Argus-Courier Editorial: Yes on Measure H

Twelve years ago, Sonoma County voters gave a resounding vote of support to Santa Rosa Junior College by approving a $251 million bond measure that resulted in a host of major improvements including a historic $41 million expansion of the Petaluma campus that is now able to offer a full range of community college classes.|

Twelve years ago, Sonoma County voters gave a resounding vote of support to Santa Rosa Junior College by approving a $251 million bond measure that resulted in a host of major improvements including a historic $41 million expansion of the Petaluma campus that is now able to offer a full range of community college classes.

Now, the college is seeking voter approval of Measure H, a similar bond measure expected to raise $410 million to fund further improvements such as upgrading outdated buildings and classrooms, laboratories and other facilities at both the Santa Rosa and Petaluma campuses. This includes repairing leaky roofs and deteriorating electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and mechanical systems. Funding will also modernize and upgrade education facilities with new equipment to teach skills students need for careers in science and technology.

Half of the county’s high school graduates rely on SRJC to provide affordable higher education, especially since the cost of attending public universities in California has skyrocketed in recent years. This measure will help local high school graduates continue their education and develop skills needs to excel in the 21st century workplace.

This includes preparing them to transfer to four-year colleges and universities and providing essential job training in growing careers such as nursing and healthcare, automotive repair, marketing, agriculture, welding, computer science, business administration, building trades, software development, information technology, manufacturing, public safety and more.

For property owners, the cost for Measure H is $25 per $100,000 of assessed valuation. An average Sonoma County homeowner would pay an additional $67 per year on their property tax bill. The measure requires 55 percent approval by voters to pass.

The primary opposition to Measure H is coming from the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association, which claims that the college district “oversold” the previous bond Measure A in 2002 by implying in campaign literature that it would meet the infrastructure needs of the college “for the 21st century.” Dan Drummond, executive director of the taxpayers association, says that coming back to voters just 12 years following passage of the earlier measure is too soon, especially since taxpayers will continue to pay off the earlier bonds for the next 15 years.

That may be true. But it’s important to note that those earlier bonds did, in fact, finance all the promised projects, and were used effectively, enabling the district to leverage an additional $50 million in state matching grants. SRJC has done an exceptional job managing the earlier bonds’ proceeds, including having refinanced the balance of the bonds’ debt which saved the district $18 million.

No one at the district ever promised that the first bond measure would meet all of the district’s capital and infrastructure needs for 100 years; such a promise would have been nonsensical. And while 12 years does seem to be a short time frame for considering an additional tax, it’s clear that the need is there for significant infrastructure upgrades.

Growing enrollment has left classrooms and laboratories overcrowded, limiting students’ access to the courses they need to graduate or transfer to a four-year college. Sixty-year-old buildings without adequate restrooms, safety standards, or even air-conditioning, along with outdated laboratories and training equipment, are undermining the ability of the college to do its job.

Voters must now decide if they want SRJC to do the best job possible for high school graduates needing its services, or allow campus facilities to further deteriorate.

In June of this year, Petalumans voted yes on similar infrastructure bond measures for the elementary and high school districts, ensuring that the facilities would be better able to serve the needs of Petaluma students, many of whom will matriculate to the SRJC. What sense does it make to rob them of their full potential by putting them into classrooms built in the 1950s, or forcing them to train using outdated equipment that is no longer used in the work world?

The people who graduate from SRJC in coming years are the ones who will be running our businesses, caring for our health care needs, repairing our vehicles and our computers and protecting our community. Why not invest $67 per year to ensure they get the best education possible so they can provide the best service possible for us in the decades to come?

The Argus-Courier recommends a yes vote on Measure H.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.