During their April meeting, trustees of Texarkana College identified annexing their portion of the Cass County service area as a possible goal for their two-year Strategic Plan.
TC President James Henry Russell explained that getting the annexation on the ballot was a long process and identifying that goal was just the first step.
"That was a big goal," Russell said. "Not only did it make the top 11 goals, it made the top four that we really want to focus on."
TC's service area in Cass County includes Atlanta, Queen City, McLeod, Bloomburg and Linden-Kildare independent school districts. While they do currently serve these districts, the annexation would bring additional benefits to students living there, Russell said.
"The people inside the taxing district of the service area receive more services, have more (learning centers), and they also pay in-district tuition," he said. For a typical 12-hour load, that savings could be up to $500 per semester. Taxes would be raised, Russell said, about $70 per year for the average $70,000 home.
TC sits at a 10.5 mill tax rate. It's too early in the game for administrators to give a potential millage voters would consider, Russell said, as they have to take a look at property appraisal records, potential attendance, and the cost the school would face when implementing the new services.
"The first few years of this will be very expensive, because obviously it's starting up all these new programs," Russell said. If trustees decide to go before voters, and it passes, Texarkana College would not see its first tax dollar until fall of 2017.
"We would actually be starting work in early '17 and not receiving any income for it," Russell said, adding that the tuition change for Cass County residents would take place that fall, as well.
Increasing the education of the workforce is the school's main goal, both Russell and board members said during the April meeting. Trustees are looking to align with the state's 60x30 plan, which has a goal of 60 percent of Texas residents between the ages of 25 and 34 having some sort of higher education credential by 2030.
To achieve that goal, Russell said the state needs to give its 50 community colleges more money, but he doesn't see that happening at the state level.
"The entire state is drawn into service areas," he said. "Unlike a school district, where every single person in the state of Texas is paying a tax to some school district, only certain portions of Texas are paying a community college tax. That really makes no sense."
When TC annexed Bowie County in 2012, that increased their service area from 16 square miles to 1,800, adding an extra $2.2 million per year in net funding.
"This is what basically saved TC, or we would have closed," Russell said. "This was a do-or-die election."
Right now, TC has the lowest tax rate of area community colleges. Northeast Texas Community College's tax rate is 13 mills, Paris Junior College's rate is 18.7 mills, and Tyler Junior College sits at 19.9.
Board President Kyle Davis said if trustees ask voters to approve the annexation, it's because they want to ensure necessary funds are in place to offer high quality and affordable higher education opportunities to Cass County residents.
"Community colleges throughout the state are forced to ask the communities in which they serve to step up and help with funding due to diminishing State revenue support," Davis wrote in a statement. "Texarkana College has the lowest tax rate of any college in East Texas and this board is committed to keeping it that way. It is vital that TC look at ways to help sustain service to the communities we serve and expand them to help keep the best part of Texas that way for decades to come."
The process for the annexation would begin with the board approving the Strategic Plan at the next regular meeting, scheduled for May 23. After that, trustees would approve a Service Plan for Cass County at the June 20 meeting and post a notice of a public hearing. That would be held at a location within the county, and citizens would have the opportunity to give input and suggestions on the proposal. Following that public hearing, a general election for Nov. 4 could be called during the Aug. 22 meeting.
Russell emphasized that this is just the beginning of the process and that board members have only identified the annexation as a goal. He said he does believe trustees will call for the election, but there are lots of steps to be taken before that happens.
"There's a long process, and we are a long ways from election day," he said.