Glendale : College Seeks Extra Funding for Project

Glendale Community College officials are lobbying the state Department of Education in hopes of obtaining an extra $1.5 million needed for the construction of two large classroom buildings that turned out to be more expensive than expected.

The college’s board of trustees voted last week to accept an $18-million contractor’s bid to build the project, which consists of a four-story classroom building that will connect to the existing library and a three-story laboratory building.

Although state bond funds for the construction of new school facilities are virtually dried up, college officials said other community college districts have succeeded in getting similar funding increases, and they believe they have a good chance of getting the money.

“This project was funded by revenue bonds that were issued back in 1992, and there are still some monies left in the program,” said William Taylor, the college’s director of business services.

The college board’s approval of the contractor’s bid is contingent on the state’s approval of a 9.8% “augmentation” in the project’s funding, the maximum allowable increase. That would bridge the gap between the bid price and the amount the state originally gave the college for the project, about $16.5 million, he said.

Several college administrators traveled to Sacramento on Friday to lobby for the funds. An answer from the state is expected within several weeks, officials said.

College officials said the construction costs have inflated because the project has been on hold for about two years due to design problems and other issues that delayed the start of the bid process.

The two new buildings would replace two one-story classroom buildings built in the 1950s, which were abandoned at the start of the fall 1994 semester and then torn down during the Christmas break.