diff --git a/.github/workflows/buildAndTestCMake.yml b/.github/workflows/buildAndTestCMake.yml
index 3b258a007fc..75816a9b889 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/buildAndTestCMake.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/buildAndTestCMake.yml
@@ -70,8 +70,14 @@ jobs:
       shell: bash
       run: |
         ./build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake_llvm.sh "$LLVM_PROJECT_DIR" "$LLVM_BUILD_DIR"
+      env:
+          CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE: Release
+          MLIR_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON: ON
 
     - name: Build and Test StableHLO (with Python bindings)
       shell: bash
       run: |
-        ./build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake.sh "$LLVM_BUILD_DIR" "$STABLEHLO_BUILD_DIR"
\ No newline at end of file
+        ./build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake.sh "$LLVM_BUILD_DIR" "$STABLEHLO_BUILD_DIR"
+      env:
+          CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE: Release
+          STABLEHLO_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON: ON
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake.sh b/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake.sh
index b6e03eaac66..43c664c2389 100755
--- a/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake.sh
+++ b/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake.sh
@@ -27,12 +27,16 @@ fi
 
 LLVM_BUILD_DIR="$1"
 STABLEHLO_BUILD_DIR="$2"
+CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:-RelWithDebInfo}"
+
+# Turn on building Python bindings
+STABLEHLO_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON="${STABLEHLO_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON:-OFF}"
 
 # Configure StableHLO
 cmake -GNinja \
   -B"$STABLEHLO_BUILD_DIR" \
   -DLLVM_ENABLE_LLD=ON \
-  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
+  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" \
   -DLLVM_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS=ON \
   -DMLIR_DIR="$LLVM_BUILD_DIR/lib/cmake/mlir" \
   -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ \
@@ -40,8 +44,8 @@ cmake -GNinja \
   -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=clang \
   -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache \
   -DSTABLEHLO_ENABLE_STRICT_BUILD=ON \
-  -DSTABLEHLO_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON=ON
+  -DSTABLEHLO_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON="${STABLEHLO_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON}"
 
 # Build and Test StableHLO
-cd "$STABLEHLO_BUILD_DIR"
+cd "$STABLEHLO_BUILD_DIR" || exit
 ninja check-stablehlo-ci
diff --git a/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake_llvm.sh b/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake_llvm.sh
index 6cb285a69e1..fdc4b0bb322 100755
--- a/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake_llvm.sh
+++ b/build_tools/github_actions/ci_build_cmake_llvm.sh
@@ -25,6 +25,10 @@ fi
 LLVM_SRC_DIR="$1"
 LLVM_BUILD_DIR="$2"
 
+CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:-RelWithDebInfo}"
+# Turn on building Python bindings
+MLIR_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON="${MLIR_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON:-OFF}"
+
 # Configure LLVM
 cmake -GNinja \
   "-H$LLVM_SRC_DIR/llvm" \
@@ -34,11 +38,11 @@ cmake -GNinja \
   -DLLVM_ENABLE_PROJECTS=mlir \
   -DLLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD=host \
   -DLLVM_INCLUDE_TOOLS=ON \
-  -DMLIR_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON=ON \
+  -DMLIR_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON="${MLIR_ENABLE_BINDINGS_PYTHON}" \
   -DLLVM_ENABLE_BINDINGS=OFF \
   -DLLVM_BUILD_TOOLS=OFF \
   -DLLVM_INCLUDE_TESTS=OFF \
-  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo \
+  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" \
   -DLLVM_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS=On \
   -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=clang++ \
   -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER_LAUNCHER=ccache \