ACC found itself pinched between rising expectations and the realities of what each school could afford. Like all of Texas’ public community colleges, ACC’s funding came from three sources: (1) local tax revenue, (2) student tuition and fees, and (3) state and federal government financial grants. The idea was that individual community-college districts would carry the heaviest share of the financial load, but by the 1990s, keeping up with technical advances was a tremendous challenge for ACC. In allied health sciences for instance, including but in no way limited to radiologic technology and specially equipped lead-encased classrooms were tremendously expensive, reaching tens of thousands of dollars.
