BLINN BOARD ADOPTS $121 MILLION BUDGET, AUTHORIZES OLD MAIN BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS
The Blinn Board of Trustees adopted a $121 million budget for the 2021-22 Fiscal Year at its meeting Tuesday.
The budget includes a 2 percent pay increase for full-time employees and a $25 per course increase for part-time faculty. Employees will not see an increase in the cost of health premiums.
In March, the board approved a $2 per credit hour increase in tuition and general fees for all students for the upcoming academic year. Student housing and meal plan rates increased on average by 2 percent.
Last June, the board adopted a $105 million budget for the 2020-21 Fiscal Year, expecting a 20 percent drop in enrollment and 10 percent decrease in state appropriations.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the board authorized the College to proceed with design and to seek qualifications for construction manager at risk services for improvements and repairs to the Old Main Building on the Brenham Campus.
These items, which include upgrades to the building’s HVAC systems, elevator, bell tower, lighting, data systems, interior finishes and other systems, are outside the scope of the repairs related to the February winter storm. However, the renovations were included in the Districtwide Facilities Master Plan approved in May and will occur while the building is offline for the winter storm repairs.
Richard O’Malley, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities, Buildings, Planning and Construction, said there is $1.6 million budgeted for the HVAC system upgrades and $2 million for other interior improvements. He said there is not a definite schedule yet for when to get the building back online, but the College is hoping to do so by mid-March.
In other action, the board authorized the College to seek proposals for furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the RELLIS Campus Phase II building. Scheduled for completion in time for the Fall 2022 semester, the $32.5 million RELLIS Phase II building will be located next to the Walter C. Schwartz Building on the RELLIS Campus, where Blinn partners with The Texas A&M University System as a member of the RELLIS Academic Alliance.
Blinn’s three-story, 80,000-square-foot Phase II building will include an engineering lab, computer science classroom, information technology lab, esports arena, student services suite, 19 lecture classrooms, study spaces, faculty and administrative suites, and meeting rooms. The project also includes employee and visitor parking, sidewalks, pedestrian lighting, a circular entry drive, and a plaza.
The board also heard graduation and enrollment reports from Dr. Becky McBride, Vice Chancellor for Student Services. Blinn’s spring 2021 enrollment of 15,504 students was a 9.2 percent decrease from 2020, while contact hours declined 7.91 percent.