With more than 3,300 students enrolled, a new vibrant and independent Texas Southmost College opened its doors to its Fall 2013 classes.
It is doubtful that many – if any – of those students know how close the former administration under the UTB-TSC partnership came to shutting the college down.
It is doubly doubtful that many of them realize that the tuition and fees that they are paying to attend school would have been at least $1,000 higher had the college remained tethered to the University of Texas System.
And it is also doubtful that any of them know about the pressures that were brought to bear upon the TSC trustees who stood up against the scheme to take all of the community college's assets including its real estate, it's buildings, it's physical plant, it's bank deposits – everything except its millions in bond debt – and give it lock-stock-and-barrel to the UT System.
Those who favored those plans warned that if the partnership was broken, the results would be higher property taxes (didn't happen), higher tuition rates (didn't happen), a smaller faculty (more than 200 hired already), and the destruction of Western civilization as we knew it.
Well, we're still waiting for the Grecian columns to come tumbling down.
Instead, the college under President Lily Tercero is moving forward with its accreditation with the Southern Accreditation of Colleges and Schools (SAC) and hope to have that prior to the 2015 date when the final divorce decree between the two institutions become official.
Students should properly be focused on attending their classes and getting good grades to start their careers on a good note.
But just in case no one remembers what it took to get TSC back to be what it was meant to be when local residents established it some 80 years ago, we at El Rrun-Rrun extend our heartfelt gratitude to those trustees (and you know who you are) who fought to help our community's college survive and be available to our students.
Gracias. We're forever in your debt.
9 comments:
This is what I'm talking about when I say you're a reasonable fellow even when I disagree with you. I don't know who was saying the end of times would come if the relationship between the two colleges severed but I agree with you that getting rid of TSC would have been a grave mistake. You're only fooling yourself if you think this won't result in higher property taxes but in the end, it doesn't matter. Having both schools, independent of each other, is what is best for the community.
Congratulations to President Tecero and the TSC Trustees for all the efforts on behalf of this community. It is great to know that our kids will have a great opportunity to begin their education and obtain job skills that will benefit this community. Good luck to TSC students, faculty and administration. Brownsville is better off with TSC!
TSC is in a mess. As a full time student, too many things are going wrong from high tuition, paying for things that are not wanted by the students, to no books but been charge for them? To classes not been there to idiot Fish Or? Don't believe that things are going right for the students? Students are droping out.
They have been charging fees for parking and labs which have never been available, this is nothing new.
Give Dr. Tecero a chance, we need this community college.
Anon of September 12, 2013 at 6:01 PM, "TSC is in a mess...."
It does not matter any new endeavor, business, etc. always experience kinks in the beginning. Just like when you go to a new restaurant things go wrong, the introduction of a new car line that first generation are problematic. A mother for the first time goes through a new learning curve. BOTTOM LINE IT'S NORMAL problems occur when you start any new business. Why do I suspect JULIETA "LA MALA" GARCIA posted that comment!!!!!!!!!!!
TSC is having it's fair share of start up glitches and unhappy people. I don't see how anybody could expect to start a college from scratch and not have these kinds of things happen. But, with time, they will all work out.
"Having both schools, independent of each other, is what is best for the community"
STFU!
Hey Montoya when are you going to cover the rip off that UTB is giving students with the lab fees?? They have just a couple of labs and students are still paying full fees for them and to make matters worse those labs are not coming back. Look it up and you'll find out.
Juan Viva TSC, with the merger of utpa and utb moving to Mcallen or somewhere else this TSC is Great for the community it serves, all ways has been and always will be, good riddance for julieta and all her minions. adios baby. hasta la vista witchy woman.
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