ELECTIONS / SCHOOL BOND MEASURE : 3 College Presidents Urge OK of Prop. 1C

The presidents of three crowded community colleges in the Santa Clarita, Antelope and Victor valleys joined forces Wednesday to urge approval of a June 7 bond measure that would pay for new school buildings and equipment.

The administrators warned that more businesses will flee California unless the state’s community colleges can expand to educate more young people and retrain workers who have lost their jobs in aerospace and other fields.

“We must do something dramatic to turn the state’s economy around,” said Dianne Van Hook, president of College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

She said that because of a lack of space, her college is turning away 4,000 students per semester. “We really need to be able to accommodate those students,” she said.

Van Hook was joined by Allan Kurki, president of Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, and Edward Gould, president of Victor Valley College in Victorville, who reported similar space problems and also called for adoption of the bond measure, Proposition 1C.

The administrators said they represent three of California’s four fastest-growing community college districts, as measured by the percentage change in the adult population between 1991 and 1992.

The presidents spoke to reporters inside Antelope Valley College’s nearly completed library, financed by $6 million from a previous state bond measure.

“This building is a perfect example of what happens if a proposition such as 1C passes,” Kurki said. “We couldn’t think of a more appropriate place.”

The college officials said adoption of the bond measure is not a sure thing because recession-weary voters may not want to increase the state’s debt--a debt they will have to help pay. The educators also admitted that many residents in their districts are fiscally conservative and have voted against past bond measures.

“This is not a campaign that is going to be won very easily,” Gould said. “The polls show it right now as nip and tuck.”

If approved by a simple majority of those who vote in the election, Proposition 1C would allow the state to raise $900 million through bond sales. The money would be used to strengthen and upgrade existing buildings and construct new ones at California’s public colleges and universities.

Paying back the principal and interest over about 25 years would cost $1.6 billion, the state’s legislative analyst’s office has estimated. Local college officials, seeking to make that debt sound less burdensome, said it will cost each taxpayer less than $2 a year.

If the bond measure is approved, the three colleges are each expected to receive a share during the 1994-95 fiscal year for new library equipment, remodeling projects, safety improvements and better access for people with disabilities.

Under current estimates, Antelope Valley would get about $4 million, College of the Canyons would receive about $6 million and $1.4 million would go to Victor Valley College.

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In published ballot arguments opposing the measure, several critics, including members of the Libertarian Party, said the state is already carrying too large a bond debt. They also questioned whether the colleges will have enough money to staff the new buildings financed by the bond measures.

Kurki acknowledged that Proposition 1C would not provide more money for operating expenses. But he insisted that California colleges must continue to improve their buildings and put up new ones to prepare for the time when more money for staffing is available.

“We simply can’t let ourselves get discouraged and stop building simply because we have a recessionary phase going on,” he said. “We need to have the physical facilities.”