Dollars for scholars — Gov. Rick Perry (center) signs legislation providing funding for UNT's TAMS program. Others on hand for the signing were (from left) Barbara Erickson, executive assistant to Sen. Craig Estes; Richard Sinclair, TAMS dean; Estes; incoming TAMS students Steven Petsche and Megan Fowlkes; Rep. Myra Crownover; Lucas Gong, incoming TAMS student; and Hilary Dennis, chief of staff for Crownover.

TAMS receives 2003-04 funds

Thanks in part to the passage of Texas House Bill 1363, the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science will welcome 214 new students and 162 returning students when the fall semester begins Aug. 25. The semester comes after months of uncertainty about the academy's funding.

The bill, authored in the Texas House of Representatives by Rep. Myra Crownover and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Craig Estes, was signed by Gov. Rick Perry in Austin July 23.

The academy had received about $1.7 million annually from the Legislature to cover operating expenses and tuition, books and fees for approximately 380 students each academic year. The students' parents pay for housing and board.

TAMS usually receives applications until the end of March for the class entering in the fall and admits students during three separate dates in February, March and May after the students are interviewed on the UNT campus.

However, with its funding in jeopardy because of the state's $9.9 billion budget shortfall, the academy did not admit any new students until May this year. Its funding was eventually cut by 12.5 percent.

TAMS also faced a decrease in the money it receives from the Foundation School Program of the Texas Education Agency, which allocates funding to districts based on property values and school attendance. The academy was tied to the same funding rate as the Denton Independent School District.

"When the Denton ISD valuation increased, our per-student allocation dropped," says Richard Sinclair, TAMS dean.

House Bill 1363 separated TAMS' funding rate from that of the Denton ISD, providing the academy with $1.3 million for the 2003-04 academic year and allowing it to establish its own rate.

"Myra Crownover worked tirelessly to ensure the success of HB 1363, knowing that the very survival of the academy was at stake. She did this in spite of the other enormous responsibilities of the recent legislative session," he says.

He adds that he believes every member of the Texas Legislature "knows about and values the important contribution the academy makes to the state's economic future."

"The legislators were glad to unanimously approve a bill that would allow the academy to continue without any increased legislative appropriation," Sinclair says.

Even with the additional funding from House Bill 1363, the parents of most TAMS students are paying $1,000 this academic year in addition to the more than $4,000 they normally pay per year for room and board.

Sinclair says that although the extra $1,000 caused some students to decide not to attend the academy after they had already been accepted to the Class of 2005, the academy was able to easily fill the class because it had a record number of applications this year.

"We have already received applications for the 2006 class," he says.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• UNT Board of Regents approves design, construction of UNT Sorority Row
• Almost 2,000 expected to graduate during UNT commencement ceremonies Aug. 9
• About the commencement speaker
• UNT, Texas Instruments to use $2.2 million for NSF-funded nanotechnology project
• UNT to award scholarship for 12 credit hours with Family Weekend drawing
• Howdy Week events planned Aug. 24-30
• UNT's Summer II enrollment down slightly from last year's total enrollment numbers
• Changes made to state employee benefits, leave, compensation policies
• UNT historian debunks Revolutionary myths

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