texas A&M University System, including money to freeze undergraduate tuition and fees for Texas residents the next two years.
The new spending, which was contained in several bills, is the first time in history the Texas A&M System has eclipsed a billion dollars in new funding from the state.
The A&M System took the lead on its three priorities: keeping college affordable, keeping Texas prepared to respond to disasters and increasing a state match so Prairie View A&M University could qualify for federal funding.
The System also played a pivotal role in tuition reform as lawmakers enacted largely the Texas A&M System tenure system, plus adopted changes in the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) legislation based on the Texas A&M University’s recommendations
“We are thankful to state officials for meeting the needs of higher education in what is a historic legislative session for higher education,” said John Sharp, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System.
He praised the Board of Regents, the System leadership and its government relations team.
“It was a team effort, but the Regents, in particular, were focused on keeping college affordable in Texas,” Sharp said. “Our students and their families will reap the benefits of their efforts.”
Lawmakers approved $698.5 million for all public higher education institutions – including $180.9 million to A&M System universities – in exchange for freezing undergraduate tuition and academic fees for Texas residents over the next two years. The affordability money was tied to tenure reform as well as legislation addressing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts in higher education. The governor signed both of those bills last week.
The Legislature also provided more money to offset the expense of free tuition for the dependents of veterans, agreed to pay a higher portion of health care costs for higher education employees and authorized $71.5 million for ongoing performance-based funding for at-risk students graduating from the state’s regional universities where a large portion of their student bodies are first-generation students.
The new spending overall for the A&M System includes:
• $180.9 million for the A&M System institutions’ share of the affordability contingency
• $43.1 million in formula and research performance funding for the A&M Health Science Center
• $159 million for the A&M System Agencies for “Keeping Texas Prepared” and 5% pay increases for agency employees in each of the next two years
• $775 million in new initiatives.
“Keeping Texas Prepared” is a statewide emergency management initiative for the five emergency management agencies of the Texas A&M University System to meet the emergency response and recovery needs of a growing state. The Legislature provided $96.7 million, including:
• Texas Division for Emergency Management, $14.6 million for Workforce Development
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, $24.2 million for the Extension Agent Network
• Texas A&M Forest Service, $34.7 million for Emergency Response Capacity and Local Firefighting Capacity
• Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, $3.7 million for Rapid Detection of Animal and Human Disease Threats
• Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, $19.5 million for Recruitment and Retention
The $775 million in new initiatives for the A&M System includes:
• Texas A&M University System, $226.4 million, which includes $200 million for quantum and artificial intelligence chip fabrication; $26.4 million for the Center for Microdevices and Systems at Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station; and $1.5 million for a mental health study
• Texas A&M University, $200 million for constructing facilities adjacent to the Johnson Space Center and $25 million for the Virtual Production Institute in College Station and Texas A&M-Fort Worth.
• Prairie View A&M University, $15 million for the Ag Match so the university could qualify for federal funding.
• Tarleton State University, $5 million for Better Health for Rural North Texas
• Texas A&M Central Texas, $1.8 million for instructional programming at East Williamson County Higher Education Center
• Texas A&M International University, $4 million for Clinical Lab Sciences and Occupational Therapy Programs
• West Texas A&M University, $6 million for Advancing Food Animal Production
• Texas A&M University – Texarkana, $4.9 million for Better East Texas Phase III
• Texas A&M University Health Science Center, $15 million for Texas A&M Care, Rural Health Care Initiative and $25 million for an education and research facility in at the Higher Education Center in Hidalgo County
• Texas A&M AgriLife Research, $25 million for Research Capability and $15 million for tornado damage at the Vernon Research and Extension Center and the Texas A&M AgriLife Foundation and Seed facility
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, $1 million for the Bee Pollinator Program
• Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, $30 million for the Hypersonic Wind Tunnel and $5 million for the ongoing NASA Aerospace Scholars Program
• Texas A&M Forest Service, $2.5 million for aviation support costs, including fire retardant, $146.1 million for reimbursement for response to natural disasters and $2.1 million for vehicles
• Texas Division of Emergency Management, $13.3 million for vehicles