The $400M bond will help support job training, infrastructure needs and veterans’ resources
CHULA VISTA, California – The Southwestern College Governing Board unanimously voted at its Aug. 9 meeting to place a $400 million general obligation bond on the Nov. 8 ballot. The bond will be used to fund repairs and upgrades to the college’s infrastructure and technology and create more job training and transfer opportunities for students and veterans.
The bond will require 55 percent voter approval and, if passed, will come with certain accountability requirements, including public audits, reports on how funds are being spent and the creation of a citizens’ bond oversite committee. This summer, the San Diego Taxpayers Educational Foundation gave Southwestern College a perfect score for bond reporting and transparency in 2016.
In addition to funding student services and infrastructure upgrades, the new bond will improve campus safety through security upgrades and replacing outdated electrical wiring. The bond will also fund new state-of-the-art labs, classrooms and facilities at the main Chula Vista campus as well as the Higher Education Centers in National City, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro.
If passed, the tax rate levied will be no more than $25 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
The Board’s decision to move forward with the bond comes after a favorable voter survey throughout Southwestern College’s service area that indicated more than 70 percent of voters were in favor of a potential bond measure.
“Southwestern College is a crucial component of the economic development of the South Bay region,” said Governing Board President Nora E. Vargas. “We know the community understands the important role that Southwestern College plays in moving our entire community forward, and we are confident that voters will invest in our students and in the economic development of the region.”
