Not sure how that contradicts anything? Rick Perry pays for a deficit in 2003 by allowing universities to raise tuition costs at will without legislative approval. This of course is followed by continual tuition increases that are offset by continual declines in legislative spending for the UT and A&M systems. People finally catch on to this and start complaining and Rick Perry decides he wants to be a populist and demands a cap on tuition increases. Now that's fine if he actually starts funding our universities properly. But you cant cap tuition prices and not increase funding for the universities. And its not like UT is some wasteful institution. They have a very good reputation for running an efficient institution. And keep in mind while capping tuition, the board approved a new medical school in Austin. Now how they plan on paying for that is beyond me. Also the mission of the UT and A&M systems are to provide affordable public education for the students of Texas. Like other public education systems in the country they are designed to serve the children of the state first. I for one do not want UT and A&M to become a school that lowers its standards just to chase higher dollars from out of state and international students. Not to mention the reason why you target students from texas is that they are more likely to stay in the state after graduation. Having a strong university system that targets people from Texas is the best way to ensure an educated workforce that will promote strong economic growth. From the interests of the state, focusing on out of state kids is a waste of money. They leave the state more often than not and that's not a winning formula for the state.
