GILROY
– Taxpayers in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Benito County could
be asked next year to pick up slack for the state since it is
unable to pay for scheduled maintenance and upgrades at Gavilan
College.
GILROY – Taxpayers in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Benito County could be asked next year to pick up slack for the state since it is unable to pay for scheduled maintenance and upgrades at Gavilan College.
Tuesday, at their monthly board meeting, Gavilan College trustees could take the first step in putting a multimillion dollar bond measure on a 2004 ballot. Gavilan President Steve Kinsella is looking for the board’s consent to interview potential campaign advisors and bond lawyers and underwriters.
Within the same ballot measure, Gavilan could ask voters to approve bond sales for land purchases.
“Development is happening so quickly in the area, pretty soon the only choice will be to build up. And that would alter the ambiance and character of our existing campus,” Kinsella said.
Talk of buying land and expanding the Gavilan College campus is in the earliest stages. Kinsella said he will put together a committee to study how services and programs could be expanded by future land acquisitions.
Other crucial needs for Gavilan involve upgrading what Kinsella has called the main campus’ inefficient heating and air conditioning systems. Among other scheduled maintenance items is replacement of electrical, communication and plumbing systems. Painting of building interiors and exteriors is also mentioned on Gavilan’s to-do list.
Kinsella has already submitted bid requests to firms that have expressed interest in serving as campaign advisor, bond counsel and bond underwriter. Kinsella wants to set up a committee to screen the proposals for the board, which could make selections as early as May.
The deadline for getting a bond measure on a 2004 ballot is 88 days prior to the election. Election days for 2004 are March 2 and Nov. 2.
It is unclear how large any future bond measure would be, but adding a land purchase to the initiative could require several more millions of dollars in funding.
In its most recent facilities master plan, Gavilan estimated the state would pay, from 2000 through 2006, nearly $7 million for maintenance and renovation projects alone. Kinsella said so far very few of those projects have been funded and no projects will be funded through 2004.
Trustees are remaining fairly tight-lipped regarding 2004 election plans.
“From my viewpoint, what we’re doing right now is collecting information so we can make an informed decision,” Trustee Deb Smith said. “The economic climate and the timing for something like this is really important. That’s the whole reason we have this on the agenda.”
A campaign advisor would conduct opinion surveys, evaluate proposed projects and provide options to the board about how to raise funds for capital projects. Typically, the campaign advisor charges a fee for services to provide the board with information necessary to make a decision on whether or not to submit a bond measure to the electorate.
At this level of planning, a school district can foot the bill for such services. However, once trustees decide to put a bond measure on the ballot, campaign funds must be raised by an independent entity.
Gilroy Unified School District formed Better Schools for Gilroy Children to pay for its campaign which ultimately got voters to approve a $69 million bond measure last November. Kinsella said no group has been put together for a Gavilan bond measure.
Bond counsel and underwriters are not paid for services unless the electorate approves a bond measure.
