In 2007, the story of Austin Community College turned sharply as a result of both necessity and opportunity. Since its inception, ACC’s financial situation had remained more-or-less tenuous–more so than most other public community colleges in the state. Voters approved the creation of the College but only with the caveat that it possessed no taxing authority. That did not mean that ACC could never possess and/or exercise taxing authority, but for the time being, the school was mostly dependent on tuition and state appropriations. Only one other public community college, Houston Community College, was so financially strapped.
ACC had coped with rapid growth and insufficient funding from the start. winning voter approval of taxing authority in the 1986 referendum and then actually exercising that power by levying a nickel tax on every $100 of property within the ACC district were giant steps forward financial stability for the College. With tax revenue, the College gained the ability to borrow money by issuing revenue bonds. With that authority, ACC could and did acquire land and build new campuses like the modest but new and attractive Riverside, Northridge, and Cypress Creek campuses.
These facilities were comfortable, and most importantly, designed and built for educational purposes, not as factories or warehouses (as in the case of Eastridge), business suites (such as the Pinnacle Campus), or supermarkets (like the South Austin Campus). Importantly, however, these campuses were small compared to the number of people who sought education and workforce training in a metropolitan area that was booming and fast becoming home for businesses and high-tech industries. The ACC district possessed the smallest amount of floor-space per student than any other community college in the state. In May of 3003, ACC Board of Trustees president Rafael Quintanilla told Austinites that since the College had opened its doors in 1973, 1.5 million students had attended classes at ACC. Seventy thousand more were expected to take classes during the year, yet the College’s tax ceiling remained capped at $.05 per $100 property valuation.
Then, in 2007, the Board of Trustees called for a master plan for each campus. This self- study looked at the College from the inside out and concluded that ACC needed “a lot of work” before it could adequately meet the community’s needs.
Sources: Interview with former ACC President Stephen B, Kinslow and current ACC President Richard Rhodes, https://Austin statesman.newsbank.com, June 20, 2013