Hinds Community College’s Vicksburg-Warren Campus will likely be expanding.

The college’s president met with the Warren County Board of Supervisors Monday at its work session to discuss funding a new multi-million dollar, 40,000-sqare-foot addition to Vicksburg’s campus.

“We’ve got to have money to build a building. We don’t have that money, and I don’t see any help we can get from anywhere else except to come to you,” Hinds Community College President Dr. Clyde Muse said to the board. “We’ve outgrown our facility.”

In order to help fund the approximate $10 million price tag of the new facility, which is expected to feature state-of-the art labs and classrooms, Muse approached the board asking for an increase in the taxes Hinds receives. His proposal raised the .55 millage rate they currently receive by 1.4 mills.

This proposed millage addition would increases taxes on a property assessed at $100,000 from $5.50 to $19.40.

County Administrator John Smith estimated the increase would create $800,000, though he said he still had several specific questions about the proposed increase.

Hinds’ need for additional space comes in light of its contract with Continental Tire, which is scheduled to build a more than $1 billion facility between Clinton and Bolton, to provide skilled labor for the new plant.

“We are adjusting to the needs we’re seeing in the community,��� Muse said. “It won’t be a quick thing, but if we get this building going, we’ll be ready. You’re going to have people who currently have jobs upgrading themselves and also high school graduates (applying for training). We want that to happen.”

He said the addition also corresponds with the River City Early College High School, in which the program aims to have 240 students enrolled at the end of four years. The first class of 60 is enrolled for this upcoming school year and plans to use the old county administration building as classrooms, he added.

“What a tremendous asset that will be to those families and those individuals. We’ll need your help to have a building ready when they move up grade levels,” he said to the board.

“Priority rules our world when we disperse funds,” Board President Richard George said. “Educational priority, dealing with the immediate needs of work force, affects immediately on our future. Our board would be favorable I would hope.”