Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) voters chose to be annexed into the Austin Community College District during elections held Saturday, May 10.

In the other ACC elections, none of the three candidates vying for ACC Board of Trustees Place 1 – Tim Mahoney, Harrison Keller or Mike Reid – received the required 50 percent of the votes to win that seat. A run off election between Keller and Mahoney will be held June 14.

The winner of that run-off election will join other new trustees John-Michael Cortez and Raul Alvarez on the board. Cortez and Alvarez ran unopposed in this election, as did Nan McRaven who was re-elected to Place 3.

In Round Rock, nearly 64 percent of voters in the Round Rock ISD voted yes for annexation.

“Joining the ACC District is confirmation of the voters’ understanding of the critical role local access to affordable, comprehensive higher education and training plays in the economic development of Round Rock and Central Texas,” said Dr. Stephen Kinslow, president and CEO of the ACC District.

“ACC is pleased to have all residents of the Round Rock ISD included as in-district residents and we look forward to moving quickly on the construction of a new, comprehensive Round Rock campus,” he added.

The Round Rock campus will be a comprehensive full service campus. The campus will offer health career programs, including nursing; arts & sciences degrees/certificates; university transfer core curriculum; continuing and adult education; student services; and day, evening, and weekend classes.

“ACC is excited to bring nursing, allied health, and other high-demand career programs to the Round Rock community,” said John Hernandez, chair of the ACC Board of Trustees. “ACC is also grateful for the leadership efforts of the local ACCtion4Education steering committee, especially to co-chairs Raymond Hartfield and Glen Colby.

The new campus will eventually be ACC’s largest, serving 10,000 plus students. ACC has already laid the foundation to build the new campus. Through purchase and donation, the college has acquired 60 acres of land along University Blvd. and County Road 112 for the new campus. Plans call for the new campus to open in the fall of 2010.

As a result of the election, all residents within the Round Rock ISD boundaries will be eligible for in-district tuition at a savings of over 65 percent. Students who have already registered and paid for Summer 2008 classes will receive a reimbursement for the difference between the out-of-district rate and the in-district rate – a tuition reduction of over 65 percent. As soon as the election is certified, the ACC admissions office will begin processing those refunds.

In the board of trustees elections, Tim Mahoney and Harrison Keller will participate in a run-off election June 14 to determine who will replace Lillian Davis Patrick for the Place 1 seat. By law, a candidate must receive at least 50 percent of the vote to win the seat. If no candidate receives at least 50 percent, a run-off election must be held between the top two candidates. Tim Mahoney received 49 percent of the vote, while Harrison Keller received nearly 33 percent. Mike Reid, who had withdrawn from the election but not in time to be removed from the ballot, received 18 percent of the vote.

For the other ACC board of trustee seats, Trustee Nan McRaven was re-elected to place 3 in an unopposed race. Also in unopposed races, John-Michael Cortez replaces John Hernandez for Place 2 and Raul Alvarez replaces Rafael Quintanilla for place 4 on the board.

“I would like to thank Lillian Davis, John Hernandez and Rafael Quintanilla for their hard work and dedication while serving on the ACC Board of Trustees,” said Kinslow. “I wish them best of luck in their future endeavors.”

New trustees Cortez and Alvarez will be sworn into office and begin serving during the board of trustees meeting scheduled for June 2, 2008.