Board of Regents seeks funding for 8 university building projects

♦ The recommendations will be included in the fiscal 2022 budget request this fall.

The University System of Georgia is proposing an ambitious list of building projects for the next fiscal year, despite the state’s tight budget constraints.

The system’s Board of Regents Tuesday approved a fiscal 2022 capital budget request of $266.9 million, including $137 million for eight major construction projects on campuses across Georgia.

The General Assembly set aside $182.5 million for the university system in the state’s $1.13 billion bond

ATLANTA —

Side-by-side, Georgia Northwestern Technical College graduates Cade and Carter Shelton carefully disassembled the blades of a turbine engine at GNTC’S Aviation Training Center at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport.

The identical twins worked together, holding tools and moving parts, and poked fun at one another as they practiced on one of the several pieces of aircraft equipment housed at the facility.

“We are usually spilt up into teams of two to four,” Cade said. “It’s pretty funny though, even when our instructors assign us at random we usually end up in the same group.”

The Cedartown twins are now certified through the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct airplane repairs. They also received Aviation Maintenance Technicianpower Plant certifications, which will allow them to work in power plants if they choose. Instead of stopping there, the two brothers will be taking the last class necessary for an associate degree this fall.

“They are really good students,” said Jon Byrd, director of Aviation Maintenance Technology at GNTC. “I told them when they started they better not switch uniforms on me, since that’s how I know them apart.”

Both Cade and Carter came to GNTC for their love of airplanes and one day hope to work on commercial and corporate aircraft. The program has been challenging but worth it, Carter said. package for fiscal 2021, which began last month.

The list of major projects the regents are seeking for the next fiscal year includes:

♦ $36.7 million for a convocation center at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.

♦ $26.3 million to renovate the Humanities Building at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton.

♦ $21.7 million for Phase I construction of a Poultry Science Complex at the University of Georgia in Athens.

♦ $12.4 million for a performing arts center at Valdosta State University.

♦ $12.2 million for renovations and infrastructure improvements at Fort Valley State University.

♦ $11.8 million for improvements at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton.

♦ $8.3 million to renovate the Bandy

“We want to make sure we represent our program in the best way possible,” said Carter. “I enjoy the skills I have learned in this program.”

The Aviation Maintenance Technology program prepares a graduate for employment in repairing and maintaining aircraft.

The combined airframe and power plant curriculum, mandated by the FAA, is designed to provide students with the technical knowledge and skills required to troubleshoot and repair aircraft components and systems. Satisfactory completion of all AVMT program courses entitles students to participate in FAA airframe and power plant examinations and certifications.

The 2020 Spring and Summer Drive-thru Commencement Ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11, at GNTC’S Floyd County Campus.

Gym student recreation center at Dalton State College.

♦ $7.6 million for a Nursing and Health Science Simulation lab at Albany State University’s West Campus.

The new capital budget requests also recommends $12.1 million to design four construction projects, including $3.5 million for a Gateway Building on the campus of Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, and $15.1 million for equipment for three building projects the legislature already has funded, including $6.2 million for a planned convocation center at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta.

The board’s capital spending recommendations will be included in the fiscal 2022 budget request the regents submit to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget this fall.

Gov. Brian Kemp will present his budget proposals for next year to the General Assembly in January.