Blinn College - Sealy Campus
Advisory Meeting Minutes
September 28, 2022
Meeting Minutes
Present
- Diane Holub
- Ryan Svoboda
- Kimbra Hill
- Bryan Hallmark
- Russ Rainwater
- Rick Kershner
Blinn College Representatives
- Dr. Mary Hensley
- Ms. Lisa Caton
- Mr. Jay Anderson
- Ms. Susan Myers
- Dr. Marcelo Bussiki
- Mr. Chris Marrs
- Dr. Becky McBride
The meeting was called to order by Ryan Svoboda at 12:25 p.m. Lisa Caton welcomed everyone and turned the meeting over asked everyone to introduce themselves.
Approval of Minutes
Ryan Svoboda called for approval of the minutes from the October 24, 2021 meeting. Russ Rainwater made the motion to approve and Bryan Hallmark seconded. The minutes were approved.
Election of Officers
Nominations were made for new officers and the following individuals were chosen for the 2022-2023 year:
- Ryan Svoboda - President
- Bryan Hallmark - Vice President
- Diane Hollub - Secretary
Community Growth and Sealy ISD Update
Dr. Bryan Hallmark gave an update on projected growth in the community and a number of new housing projects in the works. He discussed the need for the school to be prepared to accommodate the growth in enrollment this population increase would entail. He mentioned the difficulty in determining the timing regarding new expansion in the school district and new facilities. He also discussed Sealy ISD and some of the programs they had begun and some they were looking into providing in the future. He discussed exploring cosmetology and construction trades as possible new programs at the school. He mentioned that discussions with Blinn had stalled so they began a program with Trio Electric out of Houston to begin providing electrical training to the students at the high school.
Royal High School and Community Update
Rick Kershner gave an update on Royal High School and the communities of Brookshire and Pattison. He told the committee that the area was experiencing a high volume of growth and the projections were that this growth would continue into the next several years. He mentioned that the District had transitioned from Lone Star College to Blinn to offer the Early College High School program and the switch had been smooth so far. Mr. Kershner also mentioned the difficulty in timing to accommodate new growth in the schools. Although this is considered a good problem to have, it still is difficult to know the right time to build new facilities to accommodate.
Enrollment Update
Dr. Becky McBride, VC of Student Services at Blinn gave a report updating the committee on enrollment district wide. Showing Sealy with an enrollment of 43 students for the current fall semester. She informed the committee that new enrollment initiatives had been put into place to help recruit and retain students.
Boots and Blue Jeans Fundraiser
Lisa Caton gave a brief report on the Boots and Blue Jeans fundraiser held in April. She told the committee members that they raised over $20,000 for scholarships and it was the largest amount ever raised at the event. She thanked the committee member who helped with the event and opened the floor to discussion.
Sealy Campus Discussion
Dr. Hensley informed the committee members that with the historically low enrollment numbers it would be impossible to keep the Sealy Campus operating at the current level. She mentioned looking for a new location and asked Dr. Hallmark if Sealy ISD would be interested in partnering with the college to allow classes to be offered at the high school when rooms were available. He said yes, he would be glad to discuss the possibility.
She asked Dr. Hallmark what the issues were with Blinn offering the construction trades classes at the high school and he mentioned there was an instructor issue and they were just spinning their wheels and not able to get anything off the ground. Dr. Hensley mentioned our partnership with Royal and how smoothly that went and asked if they could meet outside of the advisory meeting to discuss further what could be done. Jay Anderson added that setting up this type of class is what they do and he would be glad to discuss how they could help.
The decision was made to schedule a meeting with Dr. Hallmark, Mr. Kershner, Mr. Anderson, and Dr. Hensley and other relevant personnel. The suggestion was made to meet at the RELLIS campus and everyone agreed.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:32.