PolitiFact: Checking UT’s Medical School Funding
PolitiFact evaluates a claim that the University of Texas ought to be able to pay for a new medical school without a proposed tax increase. Photo by flickr.com/photos/derekskey.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The University of Texas has a big endowment and a profitable football team. Can it spend that money on an Austin medical school? Nathan Bernier of KUT News spoke with Gardner Selby of the Austin American-Statesman’s political fact-checking team PolitiFact Texas.
An Austinite suggested UT could afford to build the medical school without the proposed nickel tax increase that central health seeks, that’s going to be on the ballot.
Specifically, he wrote, UT “has a $7 billion endowment, and the football program brought in $50 (million) in profit last year alone.” So, he said, they have the needed cash.
To be fair, UT has said it will put in at least $25 million a year toward the envisioned school, plus $5 million a year for eight years to buy equipment.
Right, and that’s contingent upon voters approving the tax increase, which in its own way will generate $35 million in annual community funding.
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