Marble Falls: EDC to mull future of area higher education

By CHRIS PORTER • Daily Tribune Staff

MARBLE FALLS - A 60-acre parcel of land belonging to the Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. could be set aside for a future higher education complex, directors said Wednesday.

The land is part of the city’s Business & Technology Park, a 300-acre development zone just off U.S. 281 North which hosts numerous light industrial and office complexes. The 60 acres is located in an area separate from the main business park.

Horseshoe Bay resident Hugh Reed, speaking on behalf of the Hill Country Higher Education Foundation and the Marble Falls Career & Technology Foundation, asked the EDC board of directors to consider setting the land aside for future higher education facilities.

“Several years ago, this body took a giant step forward in establishing higher education in this area,” Reed told the board. “We can now start someone in high school and take them through to their master’s degree.”

The current college campus, which includes classroom space for Texas Tech University Highland Lakes and Central Texas College in Gateway Park south of the city, was the first of its kind in the state not funded by federal, state or school dollars, Reed said. So far, about 1,000 students attend or plan to attend classes there.

While local college students are well-served with existing facilities, Reed said there’s still a long way to go when it comes to helping those hoping to earn vocational certification.

A new facility at the industrial park could serve such a purpose, Reed said, educating new members of the workforce who could themselves contribute to the local economy.

“We feel we need to focus harder on career education,” he said. “From the standpoint on an economic engine, this could be one area where we’re only beginning to feel what could happen. We feel like this is economic development time and money well-spent.”

Local employers could also elect to help pay some of their employees’ education expenses, thus upgrading their workforce from within, Reed said.

The EDC board was receptive of the idea, opting to formally discuss the measure at their November meeting.

“It’s always been in my mind that the (industrial park) is going to have a higher education facility, and hopefully medical offices and parks,” Director Mike Pilley said.

EDC President Nona Fox agreed.

“I think we’ve all had that in the back of our minds,” she said.

The EDC board will discuss the change at their Nov. 7 meeting, set to begin at noon at City Hall, 800 Third St.

chris@thepicayune.com

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Marble Falls: EDC to mull future
of area higher education