Austin-American Statesman: Pflugerville voters to decide in November whether to join ACC district

By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz - American-Statesman Staff

Thursday, August 16, 2018

If voters opt to join the ACC district, property owners will pay taxes to the college, and residents will be able to attend the school at a much lower cost for tuition and fees than they are currently charged. In addition, residents who are registered voters would be entitled to cast ballots in the college’s elections for trustees and bonds, and to run for election to the Board of Trustees.

ACC’s board voted unanimously Monday to set the annexation election for Nov. 6. Early voting will run from Oct. 22 through Nov. 2. The board acted after a group known as Pflugerville Friends 4 ACC collected 3,556 voter signatures seeking an election, exceeding the 5 percent of registered voters required by state law.

The college’s service plan for Pflugerville calls for a “brick-and-mortar campus/center” offering core curriculum courses as well as workforce programs in such fields as health care, information technology and advanced manufacturing. The location has not been specified but would in any event make access easier for residents. The city of Pflugerville, which would become part of the ACC district if annexation is approved, is about 6 miles from ACC’s Northridge campus as the crow flies and 8 miles from its Round Rock campus.

Other services would include student advising; academic and career counseling; financial aid; noncredit continuing education; English as a second language; and adult basic education to prepare people for college-level courses.

If voters decide to join the ACC fold, residents would pay the in-district charge of $85 per credit hour in tuition and fees, compared with $361 for out-of-district students.

ACC trustees have proposed a tax rate for the district of 10.48 cents per $100 of valuation for the coming budget year. At that rate, the school’s annual taxes on a home in the current ACC district with the average taxable value of $336,361 would be $352.51, according to ACC documents.

ACC’s taxing district currently encompasses the Austin, Round Rock, Hays, Elgin, Del Valle, Leander and Manor school districts, as well as the city of Austin. A small portion of the Pflugerville school district lies within Austin and therefore is already part of the ACC taxing district; voters who live in that area are not eligible to cast ballots in the upcoming election.