Colleges have stake in election

Deirdre Newman

The college’s library has sat vacant for three long years. Weeds

thrive in its shadows. A gate surrounds it to ensure no one gets too

close to the building that was deemed seismically unsafe. Meanwhile,

students have to traipse clear across campus to get to the temporary

library set up in 32 trailers.

The library is the most vivid example of Orange Coast College’s

need for a $370-million facilities improvement bond on the November

ballot, said Erin Cohen, Coast Community College district

spokeswoman. The bond, Measure C, would fund upgrades at all three

district colleges -- OCC, Golden West and Coastline.

OCC would receive the lion’s share of the bond, with $200 million

-- not much to ask, considering all that the college has done for the

community, said Dave Grant, former college president.

“If this community didn’t have OCC, it would be a sad day,” Grant

said. “[The college] has been run in a tight-fisted operation, but

... we are in a dead-end in terms of finance. This isn’t for Southern

California, it’s not for the state. This is for the community.”

In addition to the library, the campus sewer and water pipes are

in desperate need of an upgrade since they are 40 years old, Grant

said.

The college also needs more room to accommodate its burgeoning

student population, interim President Gene Farrell said.

“If we just grow at 3% a year, in 10 years, we’ll be a third

larger and we don’t have the space for these students,” Farrell said.

District board President Walt Howald said he has been pounding the

pavement in the last few months, meeting with various civic and

service groups to preach the necessity of passing the bond.

“The response has been very good,” Howald said. “[The groups] like

the fact that the money stays here and they like the fact of the

oversight committee [that will be set up if the bond passes].”

While Howald is concerned that there may be low voter turnout

Tuesday, the campaign is targeting -- through direct mail --

residents who have supported school bonds in the past and have had

some involvement with the educational process.

The financial breakdown of the bond for the rest of the district

is $96 million for Golden West College; $66.2 million for Coastline

Community College; and $8.6 million for other improvements, such as

replacing temporary district buildings with permanent structures.

District residents would pay about $16.75 more per $100,000

assessed valuation if the bond passes.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.