Guest Column
by TERRY MAZUREK
The local Austin Community College annexation effort started more than five years ago when a group of Buda and Kyle residents and business owners agreed that bringing higher education to our community would be an asset. That group believed that a community college would be the best alternative for educating our residents based upon our demographics. In addition to credits for the first two years’ classes that will transfer to any state college in Texas, a community college offering an education in technical, business and trade programs would better serve both our new high school graduates and existing workforce in improving their chances for employment and advancement.
Austin Community College has an excellent reputation for meeting the needs of the communities they serve. With more than 200 associate degree plans and certification programs and flexible class schedules for working students, ACC graduates have some of the highest passing rates on licensing exams in the state. The benefits of the annexation include paying “in-district” tuition rates of $42 per semester hour instead of $150 and a local college campus built on the 94 acres that ACC is purchasing on FM 1626 near Plum Creek. Past ACC annexation elections in Del Valle and Round Rock have shown that after the election, college enrollment in those communities nearly doubled within two years. In Round Rock, the annexation election was approved in November 2008. Their new 5,000 student campus opened in September for the Fall 2010 semester with 5,034 students proving that a local campus with affordable tuition can be very successful in helping students continue their education.
Most things in life come at a cost and with the ACC annexation of the Hays CISD area, that cost is a tax on the assessed value of your property. ACC has one of the lowest tax rates of any community college district in Texas at $0.0951 per $100 of value.
For the average home in the Hays CISD, your monthly tax bill will increase about $10. For our senior citizens receiving the additional $105,000 exemption, the increase is less than $2 each month and they are eligible to take up to 6 hours of ACC classes each semester at no cost.
My wife and I have lived in the Buda area since 1986 and no longer have children in college. I have never wanted to pay higher taxes than I am already required to do, but can see beyond that cost to the benefit provided. A local college campus with affordable tuition that has programs for both traditional college classes and workforce education provides the opportunity and, hopefully, the motivation for more of our community to improve their education and lives. Please join me in voting for the ACC annexation.
Terry Mazurek is a member of the North Hays County Steering Committee.
