Update, 5:38 p.m.: The State Center Community College District Board of Directors voted 7-0 to put a $698 million bond measure on the November ballot.

There was little discussion by the board before the vote, but the trustees heard from a number of audience members in person and online expressing strong support for the bond measure.

The trustees also heard from consultants who detailed community support for a bond measure, in particular from surveyed women who were likelier to vote in favor of the bond measure than the men surveyed.

“One of the things that happened fairly recently is there’s been a shift in the national discourse with a certain political campaign,” consultant Catherine Lew said in apparent reference to Vice President Kamala Harris rising to the top of the Democratic ticket. “And we are expecting that women will continue to be very energized on a number of issues, including yours.”

The board also unanimously approved a resolution in support of the $10 billion Proposition 2 that would provide state facilities matching funds for school and community college districts. Prop. 2 also will be on the November ballot.

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The State Center Community College District Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote Tuesday afternoon on whether to put a $698 million bond measure on November’s ballot in Fresno, Madera, Tulare, and Kings counties.

If it gets the green light, the district’s bond measure would be in addition to multimillion-dollar bond measures proposed by Fresno’s four school districts, Fresno, Clovis, Central, and Sanger, that will be considered by voters in each district respectively.

“This bond proposal and Vision 2035 really looks to continue to expand the investments that we’ve made in career training, and really create the next generation of jobs in our Valley,” Chancellor Carole Goldsmith told GV Wire on Monday.

The State Center bond measure’s tax rate would be $20 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. The owner of a home assessed at $300,000 would pay $60 yearly. The bond measure would raise an estimated $42 million yearly in taxes collected from residents in the four-county area that’s within the district’s boundary lines.

Although the bond measure would pay for some new construction — the Center for Applied Technology and Instructional Complex at Fresno City College, new multipurpose event and training spaces at Fresno City College’s First Responders Academy, an interdisciplinary classroom building and cafe at the college’s West Fresno Campus, new Student Services at Clovis Community College, and classroom and ag complexes at Reedley College — millions of dollars are needed to upgrade existing buildings for new technology, electricity, and to fix leaking roofs, Goldsmith said.

Meeting Needs Across the District

It would contain funding for expansion projects at some of the newer colleges and campuses like West Fresno and Clovis, but also financing for much-needed technology upgrades, ongoing maintenance, and energy-efficiency upgrades on district buildings that are 50 to 100 years old, Goldsmith said.

“After the pandemic, we came back different. … You know, it’s not just facilities, it’s a lot of infrastructure, it’s the technology behind it,” she said. “These old buildings weren’t built for the electronics that we need. So there’s a lot of electrical projects. There’s a lot of internet improvements.”

There’s also a need to upgrade and modernize training spaces so students are best prepared for the workforces of today and the future, Goldsmith said.

The district’s needs total in the billions, she said, adding, “we have more need in more projects than we do funding. And we want to be mindful of that. I mean, we’re not L.A. We’re not going to pass a $1 billion bond. We want to be mindful of our community. So that’s why we’re trying to keep it (the tax rate) in the same amount.”

The district identified needs over 18 months through a series of meetings with students, staff, and community members, whose input led to the creation of “Vision 2035.”

“Vision 2035” and its facilities plan were approved by the trustees in June.

Related Story: What’s the Secret Sauce in State Center’s Enrollment Boom?

Will Voters Support Bond Measure?

State Center had strong support for its last bond measure. Voters overwhelmingly approved the $485 million Measure C in 2016, which resulted in projects such as Fresno City College’s West Fresno campus and Madera Community College’s new center in Oakhurst, where construction is getting underway. Measure C also has a $20 per $100,000 tax rate.

Goldsmith acknowledged Monday that voters have changed since 2016, and the district would need to thoroughly educate them about what a new bond measure would mean for the region in job training and education.

College officials have some confidence about voter support this time around as well. A survey in June of 676 district voters reported more than 60% recognized the district’s needs for facilities funding, and 55% said that they would definitely or probably vote in favor of a $698 million bond measure.

Bond measures need 55% voter approval to pass.

Like the local school districts, State Center could benefit from getting a share of state funding to match local funds if California voters approve Proposition 2 on November’s ballot. Out of the proposition’s $10 billion, $1.5 billion would be devoted to community colleges and the remainder to TK-12 schools.

“That is one of the primary motivators (for State Center to have a new bond measure). besides the fact that we have billions of deferred maintenance. Anytime there’s a state measure and if we can get our fair share from Sacramento because as a taxpayer I’m sending a lot of money to Sacramento,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to at least leverage some of those funds back for our local communities.”

How to Watch

The trustee board meeting is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and will be held at the Clovis Community College — Academic Center One, Forum Hall 150, 10309 N. Willow Ave., Fresno. The meeting will be aired on Zoom at
https://scccd.zoom.us/j/95055261794?pwd=SDJzWjRNK3ZwRTYxdDNOZGNpR2EzZz09, which enables for public participation virtually, and also will be livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel.

State Center Bond Resolution and Exhibits

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