Six weeks after the Lone Star College bond failed with 55.6 percent of voters against the bond and 44.4 percent favoring it, LSC administrators are exploring other options to keep up with student growth.
"We are obviously disappointed in the results," said Ray Laughter, LSCS's vice chancellor for external affairs. "We have already started meeting to identify what our most urgent needs are and what we can do without the resources from the bond."
The bond was approved 53 percent to 47 percent in Harris County, but only received 29 percent of voter support in Montgomery County. A total of 18,771 people voted in the election.
The bond was proposed by LSCS in March to address substantial enrollment growth and the need to expand facilities throughout the college system.
LSCS has added 30,000 students in the past five years, with total enrollment rising from 49,267 in 2007 to 77,877 in 2012. LSCS officials are projecting 110,000 students by 2018.
At LSC–CyFair, the system's largest campus, the failure of the bond election means college administrators will have to come up with additional alternate schedules to meet student demand.
"We are very disappointed it didn't pass because of the growth we've experienced in our community," said Audre Levy, LSC–CyFair president.
The campus is exploring its options of how to continue without the additional funds and will continue to offer classes on the weekends and alternate schedules for students.
"The college continues to focus on providing as many educational opportunities as possible with the space we have," LSC–CyFair president Audre Levy said. "That will not ever change. There are places in which we cannot serve all students at the ideal time, but we do try to find options for students as much as we can. With a system as large as ours, students may go between campuses to get needs met, but with students working and/or balancing a family, commuting to another campus is not ideal."
The campus, which is projected to have between 13,000–15,000 students this fall, plans to offer more online classes, but that is not the preferred method by which students want to take classes, Levy said.
"A community college student typically comes straight from high school, so they are used to face-to-face instruction, and they haven't usually mastered the skills to be successful in an independent learning environment," she said. "You're at home alone as opposed to the classroom where you hear dialogue and discussion and are exposed to the content. You can do some of that online, but it's one-on-one and you don't get feedback—that's what's so significant about taking a class face-to-face."
Because of the Hwy. 290 expansion project, parking at the college's Fairbanks satellite center will continue to be an issue, Levy said. The bond money would have allotted 200 additional parking spaces at the center.
"We've altered our schedule of classes there, and we've let students know this would happen," Levy said. "We've suggested they carpool or recognize they'll have challenges with parking."
Laughter said Lone Star College will continue to provide the services it always has as it looks for ways to cope with the projected growth.
"We believe we are highly valued by the community in the services we provide and the difference we make in people's lives," he said. "We don't believe that this was a vote on the college, but on this particular referendum."
