Elgin ISD and McDade ISD residents at the ACC Board Meeting

The Austin Community College District Board of Trustees certified petitions Monday night from San Marcos CISD, Elgin ISD, and McDade ISD residents interested in putting ACC annexation on the ballot this November.

Three separate steering committees, composed of residents from each school district, were required to collect signatures from 5 percent of local registered voters in order for an annexation election to take place, per Texas Education Code.

• The San Marcos ACCess Committee gathered 2,569 voter signatures, exceeding the required 5 percent of registered voters, or 2,033. Hays County officials verified 2,174 voter signatures.
• The Bastrop County Friends of Higher Education – Elgin ISD Steering Committee collected 501 signatures (394 signatures required). ACC’s Office of Governmental Relations verified 427 of those signatures.
• The Bastrop County Friends of Higher Education – McDade ISD Steering Committee submitted 61 signatures (41 signatures required). The ACC Office of Governmental Relations verified 58 McDade ISD signatures.

The next steps in the process are the publication of individual Service Plans for each area (services and programs ACC will bring to the community) and public hearings. After that, the ACC board will call for November elections that will determine if those communities become part of the ACC District. Only registered voters within the area under consideration will be eligible to vote on the proposal.

While ACC encourages communities to explore the benefits and costs of joining the district, the college does not advocate for or against any such initiative. The law does allow the college to respond to questions and provide facts about annexation; however, the decision on whether to join the ACC District rests solely with the voters within those territories.

Should voters decide to become part of the ACC District, homeowners would pay a property tax currently set at $0.0946 per $100 valuation. The total tax rate includes a maintenance and operations tax rate of $0.09 (which cannot be increased without voter approval); ACC also collects $0.0046 for debt service on facilities bonds. The college offers a standard $5,000 homestead exemption, and senior citizens and homeowners with disabilities receive an additional $105,000 exemption, for a total exemption of $110,000.

There are currently five school districts (Bastrop ISD, Elgin ISD, McDade ISD, Hays CISD, and San Marcos CISD) considering joining the district. The ACC board certified the Bastrop ISD and Hays CISD petitions in April and May, respectively.

In exchange for paying the property tax, ACC district residents have access to more comprehensive programs and services as well as much lower in-district tuition of $42 per credit hour, compared with $150 per hour for out-of-district students (effective fall 2010). ACC’s Master Plan, approved by the governing board, calls for campuses to be constructed in Bastrop, Elgin, San Marcos, and the Buda/Kyle area, subject to successful annexation elections.