President Lester Lefton says the first phase of the project will renovate existing classroom buildings to the tune of $800,000 each.

He’s expecting bulldozers on campus within a year, with construction of new buildings slated to continue for the next four years.

The entire project has a price tag of $186 million.  Bonds will cover about $170 million, and Lefton says the remaining money could come from the state’s next proposed budget.

“There are projects that everyone knows have been on the drawing board for some time, not the least of which is architecture and art and technology. But we haven’t decided which one of those shall be done, and in what form and where,” says Lefton. “Between the investments that we’re going to make on campus, that private investors have made downtown, it’s going to create an environment that will be  especially attractive to new students and especially attractive to retain students.”

Lefton had pushed several plans to raise money for a major building campaign over the past three years.  Today’s approval is scaled back from a request that would have funded a $250 million project through hikes in student fees.

No student fees are part of the new deal. 

But the board did approve an increase in tuition, up 3 1/2 percent this fall, with room and board climbing 4 percent.

“We’re trying everything that we can to hold it back and relative to other Ohio schools we tend to be in the middle of the pack or at the low end in tuition … with no special fees.” 

Lefton also presented the board with a report recommending an increase in health care contributions from some employees.  The workers would also get a 2 percent pay increase.

The report stems from negotiations since last September with the union representing Kent State’s service workers.