Just days after voters said yes to a $600 million bond package for expanding Collin College, trustees met to approve a $9.6 million contract for “program management services” related to the expansion.
That amount is just for “Phase 1” of the mega-bond funded “Master Plan,” which according to the contract with AECOM Technical Services includes a campus in Wylie and a Technical Training Center in Allen.
AECOM will receive an additional $8.9 million in program management fees if trustees award them the remaining three phases of their expansion plan.
Added to the $10.7 million approved before the bond passed to buy land for the technical center, Collin College trustees have already committed to spend $20.3 to $29.2 million of the $600 million tax-funded spending spree voters authorized on May 6.
Actually, just 6.3 percent of the county’s registered voters voted for the bond, which passed by a 56 to 44 percent margin. A far greater number passively approved the $600 million spend-and-tax plan simply by staying home on Election Day.
Residents of Collin County – considered one of the most conservative in Texas – can still weigh in on how the rest of their money is spent by contacting their elected Collin College trustees.
After Texas Scorecard asked them to back in April, the college made it possible to message trustees via the college website. Constituents who care about transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility should do so regularly.
