Editor’s Note: On December 9, 1972, fewer than 10,000 voters cast ballots on the issue of whether to establish a community college. Previous efforts to establish a college with a tax base had failed; however, discovery of a legislative loophole allowed the Austin ISD Board of Trustees to resubmit the issue to voters. Here is a shortened report on the historic election that founded the Austin Community College District. The story appeared in the Austin American-Statesman on December 10, 1972.

Voters Okay Community College: Weather Partly Responsible for Light Voter Turnout

By Nell Sheffield
Staff Writer

Austin voters – by a vote of almost four to one – Saturday approved establishing a community college as an extension of the Austin Independent School District – with classes to begin in September 1973.

The college will have no tax levying ability and will be funded through the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System, the Texas Education Agency and student tuition and fees.

Austin school trustees, watching officials post the election returns, expressed pleasure and excitement in passage of the college election.

Voter turnout was light Saturday, but school officials said this is “understandable when you think of the weather, the Christmas shopping and the Cowboy football game” which deterred some voters. A total of 9,671 votes were cast, including absentee votes.

Superintendent Dr. Jack Davidson said, “I think, given all conditions, the strong victory in the election is an indication of the community’s real interest in establishing the community college.”

Dr. Davidson said in 1969, only 13,403 voters turned out and “they were voting on a $74 million bond issue.” So, he said, the college election voter turnout is “not too bad.”

The total turnout was 7,618 for the college and 2,035 against. Apparently Austinites who signed the petition in October calling for the election backed their signatures with their votes Saturday. More than 9,000 names were on the petitions submitted to the coordinating board on Oct. 12 and the board approved calling the election on Oct. 20. The Austin school board then set the election date.

Every voting box – 70 of them – revealed a majority vote for the college, as did the absentee ballot box.

The Austin Community College will be controlled and managed by the local school board. Trustees Mrs. E.A. Delco and Mrs. Carole McClellan said Saturday night they welcome the opportunity of spending more time if it can help young people and adults in the community to further their education.

“I always assumed it would mean more responsibility if the college were established,” Mrs. Delco said. “I want to do whatever it takes to provide for the people in the Austin community the opportunity to widen their scope. I do not hesitate one minute to accept the responsibility.”

Dr. Davidson said simply, “I like the results of the community college election. I am sure that it marks a significant step forward in Austin’s educational program. I am also very sure that in years to come this college election will be marked as a very important time in Austin’s movement toward ever improving educational opportunity.”

Dr. Davidson said the school district’s “task now is to begin the organizational work – working with the coordinating board and with the legislature so that the program can be a reality in September, 1973.

“We will be studying specific kinds of programs – where they will be located and begin organization work after the legislature acts, to employ faculty and staff. We will begin looking at the multiplicity of items which must be managed in order to start a new school program. Establishing the college presents a big challenge to the administration,” he said.

Board President Will Davis, who called from New Orleans, told the American-Statesman he is “very excited and pleased on behalf of the people of Austin that we will have the opportunity to present to them this much needed education program.

There will be benefits from the college we cannot possibly imagine at this time. Thousands of young people and adults will now have the opportunity to further their education, opportunity they would not have had otherwise.”

Mrs. Delco and Mrs. McClellan expressed their gratitude to the various groups and organizations who publically supported the college.

Mrs. McClellan said this across the board endorsement by the newspaper, Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, Travis County Democratic Women’s Committee, NAACP and others “represents diverse groups which supported our proposal.”

Expressing her pleasure in the passage of the college, Mrs. McClellan said the whole purpose of the college is to make higher education available to everyone. “About 50 percent of our college graduates have no plans past high school. This college is going to change that.”

Mrs. Delco said she feels the district is “cheating” these students when “we say to them after the 12th grade, ‘you have completed all we have to offer’ and now we won’t have to say that.”

The Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System, will now submit the Austin Community College to the legislature as a part of its regular budget.

The estimated budget for the first year is $621,000.

Officials estimate that the college will be made up of 50 percent academic and 50 percent occupational students. Classes will be conducted in existing high school facilities from 4 to 10 p.m.