The Sunnyvale Sun

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Voters pass Measure C for some upgrades at De Anza

By HUGH BIGGAR

Voters in the Foothill-De Anza Community College district approved a bond measure allowing for building and equipment renovations at the district's two colleges, including De Anza College in Cupertino.

The bond, Measure C, received 65 percent of the vote. The community college district stretches from Palo Alto to Sunnyvale and includes parts of San Jose.

The bond authorizes about $490 million for technology and facility improvements at the schools among the lowest-funded-per student in the state. Additionally, the bond also allocated $40 million in funding for a new satellite campus in the Sunnyvale-Mountain View area.

The upgrades are as basic as fixing leaky roofs and improving energy efficiency and as ambitious as constructing a new classroom building and parking structure at De Anza. The funds are to be generated through a property tax of $24 per $100,000 of assessed valuation.

The bond measure is the second for the 44,000-student district in recent years. In 1999, voters approved a $248 million bond for campus renovations and additions. Projects from that bond, known as Measure E, included the Kirsch Center for Environmental Sciences and new science facilities at De Anza. That bond measure exceeded funds, though, because of rising construction costs and the discovery of a seismic fault at Foothill College. The costs have led to some criticism.

"Already they are back for more," said Gary Wesley in the argument against the bond on the Web site www.smartvoter.org. "[The measure's] proponents should explain to voters exactly what happened to the $350 million previously earmarked for construction and renovation of the two colleges and exactly why another $490 million is needed now."

Supporters of Measure C, however, countered the 1999 measure was just the first phase of ongoing renovation projects, especially as both campuses have aged and grown beyond their capacity.

"Our colleges were built four decades ago to serve just 8,000 students. Now more than 44,000 students attend our colleges, and the student population is growing," the supporters wrote on Smart Voter.

Ultimately, such arguments helped generate the 55 percent of votes needed for the bond measure's passage. The Foothill-De Anza district enrolls about 20 percent of Santa Clara County high school graduates.