The Victoria College, 1925-2000: A Tradition of Excellence

committee, Dr. Roy Lander, reported at a special
board meeting that the state agency accepted the
establishment of a Victoria County junior college.
The trustees agreed to a motion by Cody
Lentz that a petition be circulated calling for an
election establishing a countywide junior college,
setting a tax, and publicizing the needs for
such a college. Lander and Albert York were
charged with handling the publicity, Frank
Guittard was responsible for arranging public
meetings, and Lentz was given the task of circulating
the petition. All four of the men carried
out their responsibilities admirably. 27
Lander, in announcing to the public the
board’s decision to push for a countywide junior
college, enumerated the reasons why there
should be a separation of the college from the
public school district. He cited the “needs and
interests” of college students could not be properly
met when the ages of students on the same
campus ranged from eleven to over twentythree.
Also, a county college “would be more
attractive to rural students.” Furthermore, a separate
campus would end “overlapping faculties,
overlapping time schedules, overlapping use of
rooms, auditoriums, rest rooms, tennis courts
and gymnasium.” Moreover, a separate facility
would create better school spirit, “a great asset to
any educational institution.” Finally, the school
district’s small tax base could only finance twelve
grades whereas a county college “would provide
a much stronger tax base and that a nominal tax
rate levied on the valuation over the entire county
would bring an adequate revenue and would
not at the same time prove too much of a burden
on any individual taxpayer.” 28
The Advocate allied itself with Lander and the
board. In an editorial trumpeting the benefits of
a different arrangement for the college, the newspaper
reiterated some of the points the committee
chairman made but added that over the years
the college had been successful; however, “the
time is here, if not already passed, where plans
must be made for the future, else it might die.”
The Advocate went further. It prophesied that
with “a proper physical plant adequately
financed” the college will develop into a large
educational institution and one day will have “a
thousand young men and women…attending
the school, which will become the pride and joy
of 99 percent of the people of the county.” 29
Meanwhile, anticipating the passage of the
bond issue, the board drafted a second petition
that called for electing a college board of
trustees. The process for gathering and verifying
the legally required number of signatures and
final board approval was to be completed in time
for Roach to present the college proposal to the
State Board of Education on November 10,
1947. Anticipating a positive vote by the state
agency, the president planned to return from
Austin on “the same day to present the petition
to the County Commissioners” who, in turn,
would call for an election. Since there was to be
a road bond election in December, school officials
expected December 2 to be the date set by
the county. Having the two elections on the same
day saved the school district and county money. 30
Lentz who was in charge of circulating the
petitions placed copies at the Man Shop,
Manhattan Cafe, Krueger’s Restaurant, and the
Victoria Typewriter Company. Neighborhoods
were canvassed by Jewell Hudler and other volunteers.
By October 26, the petitions had been
signed by 909 city, county, and school district
taxpayers. Eventually, there were over 1,000 signatures.
This number exceeded the figure necessary
to hold a bond election by ten percent. It
also met the two percent requirement needed
for the election of a board of trustees. 31
On November 5, the board acted swiftly to
verify the petitions and agreed to present them
to the State Board of Education for approval. To
sweeten its chances of securing consent from the
state agency and enhancing the prospect of a
favorable vote from the county’s electorate, the
board proudly proclaimed “that if the election
carries, no attempt should be made to collect
the College tax on 1947 tax rolls.” The State
Board of Education approved the application for
a countywide college with alacrity on the morning
of November 10. Roach hurriedly returned
to Victoria from Austin and met with the
Commissioners Court that afternoon. The local
county officials set the election date for
December 2. Now, it was the voters turn to
express an opinion. 32
As the countdown commenced to that all
important date in December, no ascertainable
opposition developed. Nevertheless, the supporters
of a countywide college, taking nothing
for granted, conducted an aggressive campaign.
Adios, Patti Welder ✦ 51