MSJC Board Approves Ballot Measure to Upgrade Facilities

The Mt. San Jacinto College Board of Trustees voted during its Aug. 4 meeting to place a district-wide bond measure on the November ballot for $295 million in funding for upgraded college facilities and programs.

Approval for the ballot measure was given after board members listened to testimony of support from a large group of community leaders, including Menifee Mayor Scott Mann and Riverside County Supervisor Marion Ashley. MSJC Academic Senate President Lorraine Slattery-Farrell told board members that faculty, classified staff and students all supported a bond measure.

Board President Ann Motte said such a bond was critical for MSJC to fund projects that would benefit students at each site in the district -- Banning, Temecula, San Jacinto, Menifee and the I-15 corridor. She cited the need for more facilities to serve the growing population and increase the rate of students transferring to four-year universities.

The bond measure contains strict accountability requirements, including an independent nine-member Citizens' Oversight Committee comprised of representatives from throughout the district and annual financial audits. The bond must be approved by 55 percent of the voters and would cost $13.20 a year per $100,000 of assessed value of a home.