The Odessa College Board of Trustees approved a total tax rate of .201723 per $100 valuation at their meeting Monday night.
Hearings were held earlier this month. The tax rate is made up of .172599 per $100 valuation for maintenance and operations and .029124 per $100 valuation for debt service.
The tax rate for 2020 was .188965 per $100 valuation. The rate that would have triggered an election was .214653 per $100 valuation.
The total budget for this year is $74,588,865, which includes $53,223,726 in unrestricted funds and $21,365,139 in restricted funds.
A bid from Hellas Construction for a total of $1,598,502 was approved for a new track and field complex. The track will have eight lanes and accommodations for field activities. The track will be blue.
This includes $27,427 for football goal posts and pads/soccer goals; 6 percent cement stabilization for $64,409 and curb replacement for the inside and outside and asphalt maximum replacement cost.
Cruz Castillo, president of JSA Architects, said this is a working design. The entry gates will include the letters OC and there will be bleachers on the east and west side and they are still figuring out where the press box will be.
The board also approved diesel trucks and trailers for the truck driving programs. Purchased was a 2019 Peterbilt for $95,498 and a 2018 Peterbilt for $84,032.
Ellucian Advise was added to OC’s Ellucian contract. Executive Assistant to the President Ashley Warren said it would cost $78,400 to implement and the expected time is eight to 10 months.
Warren said it has a great communications component for students to improve persistence. Students can also use the software to set up appointments.
The board also approved a letter of agreement between the OC Wrangler Club Inc. and the college.
The college website says the OC Wrangler Club is the official support organization for Odessa College Athletics. Its primary purpose is to solicit contributions from private sources to provide support for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The college extended its agreement with Frost Bank by two years.
President Gregory Williams reviewed events from the past few weeks.
He noted that Brian Jones, director of professional learning, has been named to the Texas Commission on Community College Finance.
Nikki Brown, training coordinator for the law enforcement training academy, was named to the Texas Transfer Framework Field of Study Discipline Subcommittee for Criminal Justice.
Groundbreaking on the track is set for 10 a.m. Thursday.
