Glendale Community College officials make plans following Measure GC’s passage

Officials at Glendale Community College said they are optimistic about the future of the school, following voter approval of a $325-million bond earlier this month.

With all precincts reporting, 73% of voters, or 48,541 residents, supported the bond, with 17,356 residents voting against it.

Bond funds will pay for extensive upgrades to facilities on the campus in the next 15 years, officials said during a recent board of trustees meeting.

“We have opportunities now,” said trustee Tony Tartaglia. “We need to continue to make big changes on this campus in the [information-technology] areas, mobility and on and on and on.”

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One of the next steps will involve reaching out to members of the community to serve on the bond’s oversight committee.

David Viar, the college’s superintendent and president, said the overwhelming support for Measure GC “shows that the citizens of our community do recognize the high quality of the work being done by faculty and staff and the work being done on student access and student success.”

He said the college’s reputation in Glendale is due to “a very thoughtful, insightful board of trustees who focus on policy and mission and vision of our college, and our past and present employees who really have been focused on doing their best job in assuring that students do achieve their educational goals.”

Tartaglia said he’s also eager to use the bond funds to tap into matching state and federal dollars.

For trustee Vahe Peroomian, the money will give officials the ability to “finally bring our infrastructure up where it should be, and maintain it at that level and serve our students even better,” he said.

The trustees credited Viar for spending much of his personal time connecting with local residents as he campaigned for the bond’s passage for months leading up to the Nov. 8 election.

“I think you were the reason we succeeded,” trustee Armine Hacopian said.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan