BLINN BOARD ADOPTS PAY RAISES IN NEW BUDGET AMID UNCERTAINTY IN STATE FUNDING
comparison to previous budget cycles, as shown during
Tuesday's Blinn Board of Trustees meeting.
The Blinn Board of Trustees adopted its 2026-27 Fiscal Year budget today (Tuesday), providing a 2 percent salary increase and tiered longevity pay for full-time employees.
The budget balances at $134.18 million, which is slightly less than the current year’s budget of $134.35 million.
Executive Vice Chancellor Leighton Schubert said Blinn College is expecting to receive notably less in state appropriations for the upcoming budget. In preparation for anticipated rule changes from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board regarding weighted outcomes and the number of earnable outcomes for students, the College reduced its state revenue projections by $1.5 million. Schubert said, however, that the Coordinating Board is facing a budget shortfall and will likely lead to cuts for all community colleges – projected at $5.3 million for Blinn, including the $1.5 million already being accounted for.
Schubert said the College re-evaluated its budget after receiving the updated figures from the Coordinating Board. He said the College is still able to achieve its priorities of not reducing the workforce, obtaining salary increases and tiered longevity, and increasing unrestricted cash funds.
The College’s estimated cost of the 2 percent salary increase is $1.24 million, while the expected cost for the tiered longevity is $491,000. The budget also accounts for $2.86 million in repairs and renovations at the Brenham, Bryan and RELLIS Campuses.
Schubert said he expects the Coordinating Board to ask legislators next year for supplemental appropriations to backfill its shortfall, but he does not know how much funding it will actually receive. As a result, Blinn is not budgeting for anything out of those supplemental appropriations, and anything that comes from it will be considered additional, non-budgeted revenue.