ACCD Press Releases | Alamo Community College District | Northwest Vista College | Palo Alto College | San Antonio College | St. Philip's College

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2004
CONTACT: Kay Hendricks, ACCD Coordinator of Communication, 210/208-8006

ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES CALLS FOR BOND ELECTION IN FEBRUARY 2005

At their regular meeting on Tuesday, October 19, the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) Board of Trustees unanimously called for a February 5 election for a bond issue totaling $450 million. The money will fund improvements at the district’s four colleges—Northwest Vista College, Palo Alto College, St. Philip’s College and San Antonio College—as well as construction of a northeast college and a nursing and allied health campus and information technology improvements.

A Citizen’s Bond Committee has been meeting over the last two months to evaluate the district’s needs. The committee, comprised of about 100 local business and community leaders, is chaired by Jackie Van De Walle, who is also chair of the ACCD Foundation Board. Van De Walle presented the committee’s recommendations to the board at the meeting.

The district’s enrollment has grown 41 percent in the last six years and now stands at 50,056 for the fall 2004 semester. It is projected to reach 68,800 by the year 2010. The district has not had a bond election since 1987 and has had only two bond elections in its history.

The proposed projects are:

• Northeast College—$125 million for construction of a library, classrooms and administration buildings on 238 acres the district owns at Loop 1604 and Kitty Hawk in northeast Bexar County

• Northwest Vista College—$86.785 million for new academic, chid care, wellness and fine arts facilities, plus expansions of the learning center and commons and a new parking garage

• Palo Alto College—$51.5 million for new performing arts, veterinary technology and career technology facilities, classroom renovations, expansion of the health education facilities and additional parking

• St. Philip’s College—$31 million for a new distance learning center and laboratory building, reconstruction of classrooms and student learning center plus additional parking

• San Antonio College—$37 million for a new parking garage and classroom building, classroom renovations and library expansion

• Nursing and Allied Health Campus—$100 million for purchase of land and construction of classrooms and laboratories

• Information Technology—$18.715 million to provide for district-wide connectivity, a cyber-information technology center, E-Learning resources, electronic communication systems, a network system and security systems.

Northwest Vista College, Palo Alto College, St. Philip’s College and San Antonio College, the colleges of the ACCD, offer day, evening and weekend classes, plus Internet courses and telecourses. Several of the colleges also offer weekend degree options that allow students to earn a two-year associate’s degree on weekends.

The four ACCD colleges are conveniently located on the southside, northwest, north central and eastside of San Antonio. Classes are also offered at St. Philip’s College’s Southwest Campus near KellyUSA, at the Northeast Campus at 7990 Pat Booker Road, at the district’s Advanced Technology Center at KellyUSA and at off-campus locations, including local businesses and military bases. Tuition at the ACCD colleges is the lowest in Bexar County, and a wealth of financial aid, including scholarships, loans and grants, is available for qualified students.