Trustees OK funds to patch 2 aging dorms
Strapped Henderson State authorized to spend $6.2M
Henderson State University’s board of trustees has authorized President Glen Jones to spend up to $6.2 million toward what some consider “critical” repairs at two aging residence halls despite objections by two trustees.
The bond financing of up to $6.2 million will be spent at Jones’ discretion and will not add to the university’s budget for fiscal 2019 because there will be no debt service during construction, university spokesman Tina Hall said Wednesday. Future budgets will, however, reflect the expenditure.
The board’s decision drew more attention than usual because it came as Henderson State is dealing with budget cuts related to declining undergraduate enrollment.
The board voted 5-2 to approve the measure during a telephone conference Tuesday about repairs needed at Smith Hall, a women’s dormitory that opened in 1965, and Newberry Hall, a men’s dormitory that opened in 1968.
Both are nine-story
buildings that can house about 350 students each, Hall said.
Voting no on allowing Jones to pursue the bond issue were trustees Eddie Arnold and Brown Hardman who thought the money would be better used toward construction of more modern residence halls. The board plans to discuss the two dormitories’ conditions further during a meeting this summer.
Repairs at the dormitories are needed to address falling bricks and decrepit heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems “while a long-term use evaluation of both facilities can take place,” Hall said in an email.
“We have a short term, very critical issue that’s facing the university,” board Chairman Bruce Moore said during the meeting. “I think we as trustees have to deal with it. … None of us want to spend that type of money, but we’re faced with a critical situation.”
Hardman said Wednesday that he’s known for
several years that these two buildings “are antiquated.”
“They’re not good, and they’re hurting us” in student recruitment, Hardman said in an interview.
Budget cuts for fiscal 2019, which starts July 1, follow a $3.2 million budget deficit in fiscal 2018.
Financial problems prompted Henderson State’s tenured faculty members recently to vote on a resolution urging the dismissal of three vice presidents. The faculty members also recommended that the board give Jones a provisional one-year contract.
He now has a five-year contract that the board can extend annually.
In a statement sent Tuesday to faculty and staff members, Moore sought to address some of those concerns without saying what will happen.
“To address some of the specific comments that we have received, the Board of Trustees will consider the contract of the president at its next regularly-scheduled meeting,” Moore wrote. “We do not manage other personnel decisions of the university but are aware that
annual evaluations of other positions are currently in progress.”
Hardman said, however, that he doesn’t think Jones has anything to fear regarding a contract now.
As for the three vice presidents, Hardman said. “I think that right now if all of them want to stay, Glen [Jones] will probably keep them. … I don’t think they have any fear of Glen firing them.”
Even so, Hardman said, “In morale, we’re at rock bottom right now.” And one problem is that “the board of trustees is still just rubber-stamping everything” the administration does.
Moore ended his own statement on a more optimistic note.
“While we have a number of decisions to make, including how best to plan for campus housing of the future, we are genuinely optimistic about the opportunities before us,” he wrote. “We continue to welcome your comments and feedback as we work together to continue the traditions of this campus while considering how best to prepare for the next generation of Reddies.”