Measure H passed in the fall with 60 percent (69,423) of the total vote of 116,198. The successful bond measure would provide funding for improvements that include upgrading fire safety, constructing classrooms and equipping laboratories.

Plaintiff Aaron Katz, a retired lawyer and Saratoga apartment owner with extensive land holdings, has argued that the election was invalid, according to Ruth Carlson, the district's director of public affairs and community relations.

Katz does not contend that the district broke the law in how the elections were conducted. He argues instead that the election laws themselves are unconstitutional because they allow residents of the district who do not own land the right to vote on an equal footing with property owners. The district stands behind the constitutional right of every resident to vote, regardless of whether they own property, Carlson said.

"I am challenging the validity of the election," Katz said. He said that according to the U.S. Census, nearly 40 percent of people living in the West Valley-Mission district are tenants and do not have to pay property tax.

"Thirty percent of property in the district is owned by non-residents or owned by corporations or nonprofits," he said. "And they all have to pay this tax."

Katz said that it was the intent of Proposition 13 to prevent government from further taxing property owners without their consent.

"For 40 years, the college district has been our public stewards. Yet, they have done nothing to create a capital reserve," he said.

Katz, who lives in Saratoga, also owns property in Mountain View.

"I am just a little guy who is trying to defend the rights of property owners," he said.

Katz has sued other organizations on the same grounds, including the El Camino Hospital District, the Campbell Union High School District and the Mountain View-Whisman School District.

The district and the other defendants have sought to have Katz's case dismissed early, arguing that Katz failed to comply with timelines for the contesting of an election and that his premise is unconstitutional. These motions are being pursued in the lower court and will be asserted in a higher court in the near future. The district is confident that the principle of one person, one vote will prevail in the end, Carlson said.

Katz said the lower courts had already rejected two motions to dismiss his case against the college district.

West Valley-Mission Chancellor Stan Arteberry, however, said the district has filed only one claim to dismiss Katz's lawsuit. "The court has not decided on it yet," he said.

The lawsuit has forced the district to obtain a certificate of participation for financing for construction projects already under way at West Valley College, including the replacement of the pool, which is leaking, and a new technology center. The interest on this loan will be $1 million over the course of one year.