Board of Trustees decreases 2023 tax rate, will receive an increase in state appropriations

Preliminary report shows a 4.1% enrollment increase for fall 2023

September 18, 2023

The Blinn College District Board of Trustees decreased its tax rate and received a preliminary report regarding an increase in state funding due to House Bill 8 during its regular meeting today.

Trustees set the rate at $0.0363 per $100 valuation, a decrease from the 2022 tax rate of $0.0377 per $100 valuation. Under the new rate, Washington County taxpayers will pay $36.30 per $100,000 of property value. This rate will generate the same revenue as 2022.

According to Blinn’s most recent economic impact study, the College District provides a $370.1 million economic benefit to its local business community each year, including an additional $70.7 million in annual income to the Washington County economy. According to the study, taxpayers gain a benefit of $5.80 for every dollar they invest in Blinn.

The board also heard a report from Leighton Schubert, Executive Vice Chancellor, providing a summary of the 88^th Texas Legislature, which included information on House Bill 1114 that added the portion of Waller ISD located in Harris County to Blinn’s service area.

House Bill 8 provided a significant overhaul to the state’s community college funding system, shifting from a contact hour model to an outcomes-based model that rewards community colleges such as Blinn based upon the number of credentials of value awarded, the number of students who earn at least 15 credit hours and transfer to a university or participate in a structured co-enrollment program, and the number of students who complete at least 15 credit hours of high school dual credit.

Based upon this new system, and an increase in overall state funding for community colleges, Blinn will receive $32.75 million in state funding in Fiscal Year 24, an increase of $7.4 million (29.2%) over last year.

In other business, the board received a preliminary enrollment and housing report from Dr. Becky McBride, Vice Chancellor for Student Services, showing an enrollment of 17,963 students for the fall semester. This represents a 4.1% increase over fall 2022 enrollment and includes a 1.71% increase in contact hours (the hours of instruction students receive).

The fall 2023 enrollment includes 3,817 students at RELLIS (a 25.27% increase), 2,137 high school dual credit students (a 16.97% increase), 3,609 online students (a 4.22% increase), 2,119 Brenham Campus students (a 2.32% increase), 41 Sealy Campus students (a 4.65% decrease), 6,092 students on the Bryan Campus (a 7.89% decrease), and 59 Schulenburg Campus students (an 8.13% decrease).

At the Brenham Campus, the Housing Department reported 1,610 resident students for an 82% fill rate of the campus’s 1,953 available beds. Last fall, Blinn housed 1,491 students.

Registration remains open for fall 12-week, second 8-week, and 4-week classes. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.