Isothermal Community College asks Rutherford County for capital help as enrollment rises

Isothermal Community College officials asked Rutherford County commissioners on an evening joint meeting to consider capital funding and an increase in operational support as the college reports two consecutive years of enrollment gains.

The college said rising repair needs, electricity, insurance and cybersecurity insurance have driven a 7.8% increase in its facilities operating request. An Isothermal official said, “we are requesting an increase of $236,000 roughly, a total operational request for our fiscal plant services of $33,263,017.”

The request included two capital items connected to the county’s quarter-cent sales tax dedicated to public education capital projects: a $4 million appropriation to cover a shortfall for a new Health and Sciences Center and a separate request to begin addressing higher-priority repairs identified in a State Construction Office facilities assessment. The presenter said the General Assembly has already appropriated $30 million for the new building (a $10 million allocation in fiscal year 2024 and $20 million in the current fiscal year), the college raised nearly $2 million from private sources and that the current estimated shortfall is $4 million.

Why it matters: county commissioners control the local capital fund created by a public-education sales-tax referendum. The college said it prioritized seeking noncounty funds first given the county’s other needs but asked commissioners to consider using the quarter-cent sales tax capital balance for the shortfall and to address the most urgent repairs.

Supporting details: the college reported a facilities assessment from the state construction office that identified roughly $49 million in needed repairs and renovations. The college requested the county consider funding approximately $4 million of priority (level 1) repairs in the current fiscal year. The college described level 1 items as safety- and life-safety-related — for example, buildings that currently lack fire alarms or suppression and electrical repairs tied to fire systems. The college also presented line-item operational increases, including electricity rising from about $505,000 to $550,000 and institutional insurance increasing from about $200,000 to $241,000.

Board discussion and limits of the request: commissioners and trustees discussed prioritization of the state assessment’s three-level list. The college said level 1 would be split into projects that could be staged; one college speaker said about $24 million of the identified needs fall into level 1 but that those can be broken into pieces. Commissioners noted the quarter-cent sales tax had been dedicated by prior resolution “to critical public education capital facility needs” and that prior county allocations had funded school and college construction projects. The county did not vote on the $4 million capital request during the meeting; commissioners characterized the presentation as part of upcoming budget deliberations.

Near-term related action: the county approved a separate budget amendment during the same meeting to pay for phase 1 relocation of underground utilities needed to move forward with Health Sciences Building site work; that amendment used funds budgeted in the county capital reserve fund. The college indicated a likely follow-up amendment will be needed when full quotes are available.

What’s next: the college said the new Health and Sciences Center will open next fall and that some science labs will move into the new building, which in turn will reduce risks associated with labs currently housed in buildings without fire suppression. Commissioners said the college’s request will be part of the upcoming county budget discussions.