Statewide budget cuts dealt the prison education system another blow. The district did not renew seven college contracts, Kiser said. The higher education agencies offered vocational training and post-secondary education for the prisoners. Amarillo College, which provided diesel mechanics and data processing courses, served nearly 50 students a year at the Clements and Neal units, Kiser said. But AC and Clarendon College were among those that did not receive a renewed contract, she said. The only college that will now serve the region’s prisons is Western Texas College, based in Snyder, she said. Lawmakers also gutted state reimbursable funds — assistance money that prisoners can use for continuing education — by about 42 percent, Kiser said. The funds are similar to student loans in that offenders must pay back what they borrow, and that is returned to the state, she said. Renaud, 55, who is slated to receive a master’s of science in social work in May 2012, said most offenders cannot afford continuing education without aid, and the reductions do not bode well for prison recidivism rates.
