Good News for the Future of Blinn-Schulenburg Campus

The future of the Blinn College- Schulenburg branch seems safe – at least for the next few years. That was the big local news out of lastTuesday’s Blinn Board of Trustees workshop. After nearly two-hours of discussion about all the Blinn campuses, Blinn Chancellor Dr. Mary Hensley said in regards to the Schulenburg campus: “It would be my recommendation that we stay the course longer, we do conversations with the community, let this grant (from the Greater Texas Foundation, designed to increase high school dual credit completion) have a chance to grow. Last year completed year-one (of the four- year grant that partners with the Columbus, Fayetteville, Flatonia, Schulenburg, and Weimar ISDs). In four more years we’ll have a clearer picture on Schulenburg anyway.”

Despite a continuing decline in student enrollment, the Blinn-Schulenburg campus actually had a better financial year last year than the year previous. That’s even in spite of the fact that Blinn no longer receives any funds from the Schulenburg EDC. “They are very good about community education, leisure learning,” Hensley said of the Schulenburg campus, “We are not getting the credit courses out there.”

It appears now Blinn-Schulenburg has time to try to turn that around after a few years of uncertainty. The future of the current Blinn-Sealy campus did not sound as certain during Tuesday’s, meeting, but it was just a workshop and no formal actions were taken. Blinn-Schulenburg has been open since the fall of 1997 and sits on an 11-acre property in the former site of Bishop Forest High School. The campus includes four buildings plus site amenities. It was also noted at the meeting last week that the Schulenburg campus will need about $5 million in repairs in the coming years, including repairs to the roof, heating/air condition system and parking lot.