November 27, 2002
The Honorable Rick Perry, Governor
The Honorable William R. "Bill" Ratliff, Lieutenant Governor
The Honorable David Dewhurst, Lieutenant Governor-Elect
The Honorable James E. "Pete" Laney, Speaker of the House
Don W. Brown, Ph.D., Commissioner, Texas Higher Education Coordinating BoardFellow Texans:
I am pleased to present my performance review of Austin Community College (ACC). This review is intended to help ACC hold the line on costs, streamline operations, and improve services to ensure that more of every tax dollar is directed into the classroom, with the teachers and students, where it belongs. To aid in this task, I contracted with McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy LLP.
I have made a number of recommendations to improve ACC's efficiency. I also have highlighted a number of "best practices" in college operations-model programs and services provided by the college's administrators, faculty, and staff. This report outlines 107 detailed recommendations that could save ACC more than $15 million over the next 5 years, while reinvesting more than $730,000 to improve educational services and other operations. Net savings are estimated to reach more than $14.3 million that the college can redirect to the college classroom.
I am grateful for the cooperation of ACC's board, administrators, and community members. I commend them for their dedication to improving the educational opportunities offered to the residents of Austin and its surrounding communities.
I am also pleased to announce that the report is available on my Window on State Government Web site at http://www.window.state.tx.us/tspr/acc/.
Sincerely,
Carole Keeton Rylander
Texas Comptrollerc: Senate Committee on Education
House Committee on Public Education
The Honorable Gonzalo Barrientos, State Senator, District 14
The Honorable Jeff Wentworth, State Senator, District 25
The Honorable Terry Keel, State Representative, District 47
The Honorable Ann Kitchen, State Representative, District 48
The Honorable Elliott Naishtat, State Representative, District 49
The Honorable Dawnna Dukes, State Representative, District 50 (2003-District 46)
The Honorable Jack Stick, State Representative-Elect, District 50
The Honorable Glen Maxey, State Representative, District 51
The Honorable Dan Montgomery, State Board of Education, District 5
The Honorable Cynthia A. Thornton, State Board of Education, District 10
TRANSMITTAL LETTER