Public mum at TC tax hearing

There was zero public comment during a public hearing Monday on the proposed tax increase at Texarkana College.

Board of Trustee members invited the community to give their input on increasing the tax in Bowie County from $.105267 to $.110718, but no one signed up to speak at the hearing, which was held in the Patman Room of the Truman Arnold Student Center. A second public hearing is set for 11:30 a.m. Aug. 15 in the same location.

Trustees have not raised taxes since 2011, when voters initially approved the tax. In 2015, board members proposed an increase, but did not vote to raise the taxes thanks to an anonymous $1 million donation. TC President James Henry Russell said that gift basically pushed the tax raise a year forward.

Monday, he compared TC’s rates to those of other community colleges, stating that at $.11, the college was well below the state average of $.17.

“If you look at the state rate of 17 cents, our rate is 63 percent of that. I don’t believe there’s another taxing entity anywhere in this area that’s two thirds of the state average,” he said. “Overall, it’s a very small increase. It is the word tax, and we know it gets a little tough in today’s time, but what we like to do is benchmark ourselves against other schools in the state of Texas, and specifically those in East Texas, to make sure that we stay in a reasonable range. And if you look at that, it’s hard to find any college in the state of Texas that’s as low as we are.”

To compare the rates, Northeast Texas Community College’s tax rate is $.13, Angelina College’s rate is $.17, Paris Junior College’s tax is $.19, Tyler Junior College’s is $.20, and Panola College sits at $.21.

Russell added that administration is recommending the increase due to a significant reduction in state funding over the years.

“(It’s) a transition that just about everybody in Texas has gone through except Texarkana College and that’s unfortunately having to raise your local taxes to make up what you have lost in state revenue,” Russell said. He said students were paying their fair share, and that the school has raised tuition and fees five years in a row.

“Our students at Texarkana College are paying a larger share of the cost of their education than they ever have in the history of the college,” he said.

Should voters approve the tax increase, it would not affect residents who are disabled or 65 and up, as taxes are frozen on their primary residence.

Trustees are set to vote on the tax increase during their regular meeting Aug. 22.