ELECTIONS / PROPOSITION 1C : CSUN, 6 Colleges Await Verdicts on Construction

Although voters may not realize it from reading their ballot materials, Cal State Northridge and the region’s six community colleges have an estimated $90 million in construction projects at stake in a little-known measure in Tuesday’s state election.

Proposition 1C, a $900-million higher education bond issue, would fund up to several dozen local projects, including $21.6 million to overhaul the aged utilities system at CSUN, similar upgrades at colleges in Glendale, Lancaster and Santa Clarita, and improvements in access for the disabled at Pierce, Valley and Mission colleges in the San Fernando Valley.

Yet the proposition’s local impact remains unknown to many voters because state election materials for such bond measures do not detail specific projects.

“It’s the act that has the most direct potential impact on Cal State Northridge. But I would not say there’s general public awareness of the impact,” CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson said.

If passed by a majority of voters, Proposition 1C would fund most of the planned construction and renovation projects at the state’s 136 University of California, Cal State and community college campuses during the next two years. If defeated, state officials said, some projects might proceed with other funds, but most would be delayed.

According to state data, the measure would fund about $43.4 million of already approved projects for the coming year at the seven campuses in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. CSUN would get the largest share at $27.3 million. Then in 1995-96, the region’s campuses are in line to receive a similar or larger amount of funds.

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Leaders of the state’s three public higher education systems are selling the measure as an educational investment necessary to help support a comeback of the state’s economy. Most of the funded projects statewide involve seismic strengthening, modernizations and legal mandates such as disabled access, though some new construction is included.

Unlike local general obligation bond measures, state propositions do not translate into local property tax hikes. Instead, the bonds issued for the projects are repaid from the state’s general fund, typically over a 20- to 30-year period. If passed, Proposition 1C annually would drain an average of about $64 million from the state budget, less than $2 per state resident.

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The measure, endorsed by Gov. Pete Wilson, was placed on the ballot by the Legislature and has little organized opposition. But college and university officials expect the outcome to be close either way, and worry that recession-weary Californians may not be in a spending mood, especially in Southern California after the January earthquake.

In a May 21-25 statewide survey of likely voters, the Los Angeles Times Poll found 72% did not know enough about the measure to offer an opinion. But when read a summary, 53% favored the measure, 35% opposed it and 12% were undecided. An earlier statewide Field Poll showed 47% in favor and 43% opposed, with 9% of likely voters undecided.

For education supporters, the good news is that California voters have approved the past seven consecutive school bond measures and four of the five higher education bond measures on the state ballot since 1986. The bad news is the share of voters favoring such measures has fallen from above 60% to just a bare majority in recent state elections.

Also, complicating next week’s contest are three other huge state bond measures: $2 billion for earthquake relief, $1 billion for elementary and secondary schools and nearly $2 billion for parks and recreation. The total of the four measures, $5.9 billion, is the state’s largest ever for an election, and not all are expected to pass.

Because the state has increasingly relied on such bond measure to finance public projects, their passage in recent years has led to a steadily increasing level of bond debt draining the state’s general fund. That amount was projected to hit 5% this year and rise to above 6% if all four measures pass, more than double the level from 1990.

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One reason the state ballot pamphlet does not detail the college projects, apart from being unwieldy because of their large number, is that the list for the coming year has only recently cleared the state Legislature. And the 1995-96 projects, though planned now, would not be formally approved until next year.

According to state officials, the local projects that would be funded by Proposition 1C during the coming year include:

* CSUN: $27.3 million. Includes $21.6 million for a new plant to centralize heating and cooling for campus buildings and to upgrade other utilities, nearly $3.6 million to equip the engineering building addition, and nearly $2.1 million for the seismic strengthening of the Sierra Tower classroom building.

* The three Valley campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District: $5.5 million. Includes nearly $3 million for Pierce College to increase access for the disabled as required by federal law, nearly $2.2 million to Valley College for disabled access plus $149,000 to plan a ventilation project, and $273,000 for disabled access at Mission College.

* Glendale Community College: $830,000. Includes $615,000 for an arts building addition, and $215,000 to develop plans for a utility and fire protection system upgrade.

* College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita: nearly $6 million. Includes nearly $3.5 million to build a new access road and central utilities system, nearly $1.5 million to equip a soon-to-be-built fine arts building, $682,000 to equip a forthcoming library, and $340,000 to develop plans for reusing the current library and other spaces.

* Antelope Valley College in Lancaster: $3.8 million. Includes nearly $2.8 million for a new central utilities plant, $653,000 for disabled access projects and $405,000 to buy materials for a campus library that will soon open.

For the bond measure’s second year, CSUN already has four projects due for funding that total $34.2 million. And the local community colleges also have millions of dollars worth of projects in their system’s capital projects pipeline. Colleges plan those projects several years in advance, though final priorities rest with the Legislature.

Local College Projects

A total of $43,430,000 in San Fernando Valley-area projects would be funded during the coming year if state voters Tuesday approve Proposition 1C, the $900-million higher education bond measure. If passed, local colleges expect to receive a similar level of funding from the same measure for 1995-96.

Cal State Northridge

Three projects: $27,284,000

A new central utilities plant, furnishings for the engineering addition and a seismic upgrade for Sierra Tower

Pierce College

One project: $2,956,000

Removing architectural barriers for the disabled

Valley College

Two projects: $2,305,000

Removing architectural barriers for the disabled, and plans for a new ventilation system

Mission College

One project: $273,000

Removing architectural barriers for the disabled

Glendale Community College

Two projects: $830,000

Arts building addition and plans for fire and utility system upgrades

College of the Canyons

Four projects: $5,953,000

Access road and utility upgrades, furnishings for planned library and fine arts building, and plans for remodeling older facilities

Antelope Valley College

Three projects: $3,829,000

A new central utilities plant, removing architectural barriers for the disabled, and library materials

Partial estimates, subject to action by the state Legislature. Cal State officials estimate CSUN could receive $34.2 million. College of the Canyons estimates it could get $7.7 million. And Antelope Valley College estimates it could receive $8.1 million.

Sources: California State University and Colleges system, California community colleges system, individual campuses