Citing a growing need for skilled workers in the region, the Lone Star College System is seeking voter approval Nov. 4 for a $485 million bond package just 18 months after voters denied a $500 million bond referendum in May 2013.

LSCS Chancellor Steve Head said the bond package and message to voters has changed this year, but the need for the bond is as prevalent as it was in 2013 due to a 6 percent enrollment bump this fall.

"We've been one of the fastest growing community colleges in the country over the last 10 years but especially over the last five," Head said. "We've actually grown almost 50 percent since 2008, so we've added over 30,000 students since 2008. The average size of the average community college in Texas is 5,500, and [the system is] going to be 82,000 or so this semester."

Effects on the community

Despite the nearly $500 million in projects that would be paid for over time through property tax revenue, LSCS said the bonds would not have an effect on the college system's property tax rate if approved by voters.

Ray Laughter, LSCS vice chancellor for external affairs, said the system can avoid raising property taxes because of its history of paying off bonds before they mature, LSCS' AAA bond rating and the size of its service area.

"If [school districts] have a bond election for $485 million, they're only relying on the tax base of that school district," Laughter said. "We have 11 school districts in our tax base, so we're spreading it out over a very large area."

LSCS approved a 6.8 percent decrease in the property tax rate Sept. 4 from 11.6 cents per $100 valuation last year to 10.81 cents.

Although LSCS officials claim the bond will not lead to property tax rate increases, some groups are still unsure of the effect the bond referendum could have on the service area.

"We want to determine if there's a need for more buildings, and if the evidence is there, then this would be a bond that we would support," said Julie Turner, president of the Texas Patriots PAC.

The political action committee did not support the system's 2013 bond election because the group said enrollment growth did not justify the need for so much new construction, Turner said. The Texas Patriots PAC is located in Montgomery County, where 77 percent of voters voted against the bond.

Turner said the Texas Patriots PAC is still deciding whether to support the bond, but she would like to see the college system consider alternatives to constructing new facilities like emphasizing more online instruction.

Laughter said as many as 30,000 students are already enrolled in online courses, but the classes are not an alternative to the growth.

"Even though some people will say, 'That's the wave of the future; that's where we're headed,' we're not seeing that," Laughter said. "Students still want to come to campus because of the way they learn, because of the social nature of a college student [and] because of the resources they use there."

Should the bond fail, Head and Laughter said capping enrollment is a likely possibility.

"[Capping enrollment] is just not good business," Head said. "These students, where are they going to go? What are they going to do? We want them to have an education and go to work."

Growing workforce programs

The most significant change from the 2013 bond is the emphasis on workforce programs. The estimated cost for advanced technology centers in the bond total $97.5 million, or about one-third the cost of all new construction systemwide.

New centers planned in the bond package could help meet the growing need for workers in the oil and gas industry, computer information technology and even a growing need for truck drivers, LSCS officials said. Laughter said community colleges are integral to training skilled workers in the Greater Houston area.

"Consider that two-thirds of the health care workers train here at community colleges," Laughter said. "When people think about the community college and if it weren't here, how would it impact their lives? We just would [not] have the kind of skilled workers we have at all the occupations that we rely on."

Specific projects officials hope to fund with the bond money include three different advanced workforce technology centers—one each for the North Harris and Cy-Fair campuses and one catering to students in the Humble/Atascocita area. The money would also fund expansions in the health care programs at the Kingwood and Tomball campuses.

Each workforce center would be strategically placed to meet workforce needs specific to each area, Head said. The center at Hwy. 59 would address the need for petrochemical workers, the Cy-Fair center would help expand the Computer Information Technology program and the North Harris center would provide space for HVAC&R programs. LSC–CyFair will also see renovations at CNC machining and welding facilities.

Partnerships are developing across the community between Lone Star College and corporations like Baker Hughes that are in need of skilled workers.

"The industry is constantly and rapidly changing," Baker Hughes CEO Martin Craighead said. "There is a constant state of learning that needs to take place."

Brooke Polk, competence and learning development specialist with the International Association of Drilling Contractors in Houston, confirmed many employers in the industry look to institutions like LSCS for skilled workers to fill the labor gap in the Houston area. The IADC, a global forum for drilling industry stakeholders, lists workforce development as one of its key missions and has worked closely with LSCS on designing programs.

"With our industry growing and becoming more advanced, there is a greater need for higher level technical skills than ever," Polk said. "Our role is to connect institutions like Lone Star College with the subject matter experts who can help design the curriculum or serve as guest speakers."

LSC–CyFair

Proposed improvements for Lone Star College facilities in the Cy-Fair area extend from the main campus on Barker Cypress Road to the Fairbanks and Cypress centers and also includes the new advanced technology center at a location still to be determined.

The bond objective of preparing LSCS for enrollment growth hits particularly close to home for Cy-Fair, the system's largest campus. Enrollment reached its highest point at the start of the fall 2014 semester at 20,384 students.

The bond would help fund a 75,000-square-foot instructional facility for more classrooms as well as 750 parking spaces. Classrooms in Cy-Fair are already past ideal capacity.

"This new learning space will give more students access to our programs and services," LSC–CyFair President Audre Levy said. "We will also be able to hire more faculty and grow our programs."