Countywide : Prop. 56 Could Mean $29 Million Locally

County colleges and universities will receive about $29 million for construction projects and equipment purchases if voters approve Proposition 56 in November, according to education officials.

UC Irvine would get the lion’s share of the funds to be provided by the Higher Education Facilities Bond Act of 1986, receiving an estimated $13 million that would be divided between the campus and the Medical Center in Orange, university officials said.

University officials have already planned how to spend much of the money, with $2.25 million earmarked for equipment for a new engineering laboratory, $1.98 million for expansion of the central plant chiller, $1.23 million to cover preliminary planning for a new biological sciences facility and $957,000 for expansion of the school’s electrical system.

Under the bond issue, $6.6 million would be allocated to the Medical Center for expansion of an outpatient clinic, planning for cancer treatment and psychiatric centers, as well as laboratory additions and renovations.

Cal State Fullerton, meanwhile, would receive $7.34 million for an engineering building addition that would provide lecture, laboratory and faculty office space for the engineering and computer science programs.

Also under provisions of the bond issue, Irvine Valley College would get $4.6 million for land purchases and construction of an electronics and computer sciences building.