Countywide : College Bond Offers $2 Million Locally

A bond measure that would include more than $2 million for Ventura County college campuses is scheduled to appear on the June ballot after Gov. Pete Wilson signed enabling legislation on Thursday.

If approved, the $900 million bond measure would provide $1.7 million for the Ventura County Community College District and $350,000 to plan a new California State University campus in the county. The bond would also carry funds to plan and build new facilities and remodel existing buildings for higher education throughout the state.

“California’s economy depends on our colleges and universities,” said state Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), who sponsored the bond bill.

Although the bond measure targets existing campuses to receive funds, the proposed four-year Cal State campus to be built on farmland west of Camarillo would be eligible for funding because the county was approved for a campus in 1985, Hart said. Hart and university officials have said in the past that a Ventura County campus cannot be built without bond funding.

The community colleges would also benefit with $791,000 to plan a math and science building at Ventura College, and $517,000 to plan a math and science building at Moorpark College. Oxnard College would receive $123,000 for a physical education facility and $351,000 to plan a life science building. The 1992 bond is the fourth school funding measure that Hart has sponsored since 1986. Voters approved the other three.