HOW:
A May 7, 2005, election concurrent with the Austin City Council election.
All registered voters in the ACC taxing district and in the areas to be annexed are eligible to vote.
Annexation requires a majority vote of all qualified voters in the proposed taxing district.

WHY:
Lowering the tuition rate for areas to be annexed will help improve access to higher education for thousands, and assist ACC in meeting the goals of the state’s Closing the Gaps initiative.
ACC’s future growth and continued success depend on increasing its tax base and expanding affordable access to quality higher education in Central Texas.

HOW MUCH:
ACC in-district tuition is less than half the out-of-district rate. At ACC, currently in-district students pay $39 per credit hour, compared with $97 per hour for a student from outside the district.
For example, an in-district student would pay $159 for a typical, three-credit-hour course with no lab fees, compared with $333 an out-of-district student would pay for the same course – a difference of $174.

WHAT’S THE TAX IMPACT:
ACC’s tax rate is well below the average rate of 14 cents for community college colleges in Texas.
ACC’s maintenance and operation tax rate is capped at 9 cents per $100 assessed property valuation and cannot be increased without voter approval. Also, voters in 2003 approved a 1 cent tax to retire general obligation bonds for facilities improvements.
The annexation would increase net revenue to the ACC district by $6.46 million annually.

WHAT’S NEXT:
Revenue generated through an “All-of-Austin” annexation would help minimize future tuition increases, expand programs and enhance the access and affordability essential to the state’s goal of increasing higher education enrollment by a half-million students in the next decade.
Specifically, ACC would use additional tax revenue to:
o Maintain a reasonable balance between tuition, fees, and taxes
o Sustain instructional and technological competitiveness
o Maintain and upgrade current facilities
o Retire bonds

WHERE TO LEARN MORE:

ACC Public Information and Media Relations – 512.223.7596 or 512.223.7611

The U.S. Department of Education ranks ACC as the eighth largest community college in the nation.

More local high school graduates begin their college education at ACC than at any other higher education institution in Austin.

ACC students who transfer to four-year institutions perform as well or better than students who begin their education at the four-year school.

Each year more than 65,000 credit and continuing education students take advantage of ACC’s low tuition, small classes, convenient locations, and great instructors.

ACC offers associate degrees and certificates in more than 180 areas.

ACC is the primary trainer and re-trainer of the Austin area workforce.

Texas’ Closing the Gaps initiative goal calls for an increase of 500,000 higher education students by the year 2015. Most of those new students will begin their higher education experience at community colleges in the state.

ACC will need to grow by 10,000 students over the next decade to meet its goals under the Closing the Gaps initiative.

Taxpayers recover more than $3 for every dollar invested in community colleges in Texas, according to economic impact research.