GILROY
– The Gavilan College Board of Trustees will decide Tuesday
whether to put a $108-million bond to South Valley voters next
year.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – The Gavilan College Board of Trustees will decide Tuesday whether to put a $108-million bond to South Valley voters next year.
The board will consider a bond measure that is about $30 million less than what was discussed at three public forums held by the college over the past two months.
The difference comes from a reduction in the amount of funds dedicated to future expansion projects. The current bond-funded project list includes $39,596,000 for expansion instead of $70,000,000.
“That had to do with the original community survey and the community advisory board’s first recommendations … that we would first maximize the facilities we have and then expand facilities,” said Jan Bernstein Chargin, Gavilan’s public information officer.
With money from a bond measure, expansion would begin at all three Gavilan sites in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and Hollister. The college would use $18 million to build a University Center on Gilroy’s campus, which would be used both for Gavilan classes and for hosting classes through San Jose State University.
About $8 million would be used to acquire land for a permanent, expanded facility in Morgan Hill. Another $12 million would be dedicated to expanding facilities in Hollister.
“The lower amounts will allow us to get started, and then we’ll have to look at other sources of funding,” Chargin said.
The price tag for Gavilan’s higher priority projects to maximize the college’s existing facilities remains $68,404,000.
The largest project on the current facilities would be a $31-million remodel of more than a dozen campus buildings.
Lowering the price of the bond measure will likely increase public support, Chargin said.
“(Gavilan does) not want to go forward with a proposition that is beyond what people are willing to provide,” she said. “We want to be very sensitive to community opinion and the impact it will have on the local community.”
A $108-million bond would increase property taxes about $17 per $100,000 assessed property value. The previously discussed $138-million bond would have impacted property owners at a rate of $23.
The college’s bond consultant, The Lew Edwards Group, will present its recommendations to the board during Tuesday night’s meeting. Based on the group’s research, the bond would be put to voters on the March 2004 ballot.
The regular Gavilan board meeting will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Student Center’s north/south lounges.
