Proposition 4: Big Bucks And Brain Drain

By BJ Austin, KERA News

Dallas, TX –

Eleven state constitutional amendments are up for a vote November 3rd. KERA's BJ Austin says one of them seeks to move some money around to help create more nationally-ranked research universities in Texas.

Proposition 4 would use the 500 million dollars in the dormant Higher Education Fund to create a new fund that would help seven state universities meet Tier One research status. State Senator Florence Shapiro says this is very important.

Shapiro: Texas only has two public Tier One National Research institutions: University of Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M at College Station; and one private - Rice. California has 10. New York has 7. We are woefully behind.

Prop 4 supporters say Texas loses about four billion dollars a year in federal research grants awarded to universities elsewhere. And lack of Tier One schools causes a brain drain of Texas talent.

On the U-T campus, Tony McDonald with Young Conservatives of Texas warns other schools that Prop 4 could be a raw deal for students.

McDonald: If Prop 4 does pass, you'll see tuition go up as these universities push more and more of their elite staff into research and have to replace them with additional staff to do the teaching.

McDonald also says it's an investment with a return less than 1%, according to a 2008 study by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. But Prop 4 proponents say their research shows a big return. Early voting ends October 30th. Election Day is November 3rd.

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