Board accepts redistricting, budget plans
by Chris Taylor, editor in chief

    Last month the TCC Board of Trustees tackled several tough issues for the upcoming school year.

    Redistricting and the budget were among the items on the agenda. Before the meeting, board member, Robyn Winnett, was recognized for her five years of service to the college.

    The board approved a redistricting plan for redrawing the single member districts to better reflect the population in the county. The number of members on the board will stay the same with some districts becoming larger and others decreasing in size.

    Places 1, 2 and 3 are up for reelection in May as is the normal procedure. Each district will represent roughly the same size population. The members serve a six-year term.

    The new boundaries will be submitted to the Department of Justice for approval. If the Department of Justice has no objections to the new boundaries, then it will issue a letter and the new boundaries will be in effect.

    The board also approved the 2001-02 budget. Two local citizens were allowed to voice their concerns about the tax rate to the board.

    David McElwee of Arlington asked for the board to roll back the tax rate.

    “We are in a recession right now,” he said.

    McElwee said that other districts have rolled back taxes because of the current state of the economy.

    “The bulk of the population of Tarrant County has very little connection to TCC or what it does,” he said.

    McElwee asked the board to lower the tax rate until the recession was over.

    The Board agreed to keep the tax rate at the $.10641 per $100. The rate has been the same for the last three years.

    The Board agreed to a 4.5 percent salary increase for faculty and also added an additional $25 per month for the cost of health insurance. This brings the total per month amount to $75 per employee.

    The total budget for 2001-02 is $139,530,000, an increase of $9,630,000 from last year’s $129,900,000 operating cost. TCC will receive $40,230,000 from state appropriation, $69,350,000 from the maintenance tax and the rest from tuition and other income.

    Many projects have led to the increased budget. Pool repair on South Campus and black mold in the LRC on South Campus are safety issues that must be dealt with quickly.

    The district is still following its “pay as you go policy,” which means that the district will not sell bonds to generate income to fund projects, but instead only takes on projects that it can pay for up front with cash.

    The idea is to save the taxpayers money by not having to pay interest payments.

    The members approved the budget unanimously.

    At the meeting’s close, Inez Mackie, an Arlington small-business owner, thanked the board for the “nice dog and pony show.”