Dateline: September 28, 2006

CC enrollment figures mix of ups and downs

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Enrollment figures at Clarendon College this semester are a mixed bag, according to CC President Myles Shelton.

Following the 12th class day on September 15, the total number of students at all CC locations is down slightly from 1,123 last fall to 1,105 this year, but more of those students are going to school fulltime.

“It’s a mixed report but still a good report because contact hours are up,” Shelton said.

Contact hours, on which the state bases funding for the college, is up from 248,000 last year to 267,000 this year. And the number of students who are labeled as “full time equivalent” rose from 948 last year to 991 this year.

Shelton also pointed out that enrollment on the home campus is up from 404 last year to 432 this year. Enrollment at the CC Pampa Center fell from 237 last year to 217 this year, and the biggest drop came in students who are incarcerated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, whose numbers fell from 204 last year to 153 this year.

In other college news, the CC Board of Regents met in regular session last Thursday and adopted an ad valorem tax rate of $0.2065 per $100 valuation, which the exact same rate as last year’s.

Three members of the Concerned Citizens of Donley County presented a petition calling on the board to eliminate the taxation of personal property. The board took no action.

The security contract with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office for $21,500 was approved.

The board voted to purchase a pickup, a Suburban, and a sedan from Culberson-Stowers in Pampa for a total amount of $89,895.

The board approved purchasing multi-media equipment for the Harned Sisters Fine Arts Center from IT Advantage in the amount of $15,500.

Regents declared an emergency related to water damage on the floor of the Bulldog Gym. A proposal to repair the floor in an amount not to exceed $96,646 was accepted, and the work should be completed by November 10 so CC can host the National Junior College Athletic Association Region Five Volleyball Playoffs.

Polling places were set for the November 7 election to freeze taxes on the elderly and disabled. Early voting will take place on the college campus, and election day voting will be held in Clarendon and Hedley.