On Thursday, June 6th, Central Texas Interfaith (CTI) and Capital IDEA leaders successfully protected a $319,000 increase in workforce funding the Mayor and City Council committed to this past summer.  In response to the Texas Legislature passing legislation this session that places a future 3.5% cap on property tax increases, a move was made to reevaluate and potentially reverse this $319,000 investment and other budget items that were set for approval yesterday.   

CTI and Capital IDEA leaders mobilized to call and write their council members while Rabbi Alan Freedman, of Temple Beth Shalom and Co-Chair of the CTI Clergy Caucus, explained to the Mayor and Council how even a short delay could postpone and jeopardize the recruitment and enrollment of 50 new students.   

When a motion was made to delay the Capital IDEA funding, it did not receive a second.  Council Member Alison Alter made a counter motion to immediately award the funding for Capital IDEA, and it received unanimous support.  Kudos to all the Council Members who supported this funding, and to Rabbi Freedman, CTI leader and Capital IDEA Board Member Joy Penticuff, and Capital IDEA Executive Director Steve Jackobs, and all the CTI leaders who worked on this intensively in less than a 24 hour period! 

Nonprofit Funds OK'd Despite Flannigan Questions, Austin Monitor [pdf]

Click links below for videos about two Capital IDEA graduates:

One month after 300 Texas IAF leaders descended on the Capitol to call for investments in human development, delegations have been visiting the Capitol daily to engage legislators around school finance, the ACE fund, payday lending and infrastructure support for economically distressed areas.  In photos above are Central Texas Interfaith leaders from the Congregational Church of Austin, Wildflower Church (including Reverend Brian Ferguson), Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic, and Capital IDEA.   

Legislative allies in the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso crafted a proposed constitutional amendment providing for the issuance of bonds by the Texas Water Development Board for projects in economically distressed areas.  The proposal is almost to the finish line.

With ACE funding already in the draft budget, leaders are working to restore it to its original $10 Million.  When economist Marc Elliot from Economic Mobility delivered a presentation on the effectiveness of the Project QUEST job training model at the Capitol, representatives from over a dozen legislative offices attended. 

The QUEST model is hailed as the hitting on a "formula with a proven track record" and Texas IAF organizations across the state have applied it in across the state, including in Austin through Capital IDEA .

Texas ACE Fund Return on Investment, Texas IAF

Nine Year Gains: Project Quest's Continuing Impact, Economic Mobility

San Antonio Program Moves Low-Skilled into Middle Class, Houston Chronicle [pdf]