Help students without a forever tax
There's a better way.
You can want Pflugerville students to attend ACC affordably and still vote no. The out of district fee is small, and there are cheaper, local ways to cover it, starting with a scholarship fund neighbors can donate to directly, without a permanent tax on every home.
Even if you want the fee gone, vote no.
The goal is fair: let Pflugerville residents take ACC classes without paying the out of district surcharge. But annexation is the most expensive way imaginable to get there. It hands ACC about $23 million a year, forever, to remove a fee worth a few million at most, and it can never be undone at the ballot box.
There are cheaper, local ways to help, and the best ones don't raise anyone's taxes at all. A no vote is not a vote against access. It is a vote for a better deal.
Better ways, ranked
Cheaper ways to help, starting with no tax at all.
None of these needs a new taxing district and none is permanent. The first ones cost taxpayers nothing. They are listed best first.
Fund a local scholarship
The Pflugerville Education Foundation already awards scholarships to local students and has given more than $2.6 million to date. A dedicated fund there can cover ACC's out of district fee for Pflugerville residents, and anyone who wants to help can give to it directly. Neighbors who would rather donate than be taxed can put their money straight toward students, with no permanent levy on every home.
Voluntary, targeted, and it never becomes a forever tax.
Use what already exists
Pflugerville graduates already get free ACC tuition through the pilot, and free workforce training, adult education, dual credit, and scholarships are available right now, unused by many. Better publicity, not a new tax, closes most of the gap.
Scholarship reimbursement with CDBG funds
The city can use federal Community Development Block Grant money, which it already receives and directs every year, to reimburse the out of district fee for income eligible Pflugerville residents. Existing federal dollars, put to work locally, with no new tax.
Federal funds the city already administers.
PCDC course reimbursement
The Pflugerville Community Development Corporation can reimburse the cost of specific ACC courses that qualify as workforce or job training, which is squarely within its purpose under Texas economic development law. It targets exactly the credentials that build the local workforce.
Economic development dollars, aimed at job training.
A city fee program, as a last resort
If the city wants to go further, Chapter 380 of the Local Government Code lets it pay the out of district fee directly for its residents, for roughly $1-4 million a year instead of $23 million. Still far cheaper than annexation and set locally every budget year, but unlike the options above it does commit city dollars, so it belongs lower on the list.
Local, temporary, and a fraction of annexation, but it does spend city money.
Why it's allowed
State law already authorizes this.
This is not a loophole. State law gives cities and their development corporations broad authority to fund local education and workforce access, and it writes a city and college agreement into the same chapter that governs annexation. The legal foundation for every option above is already on the books.
| Law | What it does, in plain terms |
|---|---|
| TEC Section 130.0081 | Lets a junior college contract with a city to provide services; students under the agreement pay the in district rate. |
| TEC Section 130.00311 | Names the two paths for land outside a college district: annex, or sign a Section 130.0081 agreement. |
| Local Government Code Chapter 380 | Lets cities create programs that grant public money to promote local economic development. |
| Texas Constitution Article III, Section 52a | Confirms public money may fund economic development and workforce access as a public purpose. |
Read the statutes: Texas Education Code Chapter 130 (Sections 130.0081, 130.00311, and 130.0032); Local Government Code Chapter 380, with the Comptroller's Chapter 380 overview. State law authorizes programs of this kind, and the well established public purpose framework applies.
It's already happening
Texas governments already fund college access.
None of these is identical to canceling ACC's fee, but together they show the same thing: in Texas, cities and counties already put public money into community college access and workforce education, through contracts and programs, and at scale.
Ready to Work
The city pays for training, education, and scholarships for residents at dozens of providers, including Alamo Colleges, funded by a voter approved city sales tax. A program of roughly $200 million that launched in 2022.
Thrive
The city's economic development corporation funds about a quarter of a last dollar scholarship covering tuition, fees, and books at Amarillo College for local graduates.
Temple College agreement
County commissioners approved an educational affiliation agreement with Temple College in January 2025. Local governments here already contract with Temple College.
The Hutto higher ed center
The East Williamson County Higher Education Center grew from a local partnership to fund Temple College's presence, and Temple College and others teach there today, fifteen minutes from Pflugerville.
Sources: San Antonio Ready to Work (and coverage of the voter approved sales tax); Amarillo Thrive; Williamson County and Temple College; the Hutto center's history.
Side by side
Annexation vs. the local alternatives.
Same goal, lower fees for local students, very different deals.
| Question | ACC annexation | Local alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to taxpayers | About $23 million a year | $0 to $4 million a year |
| How long it lasts | Forever | A yearly choice |
| Who controls the cost | A remote ACC board | Local and accountable |
| Election required | A permanent tax on the ballot | None |
| Who pays | Every owner and renter | Donors, existing funds, or the city, only for students who enroll |
Annexation cost from The Numbers. The local alternatives run from a donor funded scholarship or existing federal and economic development dollars, which cost taxpayers nothing new, up to a city funded program in the range of $1-4 million a year, a small fraction of what annexation would cost.
A fair question
So why is the only option on the ballot a forever tax?
State law gives ACC a way to fix the fee with a simple contract, no new tax required. If lower fees for Pflugerville students were really the goal, that path was always available. It is fair to ask why the plan on the table is instead a permanent $23 million tax that sends more than seven dollars to Austin for every dollar of benefit that comes back.
Make the case
Vote no. Then demand the better plan.
A no vote stops the permanent tax and keeps every cheaper option on the table. Spread the word that Pflugerville can cancel the fee locally, for a fraction of the cost, without signing away control forever.