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| 4/29/2008 | Email this article • Print this article | | Early voting locations | Early voting for the May 10 ACC City of Round Rock annexation election began Monday and will continue through Tuesday, May 6. Early voting polling sites are listed below:
• Williamson County Inner Loop Annex, 301 SE Inner Loop, Georgetown
• McConico Building, 301 W. Bagdad St.
• Clay Madsen Recreation Center, 1600 Gattis School Road
• Brushy Creek Community Center, 16318 Great Oaks Drive
• RRISD Performing Arts Center, 5800 McNeil Drive, Austin
Source: Williamson County
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Business owner finds himself instructor, student at ACC
LAURI ZACHRY
Education Reporter
(Editor's Note: This is the first in a three-part series on the Austin Community College annexation election, taking place May 10. ACC is considering annexing the entire city of Round Rock into its taxing district.)
Round Rock automotive business owner Henry King considers himself the encompassing poster child for Austin Community College.
King, owner of Hulk Automotive for eight and a half years, graduated from ACC and works as an instructor at the campus.
King, a native Austinite who has always loved music, began his academic career at ACC in 1999 as a music major. However, he saw the needs of the growing automotive repair industry and chose to pursue that route instead.
"We need more people to become certified technicians so people can get their cars worked on faster," King said.
At first, King took his music classes while starting up his automotive business. At this time, he worked full-time and took classes at ACC full-time.
When he graduated from ACC in 2003, King was one of the first people in his family to graduate from college.
He has also taught at the electrical and engine performance classes at the ACC Riverside campus on Wednesday nights and Friday mornings for three years.
"The best thing about teaching and working in the field at the same time is the training," King said. "It makes me a better teacher and worker. When I went to ACC, I wanted that real-world experience and I got it. I want my students to know that learning doesn't stop."
Since King is so involved at ACC, he supports the May 10 annexation election of the city of Round Rock into the ACC taxing district and the possibility of a new ACC campus being constructed in the northeast portion of the city off University Boulevard.
"Students need to see other avenues for learning after high school," King said. "ACC could be that other avenue. It makes it easier for them to finish school. Saving people who want to improve their lives a lot of money is really worth it."
Some of the advantages of the city being annexed into the community college district include students paying in-district (as opposed to out-of-district tuition) and more educational opportunities to Round Rock students (especially in the health care field), said ACC Senior Communications Coordinator Dean Jones.
Currently, the cost for out-of-district tuition is $118 per credit hour. The cost for in-district tuition at ACC is $39 per credit hour.
If the annexation election passes, ACC will immediately begin construction on its Round Rock campus. This campus will serve as the largest ACC campus and would tentatively open in 2010, Jones said.
Although King wears several hats regarding people who will be affected by the possibility of the ACC taxing district encompassing the city of Round Rock, he does not wear the hat of being a taxpayer over the age of 65. Since King is not over 65, he can't specifically understand the needs of those taxpayers, but he thinks an ACC campus in Round Rock would positively affect all people who live in the Round Rock community.
"Everything you spend when it comes to taxes affects you in the long run," King said.
In the future, King wants to continue to take occasional classes at ACC - especially automotive body work and music classes.
Early voting for the May 10 ACC City of Round Rock annexation election began Monday and will continue through May 6.
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