By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Austin, TX –
He went to war for his country, and now State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn is going to battle for him.
In a letter today to Robert Shephard, chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and the board's other members, Strayhorn called it a "travesty" that the board has refused Texas residence status to lifelong Texan and Iraqi war veteran Carl Basham. Basham is attempting to enter Austin Community College (ACC), but without declaration by the THECB of his Texas residency, will be forced to pay "four times as much" because of his out-of-state residency status.
The State Comptroller said ACC is ready to accept Basham as a Texas resident for tuition purposes, but his residency status must be approved by the THECB. "Carl Basham is one of the many brave men and women who have survived the challenge of combat and served our country with dignity, pride, and integrity in our war on terrorism," wrote Strayhorn in her letter, "and he deserves to be extended the full benefits afforded all Texans."
Strayhorn said Basham has established his permanent Texas residency through his voter registration, his driver's license records, bank account information and IRS filings. "Your office has seized on Mr. Basham's temporary two-year absence from Texas as a basis for this decision," she wrote, "ignoring his lifetime Texas residency as if it did not exist. That's not only unconscionable - it's just flat wrong."
Saying Basham "is a Texas resident," Strayhorn urged the THECB to correct its decision. "Mr. Basham has gone to war for us, serving two tours of duty in Iraq, and I intend to go to war for him."