Texarkana College ponders Cass County Annexation

By Bobby Horn Jr.
news@casscountynow.com
CASS COUNTY—Cass County residents mayget to choose between higher property taxes and lower college tuition rates if a plan under consideration by Texarkana College trustees is approved.
During a planning meeting held April 25, college trustees discussed annexing parts of Cass County into the college’s taxing district.
The areas under consideration include Atlanta, Queen City, Linden- Kildare, Bloomburg and McLeod. Avinger and Hughes Springs are currently served by Northeast Texas Community College.
Texarkana College President James Henry Russell said that the trustees will meet on May 23. At that meeting, he said, trustees will announce their top priorities for the upcoming year and that he expected annexation to be among those priorities. “We have been meeting with (Cass County) school districts and business and community leaders for the past two or three years and exploring the possibility of annexation and we think it would be a good fit,” he said.
Trustees are expected to take up the annexation issue as part of a larger service plan when they meet on June 20. If a service plan is approved that includes annexation, then the issue would go to Cass County voters as part of the November General Election ballot.
If Cass County residents were to approve the annex, property owners would see an additional line item on their bill. Currently the property tax rate for Texarkana College is $.10526.
However, students living in the new annex zone would no longer be required to pay out-of- district rates and fees for tuition.
Fall 2016 tuition for three credit hours for an in-district student is $147. With an additional $155 added in mandatory fees, the rate goes up to $302. A student taking 12 hours can expect to pay $588 for tuition plus $470 in fees for a total of $1,058.
However, students living outside the college’s tax district (Cass County residents) would now pay $150 for three credit
hours, plus $155 in fees and a $156 out of district fee for a total of $461.Tuition and fees for the Fall Semester for 12
hours for out-of-district students is $1,694 between tuition and fees.
”Our goal is to drop fees for students and bring higher education
opportunities to Cass County,” Russell added. In addition to lower student tuition, Russell said the college would likely expand the classroom space and course options available in Cass County. “We would like to see more welding classes and other workforce training added there,” he said