DALLAS - Austin Community College District, Texas board members are considering a bond proposal of about $385 million that could appear on the Nov. 4 ballot.
If approved by the board in July, the proposal would join a ballot that includes highly contested statewide races for governor and lieutenant governor in addition to a city of Austin bond proposal for an urban rail line.
In addition to bond money for campus expansions, the proposal would include a property tax increase for maintenance and operations. That caused board member Tim Mahoney to warn of possible negative reactions from voters faced with multiple bond issues in a highly charged election year.
"I think we're going into a November bond election that is high risk for many reasons, partly through what we've done or not done, but also because of the company we keep," Mahoney said at the June 2 meeting. "I think that the fever in the population for the ad valorem tax, which is the only thing that the legislature has left us, is sort of a festering mood."
The district expects to conduct polls before the board's July meeting, when it will vote on the exact size of the ballot measure. The board is working on a measure that has been trimmed from the original $500 million wish list submitted by a citizens bond committee.
"My intention is that we will do all of the bond projects on the list eventually," said board member Nan McRaven. "I'm glad that we've gotten it down from half a billion dollars to $385 million. It is my desire to get that down lower."
The general obligation bond proposal would be the first in 11 years. ACCD's first and only GO bond proposal of $99 million passed in 2003 with 57% of the vote.
To finance expansion of the district beyond Austin into the Williamson County suburbs of Round Rock and Leander and the Hays County suburb of Kyle, the district has relied on revenue bonds and certificates of participation backed by property tax revenues in those cities, said chief financial officer Neil Vickers.
"They are supported by tax revenues, but they are not GOs," Vickers said.
With expansion into the suburbs, the district has added voters who may hold more conservative views than those in traditionally liberal Austin.
Mahoney said he is particularly concerned about the fate of a bond proposal for ACCD's Highland campus, which represents a conversion of the old Highland Mall shopping center to appropriate standards for college class space.
"Highland Mall is our most critical resource," Mahoney said. "I think everything else is going to be a little more risky."
