| November 13, 2019 | Juan Ibarra | editor-in-chief |
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Tarrant County voters approved TCC’s bond proposition with a 60% approval rate, allowing the college to receive as much as $825 million.
The bond proposal was announced in September and included changes to “construct, improve, renovate and equip buildings throughout the six-campus district.”
According to Chancellor Eugene Giovannini, TCC is now better equipped because of the vote to provide better education and workforce opportunities for students.
“We will connect businesses with a highly educated and trained workforce skilled in the needs of today and tomorrow,” Giovannini said.
A TCC press release said the district also plans to use the money to enhance technology and facilities essential to training the region’s future workforce.
“Tarrant County College is strongly committed to connecting students of all ages to education and training that matches the local jobs, career opportunities, interests and leadership needs of our local community and economy,” Giovannini said in a press release.
The bond proposition listed specific details on how much money is planned to be used and what it would be used for.
A variety of improvements across the district are planned to be renovated and improved. NW Campus and SE Campus will receive the most drastic changes in the form of new buildings and the demolition of older structures.
Other plans include smaller revisions to other campuses and the overall goal of updating the district to better prepare students for their careers outside of TCC.
According to chief operating officer Susan Alanis, TCC officials are pleased to hear of the bond proposal’s approval and are now moving on with the next step in the plan.
“Staff is actively working to select an Owner’s Representative which will be a consulting firm to assist in guiding the capital program delivery,” Alanis said.
The Owner’s Representative will help organize the use of the funds over the next several years. In the meantime, TCC officials will continue to work with architectural firms in the following months and expect to publish more refined schedules in the spring, Alanis said.
Board of trustees president Conrad Heede said he is thankful the voters approved the bond proposition and is grateful voters support TCC’s vision for the future.
“With voter approval, TCC will be the front door to the future for more than 100,000 students each year,” Heede said in a press release.
According to Heede, the bond proposition’s two biggest goals are to improve college education and workforce training as they are vital to the future of the local economy.
