Dive Brief:A performance-based funding model for Texas community colleges has led to financial “growing pains,” Ray Martinez III, CEO of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, said at a Texas state Senate hearing Tuesday. The board made the changes after the state's community colleges achieved student outcomes that surpassed what lawmakers had budgeted. Dive Insight:Enacted in 2023, HB 8 tied community college funding to student outcomes, such as the completion of in-demand credentials and successful transfers to four-year colleges. With HB 8, Texas community colleges have to manage uncertain funding tied to outcomes. Going forward, several speakers pointed out that stabilizing HB 8 funding will require building better predictive models into the funding formulas.