Bond would fund college wish list

It takes more than a classroom with desks and a chalkboard to educate many people for the work force these days.

That's one reason why the San Mateo County Community College District will ask voters to approve a

$468 million construction bond measure on Nov. 8.

If the bond measure gets 55 percent of the voters' approval, property owners will have to pay off the bond that will fund remodeling classrooms and labs, seismic improvements and improved accessibility for disabled people at College of San Mateo, Caada College and Skyline College.

The average property owner would pay about $52 per year, or $4.35 per month, if the bond is approved.

Some of the projects would include revamping nursing and health- care training labs, renovating science, engineering, computer labs and classrooms, building firefighter- and police-training facilities and modernizing campus libraries.

"Classes now are very lab-intensive and computer-intensive," said college spokeswoman Barbara Christensen. "We're trying to train 40,000 people each year for the work force."

Property owners still are paying for a $207 million construction bond for the college district passed by voters four years ago, which has an average bill of about $21 per year.

The college district wasn't able to finish all of the projects in its facility master plan devised in the mid'90s, Christensen said.

But if this bond passes, she said, it will likely be 30 to 40 years before the college district needs new buildings again.

Critics such as Jack Hickey, chairman of the Libertarian Party of San Mateo County, say taxpayers don't need to pour more money into the college district.

If the colleges need new facilities, he said, they should be paid for by the college district or the companies that will benefit from the colleges' training, such as the hospitals and biotech firms.

College district officials say they have received some money from local businesses, including hospitals, but it's not enough to pay for all of the renovations and equipment these programs need.

"We are the work house, not only for this county, but this state," said college district trustee Patricia Miljanich. "We want to make sure they have appropriate facilities that will prepare them for today and the future."

With all of the opportunities for online courses, Hickey says it's unnecessary to invest so much in buildings.

"The need for brick and mortar is not what it used to be," he said. "We can telecommunicate. We really need to start bringing people off of our highways."

But Miljanich said a lot of students in the college district can't afford computers or even Internet service.

Furthermore, many programs, Christensen said, are very hands-on and wouldn't work as an online course.

"I don't want to be treated by anurse who has been telecommunicating and learning her skill online," she said. "I don't want to be defended by a police officer or firefighter who has been trained that way."

Staff writer T.S. Mills-Faraudo covers education. She can be reached at (650) 348-4338 or tmills@sanmateocountytimes.com.

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