Joining the Austin Community College District

 

Which communities are currently included in the ACC district?

            Austin, Leander, and Manor Independent School Districts.  Del Valle Independent School District voters have petitioned to join and will decide in the May 15, 2004 election.

 

Which communities are eligible to join?

            The people of any county or independent school district in the ACC “service area” may join by majority vote in an election.  This includes these additional school districts: Bastrop, Blanco, Coupland, Doss, Dripping Springs, Eanes, Elgin, Fredericksburg, Georgetown, Harper, Hays, Jarrell, Johnson City, Lago Vista, Lake Travis, Leander, Liberty Hill, Lockhart, Luling, McDade, Nixon-Smiley, Pflugerville, Prairie Lea, Round Rock, San Marcos, Smithville, and Wimberley.

 

What are the benefits and costs of joining the ACC district?

            ACC tuition/fee totals for people who are residents of the ACC district are about half those for non-residents.  This is a savings of about $1,600 per year for a full-time student.  The cost is a property tax assess­ment limited to less than 10 cents per $100, which is about $8 per month for each $100,000 of home value.  Senior citizens get an extra $75,000 homestead exemption, and thus pay substantially less.

 

Why is ACC tuition so much higher for people who reside outside the ACC district?

            The average cost to ACC to provide instruction is about $188 per credit hour (most courses are three credit hours).  Out-of-state students pay this full average cost.  The State of Texas reimburses ACC for about 35% of costs for all in-state students, leaving 65% to be covered by local revenue sources.  The local property tax paid by families and businesses in the ACC district subsidizes local students, lowering their tuition/fee rate to about 25% of average cost.  Because it is not seen as fair to use the taxes of in-district communities to subsidize the tuition of students from other communities, the tuition/fee rate for Texas residents outside the taxing district is higher, currently about 50% of average costs.  Since this is still below the full-share value of 65% of average cost, the out-of-district tuition rate is gradually being increased.

 

What role does Friends Of ACC play in efforts of communities to join the ACC district?

            Friends of ACC is a non-partisan political action committee formed to support citizen efforts to expand the Austin Community College district.  It provides free support for local campaigns – petition-drive information, campaign-materials production, and fundraising.  The local campaign committee decides on the timing of the election, any needed adaptations of campaign materials and tactics to local conditions, and the best targets for petition and campaigning efforts.

 

How can an election be called?

            If 5% of the registered voters in a county or school district sign a petition asking for such an election, the county government must call it at the next feasible uniform election date (these fall in February, May, September, and November).  The county may take up to 30 days to verify signatures; if a shortfall is found, petitioners can collect more to make up the difference.  Signatures are good for six months.  Approval of the ACC Board is also required, but their policies state that any community wishing to join will be given permission upon request.

 

How much time and effort does the petition drive take?

            Petitions should be delivered to the office of the County Judge by 90 days before the target election date (e.g., by February 15 for the May 15 2004 election), although this could be shortened to about 70 days with the cooperation of county officials.

            The length of time needed to collect signatures depends on the number of people involved in collecting them.  At little as one month can suffice if the collection effort is well enough supported.

            The method that has proven to work best is for signature-gatherers with identifying “Sign The Petition to Cut ACC Tuition In Half” name tags to go door to door in neighborhoods, working from lists that show the registered voters at each address.  This usually yields about a dozen valid signatures per hour per worker.  Refusal rates are very low, less than 10%.

            Placing “Cut ACC Tuition 50%” yard signs in neighborhoods before the canvassing makes the collecting go faster.  Collecting signatures at school events can be a useful auxiliary method, especially if the school is supportive, but tends to dry up after a first round of easy collection and therefore generally does not produce valid signatures as efficiently as going door-to-door.

            Anyone can collect signatures, and it is permissible to pay signature collectors.  A petition drive relying primarily on paid canvassing by ACC students can be conducted for roughly $2 per signature overall cost.  Friends of ACC can provide names and addresses of local ACC students.