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San Mateo Community College District bond proposition, Measure H (November 2011)
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Measure H, if it had been approved, would have allowed the district to borrow $564 million. The funds would have gone to modernize Cañada College, the College of San Mateo and Skyline College.[1]
If Measure H had passed, residential and commercial property owners in the district would have paid approximately $12.92 a year for every $100,000 of a property's assessed value for the life of the bonds.[2]
A 55% supermajority vote was required for passage.[3]
Election results
| Measure H | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | |||
| Yes | 48,933 | 53.1% | ||
No 
|
43,238 | 46.9% | ||
- Election results are from the San Mateo County elections office.
Support
Supporters
The official voter guide arguments in favor of Measure H were signed by:
- Anna Eshoo
- G. Memo Morantes
- Virginia Chang Kiraly
- Gene Mullin
- Stacey Wagner
Arguments in favor
Arguments made in favor of Measure H in the official voter guide included:
- Without the bond, students may need to pay higher tuition, and they cannot afford that.
- If the community college is improved with the spending from the bond measure, it will allow working adults to upgrade their technical education.
- Many labs and classrooms are over 40 years old and need updating.
Donors
As of late October, over $340,000 has been contributed to the campaign committee seeking a "yes" vote on Measure H. Most of the donations come from corporations and unions in the building trades.[4]
Donors include:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| McCarthy Building Companies (St. Louis, Missouri) | $25,000 |
| Chevron | $7,500 |
| Advance Soil Tech | $5,000 |
| Pankow Special Projects | $5,000 |
| Keenan and Associates | $5,000 |
| Design Acquisition Corporation | $5,000 |
| Steinberg Architects (San Jose) | $5,000 |
| Allana + Buick + Bers (Palo Alto) | $5,000 |
| Noll & Tam Architects (Berkeley) | $5,000 |
| Denali Group | $2,500 |
| AEDIS Architecture and Planning | $2,500 |
| CSW ST 2 (Novato) | $2,500 |
| GRD Energy, Inc. (Corte Madera) | $2,500 |
| Plumbers and Steamfitters Union | $2,000 |
| Alfa Tech | $1,500 |
| LPAs (Sacramento) | $1,500 |
| Building and Construction Trades Council | $1,000 |
| AFSCME | $1,000 |
Opposition
Opponents
The official voter guide arguments opposing Measure H were signed by:
- John Roeder
- Jack Hickey
- Harland Harrison
- Frederick Graham
- Don Pettengill
The editorial board of the San Mateo Daily Journal has endorsed a "no" vote on Measure H, saying, "The worst-case scenario if Measure H does not pass is that the district would not have access to that $1 million to $2 million a year and that students would have to study in state-of-the-art buildings paid for with previous bonds next to ones that are 50 years old. For now, that’s a scenario we should be able to live with — particularly in these tough times when many property owners are facing increased expenses along with diminishing income."[5]
Arguments against
Arguments opposing Measure H in the official voter guide included:
- Measure H will increase the average tax obligation of each of San Mateo County's approximately 253,000 households from $5,500 per household to $10,000 per household.
- Increased public spending and taxation is especially unwise in a bad economy.
- Higher taxes and spending leaves less money for other financial priorities.
In other arguments against Measure H, Jack Hickey, a member of the Sequoia Healthcare District Board of Directors, said that another bond measure would bring the district’s total debt obligations to more than $1 billion and "We already have over a billion dollars in debt."[6]
Harland Harrison, San Mateo County Libertarian Party chairman, said that previous money voted for the community college district went to luxuries: "They built a palatial penthouse for the office of administration. That money was used inappropriately for a community college district."[6]
Text of measure
|
|
The question on the ballot:
| Measure H: "To prepare College of San Mateo, Cañada College and Skyline College students for universities and high-demand jobs; modernize math and science classrooms and labs; upgrade classroom technology, computer and job training labs; increase earthquake, fire and accessibility safety; and replace aging systems with energy efficient models, shall San Mateo County Community College District issue $564,000,000 in bonds at interest rates within legal limits, with annual independent audits, local control over proceeds and a Citizens’ Committee providing oversight?" |
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Mercury News, "School bonds, parcel taxes and board races on ballot", October 16, 2011
- ↑ Almanac News, "Voter Guide: Community college bond measure", October 17, 2011
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtax - ↑ San Mateo Daily Journal, "Builders up donations to college bond", October 29, 2011
- ↑ San Mateo Daily Journal, "No on Measure H", October 28, 2011
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 San Mateo Daily Journal, "Opponents and proponents debate merit of college bond", October 27, 2011
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