Roberto Zarate, well-traveled trustee of San Antonio’s Alamo Community Colleges, called us back after our story about his expenses ran earlier this week. His regular travel on behalf of the public open-enrollment district is automatically green-lighted by the board of trustees’ generous travel and reimbursement policy. But, said Zarate, he actually saves the district money, because he now performs functions that were once farmed out to lobbyists – an annual savings he calculates at approximately $15,000. Zarate, by contrast, spent somewhere north of $6,000 last year on trips to Washington, D.C. and Charleston, S.C., for national higher-ed policy groups such as the Association of Community College Trustees.
“So with the cutbacks, anyone could be an advocate,” he said. Fortunately, he added, he’s retired, which makes it easier for him to travel on district business. A perk – he has two sons and “beautiful grandbabies” in Austin.
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