By MARY JANE FARMER
HERALD DEMOCRAT
BONHAM -- People packed the Fannin County Courthouse courtroom on Saturday afternoon for a public hearing regarding possibly building a Grayson County College campus on 100 acres donated for that purpose in Bonham.
GCC President Alan Scheibmeir opened the meeting by introducing the trustees and giving a brief history and workings of the community college.
The question at hand is whether Fannin County should join the Grayson County Junior College District. The public hearing was called in accordance with Texas laws after more than 1,300 people signed a petition asking for a public vote to be called on this question.
Fannin County, Scheibmeir explained, was assigned to the Grayson County College area in the early 1990s. Grayson County College began offering classes in Bonham High School and the Veterans Administration hospital, offering General Education Development (or GED) and college classes. "There are a lot of limitations to that kind of access. Given the cost of providing the service, that was about all we could do," Scheibmeir said. Grayson County College still has a presence in Fannin County, offering GED, English-as-a-Second Language, and basic college courses.
Scheibmeir said that Robert Carrel donated the 100 acre-plot which is 1.2 miles west of State Highway 121 on U.S. Highway 82. There is a sign marking the spot now, calling it, temporarily, the future site of the Rayburn Collegiate Center. "He donated the land for the purpose of having a much more significant presence for higher education" in Fannin County, Scheibmeir said.
GCC, through its foundation, obtained a federal government grant, which commits $2 million toward a "significant higher education (facility) in this area," Scheibmeir said, adding that the community must match that $2 million commitment.
Grayson County voters, he said, invested $45 million in improving the college, and if Fannin County annexes into the district, it would be "part of the humanity that is responsible for paying off that debt."
The board's primary focus, before now, has been growth from the south, and it has set aside money for future buildings in the south, so they wouldn't have to go back to the taxpayers for another vote. "We have been saving that money over the years," Scheibmeir said. "Their mind is that in the spirit of fairness, we need to take the money from that savings and put it with the $2 million from the feds, Mr. Carrel's donated land, so that you could have a facility similar to the one (campus) in Van Alstyne." He added that it cost about $5 million to build the Van Alstyne campus, about nine years ago, and that construction costs would be more now.
"Eventually, if you were annexed, it would become one district," Scheibmeir said, then added that the trustees were elected at large and could include some from Fannin County. The name of the district would be changed from Grayson County College to reflect the added county.
There were 15 people who signed up to address the board of trustees, each allowed a maximum of three minutes to speak. The topics brought up included the value of a college education, the stress an increased tax could bring onto some residents, and the advantages the college could bring to the overall economic situation. Speakers were from Bonham, Savoy, Telephone, Windom, and other parts of the county.
Carl McEachern led off, saying, "We fuss all the time about being so poor in Fannin County, and part of the reason is the level of education.
"I remember when the most important thing in the world was to get a person out of high school so he could make a living. Now, he (the high school graduate) may not have the skills or education to make a decent living. You have to have training and education above the high school level."
A Windom woman said she was opposed to annexation and the taking of her tax dollars. "We have an easy drive to Sherman (GCC), to Paris, to McKinney, and to Commerce." Those are other neighboring cities which have institutions of higher learning. The woman explained that, although she worked part time at one of those colleges, she was also a farmer. "Most of Fannin County is agriculture and more farmers are failing every day."
One man spoke up to say the college, if it should be built in Fannin County, could provide incentive, or as he put it, "put us over the edge" to get a major hotel in the area. Another said the college campus would be an incentive for bringing businesses in because it would offer more in the way of raising their families.
Skip Jones read a letter penned, he said, a year or so ago by former Grayson County College vice president John Partin, regarding the expansion of the area around Grayson County College's Van Alstyne campus.
"There are many economic benefits, property values increase, competitive pay rates." The letter he read pointed out that Texas Department of Transportation moved the expansion of FM 121 from its 10-20 year plan to help coincide with the opening of the Grayson County College south campus.
He also pointed out that, on the west side of U.S. Highway 75 there were few, if any businesses before Grayson County College south campus was built. Now, there are two banks, several fast-food restaurants, office complexes. The college hosts meetings from agencies outside Van Alstyne and Grayson County.
Questions asked, which the trustees explained they could not answer at the public hearing, but would answer later on, included one about statistics of people who graduate high school and go on to college, the percentage of first-year Grayson County College students who return the second year, and percentage of Grayson County College graduates who continue school at a 4-year college.
One man who stood up in the back of the room when his name was called kept it brief. He said "Taxes keep going up, there seems no end in sight and no jobs in sight. I'm unemployed."
Next in the order of business on this question will be the presentation of the petition to the Grayson County College Board of Trustees. "Technically, the board hasn't seen it." At the February meeting, they will accept the petition, then, following election rules, will consider calling the election at the March 8 meeting. If the board calls for the vote, it will go before the voters in May.People who signed the petition, Cassell said, were only signing it to call for an election, not necessarily indicating they were in favor of the question.