Blinn Trustees Appoint New Member to the Board, Approve Priorities for the 87th Texas Legislative Session

The Blinn College District appointed a new member to the Board of Trustees and approved its policy priorities for the 87^th Session of the Texas Legislature during its regular board meeting Tuesday.

Rebecca Ehlert, a Blinn College alumna, will represent Precinct 4 and serve the remainder of the term that expires in May 2021.

Ehlert grew up in Brenham and attended Brenham public schools. After graduating from Brenham High School, she attended Blinn, then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. There, she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, then earned her Master of Education in Special Education and her Educational Diagnostician Certification from Southwest Texas State University.

Upon earning her master’s degree, Ehlert began her 28-year education career with Round Rock Independent School District, where she served the public as a middle school special education teacher, ARD (admission, review, and dismissal) facilitator, educational diagnostician, and lead assessment supervisor. She also served as a teacher trainer for the Region 13 Education Service Center in Austin.

Ehlert has served as grant committee chair for the Austin Junior Forum and volunteered at the Yellow Brick House Food Pantry at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Pflugerville, Texas. Once retired, she volunteered at Next To New, a ministry of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin.

“As a lifelong educator, Rebecca Ehlert brings a unique perspective,” said Charles Moser, Board Chair. “We welcome her to the Board of Trustees and look forward to working alongside her to help our students continue to reach new heights.”

 

 

In other business, the board approved its priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Blinn will ask state lawmakers to support community colleges as they continue to offer affordable, high-quality academic and career training programs for Texas students. Blinn’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session are:

1. The Blinn College District supports the overall state funding level for community colleges adopted by the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) and the Community College Association of Texas Trustees (CCATT).
2. The Blinn College District supports the workforce and economic development policies adopted by TACC and CCATT.
3. The Blinn College District requests that the Legislature pass a bill that transfers ownership of the Star of the Republic Museum building from the Blinn College District to the Texas Historical Commission.
4. The Blinn College District requests that the Legislature support additional state funding to offset the rising expenses imposed upon community colleges associated with Hazlewood Act exemptions.

“These policy priorities reflect Blinn’s continued commitment to providing quality, affordable education for Texas students,” said Leighton Schubert, Executive Vice Chancellor. “With the Legislature’s support, we look forward to reducing barriers to higher education while providing local industries with graduates who are poised to achieve excellence in the workforce.”

Trustees also authorized the College to negotiate and execute contracts for the purchase of furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the science, technology, engineering, and innovation building on the Blinn-Brenham Campus. Currently under construction and scheduled for completion in time for the Fall 2021 semester, the 72,000-square-foot science, technology, engineering, and innovation building will include approximately 17,000 square feet of laboratory space and a 3,000-square-foot innovation center.