Bexar County citizens are being asked to vote on a $450-million capital improvements program for the Alamo Community College District on Nov. 8, 2005, with early voting from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4.

The ACCD Board of Trustees unanimously approved the recommendations of the Board-appointed Citizens' Capital Improvement Bond Committee during an Aug. 15 special meeting and called for the Bond election on the November ballot.

The Allied Health program that was a major factor in killing the last ACCD Bond proposal in February 2005 was changed so that the nursing programs at San Antonio College and St. Philip's College would be expanded and upgraded. The previous proposal called for moving those programs to an all-new campus in the Medical Center area.

The current bond package addresses the critical shortage of nurses and other medical support technicians as projected by the Texas Workforce Commission and the Alamo WorkSource Board. With the passage of the Bond, San Antonio College and St. Philip's College would triple their existing capacity and the other colleges will add or expand their programs.

The purpose of the bond is to accommodate the growing needs of the district by offering facilities and infrastructure to handle the projected student population.

The Spring 2005 enrollment at ACCD was at 52,781 credit students, a 44.7 percent increase from 36,475 in Spring 1995. This does not include the 20,000 students in Continuing Education enrolled annually. There are space shortages at all the colleges. The current capacity of the colleges is approximately 40,000 students. Enrollment is projected to hit 68,853 credit students by 2010, almost a 30.5 percent more students than are currently enrolled.

"This bond is about planning and population growth," said Dr. Adolfo R. Barrera, Vice President of Student Affairs at Palo Alto College. Barrera said that ACCD is the second largest community college system in Texas.

If the Bond passes, Palo Alto College will receive $55 million for Humanities and Convocation Center, Science and Veterinary Technology Building, Auto Manufacturing Center of Excellence, One-Stop Student and Workforce Center, Health Education and Physical Conditioning Center, Allied Health Career Center, classroom reconstruction, parking lots, and utilities infrastructure. The Humanities and Convocation Center would add classroom space to support music, theatre, art and dance programs. It would also be a first on San Antonio's south side, providing a 500-seat space for community events.

"Plans are to continue with the same architectural 'Mission-style' design that has made Palo Alto College a uniquely aesthetic educational institution in South Texas, and a place everyone can be proud to call 'a home away from home,'" said Bosquez.

If the bond passes, San Antonio College will receive $79 million, St. Philip's College is slated to receive $67.5 million, and Northwest Vista College will receive $106 million.

Northeast College, which has been operating in a strip center since 2002, will receive $125 million. It will be located on the 238 acres owned by the District in the northeast quadrant of Bexar County at Loop 1604 and Kitty Hawk Road.

ACCD's Information Technology is slated to receive $17.5 million for District-wide connectivity, a Cyber Information Technology Center, Distance Learning Systems resources, electronic communication systems, and network and data security systems.

The last Bond passed was in 1987 for an increase of 1.4 cents per $100 house valuation. The Bond, if approved, will cost taxpayers an increase of 3 cents per $100 valuation over the current total ACCD tax rate of 10.7 cents per $100 valuation. Homes valued at about $100,000 would pay an extra $30 per year if the bond passes, an increase from $107.50 to $137.50. Property owners who are older than 65 or disabled would be exempt from the tax increase.

The Bond will make up for the absence of state support for the construction of facilities.

The $450 million bond package calls for a Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee to ensure that money from the Bond will be spent properly.

Ginny Stowitts-Traina, President of the League of Women Voters in San Antonio, and Chair of Social Sciences Department, said, "Cutoff is Oct. 8 for the Nov. 8 election for voter registration." Stowitts-Traina said voters are not required to vote in their precinct for early voting. "You only need a form of identification to vote in early voting," she said.

Other early voting sites and a sample ballot for the November election can be found at Bexar County Elections Department’s Web site: http://www.bexar.org/elections/

More information on the ACCD Bond issue, including the Citizens' Committee Recommendations, can be found at http://www.accd.edu/ . Call 210-208-8040 for more information.