Austin Community College is holding the line on what students pay, but the financial breathing room is getting thinner.
At its July 6 meeting, ACC's board signed off on a $583 million operating budget for fiscal year 2027 that keeps the college’s free-tuition pilot alive and student tuition frozen for the 13th straight year. Trustees also approved a 2% across-the-board raise and a one-time $1,700 stipend for full-time employees, even as they flagged an unusual slowdown in the property-tax revenue that keeps much of the district running. Administrators say the plan maintains classroom capacity and campus repairs, but leaves little extra cushion if local values or state funding slip further.
Board keeps tuition flat and funds the free-tuition pilot
According to ACC Newsroom, the $583 million FY27 budget holds tuition and mandatory fees steady yet again, while setting aside $10.4 million for repair and renewal projects across campuses and continuing to fund the college’s free-tuition pilot. Board Chair Sean Hassan said the vote "reflects ACC’s long-standing conservative approach to careful financial planning," language included in the district release.
Pay bumps come with tighter margins
The board greenlit the 2% raise and the one-time payout while preserving a $23-per-hour minimum wage, moves described as cautious steps in light of shifting revenue, as reported by KUT. KUT notes ACC expects about a $6 million reduction in state funding tied to changes in performance funding formulas, and college leaders said they chose not to add to cash reserves this year in order to protect core operations.
State law and falling values are cutting collections
Property taxes remain ACC’s largest revenue source, but recent appraisal trends and state tax changes have cut into what the college expected to collect. The Express-News reported the district projects roughly $350 million in property-tax revenue next year and warned that the Legislature’s changes to business personal-property taxes could cost the college millions. The Governor’s office says that law raised the business personal-property exemption to $125,000.
Free tuition's cost and next steps
ACC has budgeted about $27 million a year for the free-tuition pilot and says the program is producing measurable enrollment and completion gains, per the college’s year-two review. The review and college leaders point to philanthropy and an expanded role for the ACC Foundation as likely tools to shore up the pilot if local and state revenues continue to waver, according to ACC Newsroom.
Trustees said they will be watching appraisal rolls, state funding updates and foundation fundraising closely as the new fiscal year begins Sept. 1, 2026. Austin Business Journal first flagged the property-tax concern on July 9.
