Austin Community College Candidates' Call For Campus Child Care Proved Resonant At Ballot Box

AUSTIN, TX — Two victors in the race for seats on the Austin Community College board of trustees have made expanding child care for ACC students a top priority, according to a published report.

Both Sean Hassan and Julie Ann Nitsch, who gained seats on the ACC board in Tuesday's runoff elections, say providing child care for students attending community college is a key goal, they told the Austin American-Statesman.

Lack of childcare for their children is a major obstacle among parents pursuing their education, both said. Hassan in particular has added insight into this challenge as the owner of a child care and early childhood education center outside Houston.

With all 231 precincts reporting, Hassan secured 67 percent of the vote to 33 percent going to his challenger, Michael J. Lewis, an auditor with the Texas Comptroller's Office, in attaining a six-year term on Place 4 of the ACC board of trustees. Hassan got 15,124 votes to Lewis's 7,450. The official results are posted at the Travis County District Clerk's office website.

Nitsch, meanwhile, also handily secured a seat on Place 9 of the board. She secured just over 60 percent of the vote (13,618 votes) compared to 39 percent (8,830 votes) going to challenger Guadalupe Sosa.

Like Hassan, Nitsch also has added insight into the demand for childcare on campus given her former status as an ACC student and employee. For her part, Sosa is a retired social service program manager for the state.

The Place 4 seat became up for grabs after Jeffrey K. Richard opted not to seek re-election. The Place 9 set became available after the resignation of Allen Kaplan, who resigned. Nitsch will serve the two remaining years of Kaplan's unexpired term as a result before seeking re-election to a full term should she choose to pursue the seat beyond that.

The candidates expressed to the Statesman of other goals once they're installed that dovetail with childcare options. Hassan said he will explore methods of expanding public transportation to ease student travel to classes, and will promote the creation of internships, job training and workforce development to enhance post-school hiring of ACC students.

Nitsch wants to look into the establishment of a student health center, possibly in partnership with Travis County, she told the Statesman. Along with that plan, she wants to enhance access to mental health services. Like Hassan, she, too, believes public transportation routes need to be enhanced to make it easier for some students to get to classes.

Several studies have pointed to the critical need for affordable childcare among students attending classes. In a recent report by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, it was found that many student parents rely on family members, spouses, friends and neighbors to help care for their children given a dearth of affordable child care options.

"Subsidized or reduced-cost child care is a necessity for most student parents, especially those who are low-income," the report reads. "In 2010, the average cost for a year of child care in United States was about $7,000 for a four-year-old and $9,000 for an infant—costs that are much higher in some geographical areas and in higher-quality settings."

For those students working full time at $8 an hour, the cost of child care easily consumes 40 percent of pre-tax income, the report found.

"In those circumstances, it would be nearly impossible for a student to cover tuition out-of-pocket," the report states. "Indeed, more than two in five student parents attending community colleges said that responsibilities for dependent care were likely to result in their withdrawing from college, and over half said that they may have to withdraw due to a lack of financial resources."

A Washington Post article on the issue is direct in calling for enhanced child care on campus, with the headline: "Lack of on-campus child care shouldn’t keep moms out of college."

Given the high cost of tuition and fees to attend a traditional, four-year university, many students turn to lower-priced community colleges. Some 40 percent of all undergraduates attend a community college, according to the newspaper piece, with women accounting for nearly 60 percent of that total.

Yet even with the lower-priced community college option, attendance is still inaccessible given the lack of child care services, the Post reported. Fewer than half of the more than 1,000 community colleges across the country offer on-campus child care, according to the 2014 report. The American Association of University Women reported that lack of convenient child care prevents many students from getting their degree or increases their likelihood of dropping out of school in lacking child care options, according to the report.

The issue of child care on campus proved a resonant one for both Hassan and Nitsch. But only time will tell if the ACC board will make affordable health care a reality.

>>> Photo credit: Grant Barrett via WikiMedia Commons