COM to discuss north county campus fate

LEAGUE CITY — College of the Mainland trustees are preparing for yet another discussion on the fate of the college’s north county campus in League City.

When they do meet, board members will have yet another set of budget figures that now show the campus does not cost more to operate than the revenue it generates from tuition, fees and state payments for dual credit courses.

The revised figures — the fifth set since trustees first held a workshop on the campus in December — show the campus actually posted a $722 return after expenses for the 2011 school year.

Initially, college staff estimated the campus brought in more than $100,000 in revenue than expenses, but those numbers were revised and, instead of generating revenue, showed the campus was subsidized by the college general fund by $75,000.

Even those numbers were revised until eventually college officials estimated that the campus in FM 518 generates $722 more in revenue than is spent on expenses.

Some on the board worry the League City campus, while within the college’s service area, is out of its taxing boundaries. That has them questioning whether the center designed to cater to north county students is being subsidized by people who pay property taxes in the college’s district.

“We want to take a long-term view of the north county and League City campuses,” Trustee Wayne Miles said. “That’s one of the reasons we postponed things until (interim college president) Larry Durrence could work on those figures and get some information.”

While admitting it was frustrating not having a complete picture when the board first met to discuss the campus, Miles said he had faith the latest information would have the correct numbers.

“We are responsible to the taxpayers and we have to take everything into consideration,” Miles said. “Maybe last time was a little rushed and (staff) has had more time to work on it. There are some nuances to all of the financials.”

Board President Ralph Holm insisted that board members have not already made up their minds about the future of the campus that costs the college about $795,000 a year to operate.

“We are getting information from League City leadership that they really want us in that area,” Holm said. “They really want the presence of College of the Mainland in League City.

“But the question is, can we continue to provide that at a reasonable cost. We are going to have to give it a lot of thought. By the same token, I don’t think you can cut and run.”

Durrence is hoping trustees have another workshop soon to go over details of the operations, the legal obligations and the costs associated with operating the campus.

He said he had confidence that the figures provided by the college staff will be the final figures when the board meets next.

He also said the law plays a big role in what the future of the campus will be.

“(Texas Education Code) clearly says we have an obligation to serve the whole district, not just the part within the taxing district,” Durrence said. “We can’t ignore the north county. The issue is, how do we best serve?”